Current Research in Criminology

An introduction to some current projects

Beyond the pale: Sovereignty, Law and Indigenous peoples

Sovereignty has a history. This interdisciplinary project explains the law's relation to Indigenous peoples in terms of that history. It examines the legal recourse to the 'exception', which cast Indigenous peoples outside the law's protection. From its original application within international law to render natives non-sovereigns and prey to force, the notion was extended to law's domestic operations to secure sovereignty internally. This innovative comparative project brings international and domestic law within the one analytical field to shed new light on inequality in law and practice. It redefines the colonial dimensions of sovereignty, radically re-evaluating frontier practices in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. (View a profile of this research).
Chief investigator: Dr Julie Evans

Crime, governance and the colonial state: a study of the Criminal Tribes Act 1871

This study will examine an archetypal model of colonial governance in British India: the Criminal Tribes Act 1871. I aim to examine how, through this law, measures of penal repression, containment, reclamation and exclusion became central to British efforts to regulate suspect social and cultural practices and to promote particular forms of economic activity and individual subjectivity. The proposed research therefore aims to investigate my proposition that coercive crime control practices of the modern state, such as actuarial justice and risk management, have their origin in the colonial sphere. The findings will help scholars and policy makers better understand how marginalized communities come to be governed through crime. (View a profile about this research)
Chief investigator: Dr Mark Brown

Mentoring of women released from custody

The failure of women prisoners to make a successful transition back to the community is one of the most significant problems of modern penology. The Women's Mentoring Project is an innovative mentoring and post-release support program developed by the Victorian Association for the Care and Resettlement of Prisoners.  The goal of the research is to study how post-release support is delivered within a mentoring relationship. The research uses interviews and surveys to examine the way that women releasees deal with the material, social and personal problems they face in the difficult weeks and months after release. The mentoring relationship is considered from the perspective of both the women releasees and the mentors. (View a profile about this research)
Chief investigators: Dr Mark Brown and Dr Stuart Ross

Victims of Procedural Justice

The aim of this research is to develop a blueprint for reform of the treatment of victims in the criminal justice system.  The first stage of the research will examine what victims' want out of their interactions with the criminal justice system by examining procedural fairness and trust, and instrumental factors like distributive justice and outcome favourability.  The second stage analyses how criminal justice agencies understand and respond to victims' rights and needs. By combining these two perspectives, this research will show how agencies can increase victims' satisfaction with the justice system, and assist in their recovery from victimisation. (View a profile about this research)
Chief investigators:Dr Stuart Ross, Jeanette Lawrence, Dr Austin Lovegrove, Assoc Prof Adam Sutton and Robyn Holder.

Never again? The nature and effectiveness of Australian regulatory responses to terrorism, the Esso Longford Explosion and the collapse of HIH Insurance.

3 year project aimed to evaluate the nature of regulatory reform in the wake of disasters in Australia. Industrial disasters, terrorist attacks and corporate collapses create increased demands by Australians for safety and financial security. This project will trace the effects of three event clusters - the 1998 explosion and fire at the Longford Victoria oil refinery, terrorist attacks on New York (2001) and Bali (2002) and the 2001 collapse of HIH insurance - on regulatory frameworks and compliance efforts by our airports, ports and major hazard facilities. It will ascertain whether regulatory reform following disasters does increase protection for Australians, or whether multiple and competing demands mean that significant gaps are created. This work will be an invaluable resource for investigators, regulators and policymakers charged with preventing corporate disasters and terrorist attacks. Budget from ARC $210,000.
Chief investigators: Assoc Prof Fiona Haines and Assoc Prof Adam Sutton

Adult Sexual Assault: An Evidence-Based Policy, Practice and Advocacy Model for Victoria Police

Awarded Linkage Grant (with C.Taylor (University of Ballarat), L. Angus (University of Ballarat), P. Rush (University of Melbourne, Law) and D. Bradley (Victoria Police).
Chief Investigator: Prof Alison Young

See also:

• Competitive grants
• ARC Grant Profiles

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PhD Research projects

• Young People and Relationships Project
  Ms Anastasia Powell, PhD Research
• Researching e-crime - Applying Criminology to Computer Facilitated Crime
  Mr Shane McKenzie, PhD Research

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Melbourne Centre for Criminological Research and Evaluation (MCCRE)

The Melbourne Centre for Criminological Research and Evaluation (MCCRE) is a joint initiative between the Department of Criminology and the School of Enterprise, University of Melbourne.

The Centre was created in 2001 to apply contemporary criminological theory and practice to meet the research, evaluation and training needs of the Australian criminal justice community.  MCCRE prides itself on its capacity for independent advice, in-depth subject knowledge and its ability to understand the policy context within which it works.

MCCRE's clients include a range of State and Federal government agencies, has worked in partnership with commercial consultancies, and acted as an advisor to academic researchers wishing to develop commercial or grant-funded projects.  MCCRE services include:

• Expert Opinion & Advice
• Policy or Program Design & Evaluation
• Education & Training
• Research & Consultancy

The Centre delivers high quality criminological expertise to the private and public sectors with specific expertise in the following fields:

• Crime Prevention
• Penal Policy, Sentencing & Corrections
• Crime Statistics
• Forensic Psychology
• Juvenile Justice
• Judicial Studies & Decision-making
• Judicial Drugs Policy
• Policing
• Violence & Homicide
• Victimology White Collar Crime
• Sex Offenders & Offending
• Workplace Health & Safety
• Regulatory Theory

Visit the MCCRE website for information regarding expertise, research, consultancy and courses.

• Melbourne Centre for Criminological Research and Evaluation