Understanding and preventing gun violence: A qualitative study. Gun violence causes significant harm across Australian communities. Excluding sexual assault, firearms feature in nearly one in 10 violent crimes. The annual costs of gun violence run into tens of millions of dollars. This project aims to make an original qualitative contribution to understanding and preventing gun violence in three contexts: drug dealing/trafficking, other organised crime activity, and armed robbery. The proposed r ....Understanding and preventing gun violence: A qualitative study. Gun violence causes significant harm across Australian communities. Excluding sexual assault, firearms feature in nearly one in 10 violent crimes. The annual costs of gun violence run into tens of millions of dollars. This project aims to make an original qualitative contribution to understanding and preventing gun violence in three contexts: drug dealing/trafficking, other organised crime activity, and armed robbery. The proposed research would be the first study nationally - and one of the very few internationally - to interview convicted gun crime users about the acquisition and use of firearms in criminal life. Project results are expected to have direct implications for reducing the impact of gun violence in Australia.Read moreRead less
Preventing gendered violence: lessons from the global south. This project aims to study the establishment of police stations for women in Argentina as a key element to preventing gendered violence. This project aims to discover the extent to which the Argentinian interventions prevent the occurrence of gendered violence, and identify aspects that could inform the development of new approaches to preventing gendered violence in Australia. Anticipated outcomes include knowledge critical to develo ....Preventing gendered violence: lessons from the global south. This project aims to study the establishment of police stations for women in Argentina as a key element to preventing gendered violence. This project aims to discover the extent to which the Argentinian interventions prevent the occurrence of gendered violence, and identify aspects that could inform the development of new approaches to preventing gendered violence in Australia. Anticipated outcomes include knowledge critical to developing and implementing new ways to prevent gendered violence, with long-term benefits for national health, wellbeing and productivity.Read moreRead less
Cascades of Violence and Nonviolence. Why did the Arab Spring spread so fast? Why did so many communist regimes collapse so quickly in 1989? This project explains why tactics of violence and of nonviolence cause contagion. It develops a new evidence-based theory of how to contain cascades of violence and accelerate contagions of nonviolence to create a less violent world.
Violence, Risk and Safety: The Changing Face of Australian Criminal Laws . Criminal laws have been radically transformed to keep Australians safe from violence. This project aims to complete the first national study of how and why criminal laws have proliferated and diversified so significantly. It will employ novel conceptual tools for investigating the 'drivers', ‘processes’ and ‘modalities’ of criminalisation, and complete socio-legal studies of sexual and domestic violence, homicide, alcohol ....Violence, Risk and Safety: The Changing Face of Australian Criminal Laws . Criminal laws have been radically transformed to keep Australians safe from violence. This project aims to complete the first national study of how and why criminal laws have proliferated and diversified so significantly. It will employ novel conceptual tools for investigating the 'drivers', ‘processes’ and ‘modalities’ of criminalisation, and complete socio-legal studies of sexual and domestic violence, homicide, alcohol-related violence, public disorder and the activities of criminal groups. The intended outcome is new knowledge about the causes and effects of innovation in criminal law-making. This research can benefit future public debate, policy development and law reform decisions about the role of criminalisation in enhancing safety.Read moreRead less
Analysing and disrupting outlaw motorcycle gangs in Australia. This project aims to reveal the structure and social dynamics of co-offending networks by OMCGs in Australia. Outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) cause significant social and economic harm in Australia and internationally. The project will generate new knowledge about OMCG co-offending using an innovative multimethod approach combining social network analysis with interviews and focus groups. Expected outcomes include a deeper understand ....Analysing and disrupting outlaw motorcycle gangs in Australia. This project aims to reveal the structure and social dynamics of co-offending networks by OMCGs in Australia. Outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) cause significant social and economic harm in Australia and internationally. The project will generate new knowledge about OMCG co-offending using an innovative multimethod approach combining social network analysis with interviews and focus groups. Expected outcomes include a deeper understanding of OMCG criminal activity across Australia and refined theory development about co-offending in criminal groups. The project will lead to improved policy, legislation and policing practice to prevent OMCG crime and dismantle OMCG criminal networks in more cost-effective ways.Read moreRead less
Justice Reinvestment in Australia: conceptual foundations for criminal justice innovation. This project will examine the characteristics of Justice Reinvestment programs used in other countries which reduce spending on prisons and reinvest the savings in high crime communities to reduce crime and build community services. This study will analyse whether such programs can be developed in the Australian context.
Avoiding community backlash in the fight against terrorism . This project examines the willingness of diverse minority groups to cooperate in counter-terrorism initiatives and how fair procedures and perceptions of the law shape attitudes towards counter-terrorism policing. Outcomes will provide insights into how public cooperation in counter-terrorism can be enhanced.
Police corruption: an underestimated legitimacy and security risk. This project analyses police corruption in four states and makes recommendations for reducing it. While most states now recognise corruption as a problem, many are reluctant to address the issue of police corruption; yet when police officers collude with organised crime (for example, in drugs or arms trafficking), corruption can be a serious security risk.
Sexualised Deepfakes: Predictors, Consequences, Responses and Prevention. Artificial Intelligence is changing how perpetrators sexually abuse. Yet little research has explored this, and laws and digital platforms are failing to keep pace. This project aims to identify the predictors, harms and consequences of sexualised deepfakes (a form of Artificial Intelligence-Facilitated Abuse) and produce evidence to inform legal, technological and social responses to this growing problem. Expected outcome ....Sexualised Deepfakes: Predictors, Consequences, Responses and Prevention. Artificial Intelligence is changing how perpetrators sexually abuse. Yet little research has explored this, and laws and digital platforms are failing to keep pace. This project aims to identify the predictors, harms and consequences of sexualised deepfakes (a form of Artificial Intelligence-Facilitated Abuse) and produce evidence to inform legal, technological and social responses to this growing problem. Expected outcomes include increased understanding of the drivers of abuse, the development of improved prevention resources and social, technological and legal responses for digital platforms, organisations and government. Expected benefits include improved laws, policies and practices to prevent Artificial Intelligence-Facilitated Abuse.Read moreRead less
Preventing Water Theft in the Murray-Darling Basin. This Project aims to understand the complex interaction of socio-economic, legal and political factors that have enabled the theft of fresh water in the Murray-Darling Basin. By analysing the policies and regulations governing freshwater management, this project expects to generate new knowledge of the extent and types of water theft, offenders processed, penalties delivered, and the performance and operations of regulatory and enforcement agen ....Preventing Water Theft in the Murray-Darling Basin. This Project aims to understand the complex interaction of socio-economic, legal and political factors that have enabled the theft of fresh water in the Murray-Darling Basin. By analysing the policies and regulations governing freshwater management, this project expects to generate new knowledge of the extent and types of water theft, offenders processed, penalties delivered, and the performance and operations of regulatory and enforcement agencies. The expected outcomes include new research strategies for water theft prevention. This will benefit national security and community health by contributing to a sustainable and equitable supply of fresh water.Read moreRead less