Macquarie University NSW 2109
Collaboration through research
Criminology at Macquarie addresses questions of inequality and injustice related to the criminal justice system in Australia and internationally.
We take a strong interdisciplinary approach that weaves together specialties across the social sciences, law, politics and psychology to examine how crime intersects with individual factors such as race, gender, Indigeneity, age and sexuality.
Our research engages with leading community and government organisations to develop innovative solutions to enduring and systemic problems. Together our work addresses the fundamental challenges of structural inequality, disempowerment and social harm.
Research themes
Our key research themes are:
- corporate crime
- gender and crime
- policing and justice
- punishment and prisons
- social harm
- transnational approaches to environmental justice.
Protecting children and young people at Australian universities: A model for a practice-based and integrated national approach
- Project leads: Associate Professor Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor Tobia Fattore, Dr Rebecca Sheehan, Professor Alison Pullen, Kate Manlik
This project examines university responses to the significant problem of campus sexual violence against minors that is informed by the voices of young people and key policy stakeholders. It will apply a novel children’s rights approach to develop a framework to:
- harmonise and improve existing policies and responses
- embed these within the Commonwealth government’s Child-Safe Standards (2018) to make organisations safer for children
- promote safe and respectful relationships for young people within tertiary education.
The project uses a mixed methodology to inform a critical policy, organisational and legal analysis of university responsibilities, with the long-term impact of protecting children and young people from sexual violence on Australian university campuses.
The dynamics of police pursuits: Imagining incidents
- Project leads: Dr Vince Hurley, Associate Professor Kate Rossmanith
This pilot project aims to discover urgently needed knowledge regarding the dynamics of police pursuits in New South Wales. Despite the frequency and seriousness of police pursuits, little research exists about them within the Australian context.
With rare access to aerial footage, the project will scope and analyse the key dimensions of pursuits. Through in-depth interviews and an audio-documentary, the project will build understanding regarding the lived experiences of police and how they cognitively imagine pursuits.
The resulting research will enable police to better predict and manage the dynamics of pursuits, thus better ensuring public safety as well as the safety of the offending-driver.