Category Archives: Publications

Read about latest research published by staff from the Crime and Justice Research Centre

Publication: The limits of (digital) constitutionalism: Exploring the privacy-security (im)balance in Australia

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Crime and Justice Research Centre members Dr Monique Mann and Dr Angela Daly, along with Justice PhD Candidate Michael Wilson, and QUT Law Associate Professor Nic Suzor recently published ‘The limits of (digital) constitutionalism: Exploring the privacy-security (im)balance in Australia’ in the International Communication Gazette.

 Abstract

This article explores the challenges of digital constitutionalism in practice through a case study examining how concepts of privacy and security have been framed and contested in Australian cyber security and telecommunications policy-making over the last decade. The Australian Government has formally committed to ‘internet freedom’ norms, including privacy, through membership of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC). Importantly, however, this commitment is non-binding and designed primarily to guide the development of policy by legislators and the executive government. Through this analysis, we seek to understand if, and how, principles of digital constitutionalism have been incorporated at the national level. Our analysis suggests a fundamental challenge for the project of digital constitutionalism in developing and implementing principles that have practical or legally binding impact on domestic telecommunications and cyber security policy. Australia is the only major Western liberal democracy without comprehensive constitutional human rights or a legislated bill of rights at the federal level; this means that the task of ‘balancing’ what are conceived as competing rights is left only to the legislature. Our analysis shows that despite high-level commitments to privacy as per the Freedom Online Coalition, individual rights are routinely discounted against collective rights to security. We conclude by arguing that, at least in Australia, the domestic conditions limit the practical application and enforcement of digital constitutionalism’s norms.

Keywords

Cyber security, digital constitutionalism, human rights, metadata retention, online surveillance, privacy, security, securitization

You can read the full article here: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1748048518757141?journalCode=gazb#articleShareContainer

 

 

New Publication – Understanding Romance Fraud: Insights from Domestic Violence Literature

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 Cassandra Cross, Molly Dragiewicz and Kelly Richards have recently had an article published in the British Journal of Criminology. The article is the first to examine romance fraud from within the framework of psychological abuse, as established in domestic violence research.

 Abstract

Romance fraud affects thousands of victims globally, yet few scholars have studied it. The dynamics of relationships between victims and offenders are not well understood, and the effects are rarely discussed. This article adapts the concept of psychological abuse from studies of domestic violence to better understand romance fraud. Using interviews with 21 Australian romance fraud victims, we show how offenders use non-violent tactics to ensure compliance with ongoing demands for money. This article identifies similarities and differences between domestic violence and romance fraud. We argue that thinking through domestic violence and romance fraud together offers potential benefits to both bodies of research.

 The full article can be found here

 

 

Recently published: 2nd edition of the Routledge Handbook of Critical Criminology

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The 2nd edition of the Routledge Handbook of Critical Criminology, edited by CJRC Adjunct Professor Walter S. DeKeseredy and CJRC Associate Professor Molly Dragiewicz was published on 17 March 2018. The updated edition includes forty chapters and more than a dozen contributions by CJRC staff and adjunct professors such as:

Left realism: a new look (Walter S. DeKeseredy and Martin D. Schwartz)
Southern criminology (Kerry Carrington, Russell Hogg, and Maximo Sozzo)
Masculinities and Crime (James W. Messerschmidt and Stephen Tomsen)
Queer criminology (Carrie Buist, Emily Lenning, and Matthew Ball)
Critical Green criminology (Rob White)
Green cultural criminology (Avi Brisman and Nigel South)
Towards a Criminology of War, Violence and Militarism (Ross McGarry and Sandra Walklate)
Terrorism. The Problem with Radicalization: Overlooking the elephants in the room (Sandra Walklate and Gaybe Mythen)
Thinking critically about contemporary adult pornography and woman abuse (Walter S. DeKeseredy and Amanda Hall-Sanchez)
Antifeminism and backlash: a critical criminological imperative (Molly Dragiewicz)
A critical examination of girls’ violence and juvenile justice (Meda Chesney-Lind and Lisa Pasko)
The future of a critical rural criminology (Joseph F. Donnermeyer)
Violence and social policy (Elliott Currie)
Confronting adult pornography (Walter DeKeseredy)

An Author meets critics session will be held at the American Society of Criminology meetings in Atlanta, Georgia in November 2018.

Publication: The legal geographies of transnational cyber-prosecutions: Extradition, human rights and forum shifting

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Crime and Justice Research Centre member Dr Monique Mann, along with Deakin University colleagues Dr Ian Warren and Ms Sally Kennedy, recently published ‘The legal geographies of transnational cyber-prosecutions: Extradition, human rights and forum shifting’ in the leading international (Q1) journal Global Crime.

The article describes legal and human rights issues in three cases of transnational online offending involving extradition requests by the United States (US). These cases were selected as all suspects claimed the negative impacts of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) were sufficient to deny extradition on human rights grounds. The authors demonstrate how recent developments in UK and Irish extradition law raise human rights and prosecutorial challenges specific to online offending that are not met by established protections under domestic and internationally sanctioned approaches to extradition, or human rights, law. In these cases, although the allegedly unlawful conduct occurred exclusively online and concurrent jurisdiction enables prosecution at both the source and location of harm, the authors demonstrate why national courts hearing extradition challenges are extremely reluctant to shift the trial forum. They conclude by discussing the implications of the new geographies of online offending for future criminological research and transnational criminal justice.

Keywords: Extradition, computer hacking, legal geography, human rights, autism spectrum disorders, Asperger’s syndrome.

The article can be accessed at this link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17440572.2018.1448272?journalCode=fglc20&

Publication: Gender and Age in the Construction of Male Youth in the European Migration “Crisis”

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The following article was recently published by Dr. Helen Berents from QUT School of Justice and member of CJRC, along with colleagues from Monash University and Salvation Army UK.  This article was published in Signs – a leading journal (Q1) for feminist politics.

Abstract:

Displacement is clearly gendered; age also has a strong influence on outcomes and experiences for the displaced, including a significant impact on how they are understood by the public and policy makers. It is important to keep this in mind when considering how children and youth are understood within contexts of conflict and insecurity, how they are affected by these forces, and how they navigate their lives in these contexts, especially in seeking peaceful outcomes. Here we engage with the current so-called European migration crisis as a potential watershed moment in understandings of children and youth as refugees. In particular, we suggest that the public representations of young people in this context can be deeply influenced by stereotypes and assumptions around gender and age that may—intentionally or inadvertently—lead to greater insecurity for people of diverse genders and ages. Likewise, we argue that when considering scholarship, policy, and practice in relation to migration, it is critical to develop and apply a lens that accounts for both gender and age.

A link to the full article can be found here

 

New Issue: International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy

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A new issue of International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy has been published today.  With authors from Brazil/Portugal, Croatia, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, the journal’s global representation continues.

There are nine articles in this issue book-ended by Sandra Walklate’s “Criminology, Gender and Risk:  The Dilemmas of Northern Theorising for Southern Responses to Intimate Partner Violence”, and Aleksandar Marsavelski and John Braithwaite who provide insights into “The Best Way to Rob a Bank”.  Additionally, Matt Ball has authored one of two terrific book reviews:  Marianna Valverde’s Michel Voucault (2017).

The following articles are free to download and share.

Current Issue

Vol 7 No 1 (2018): International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy

Published: 2018-03-01

Articles

Sandra Walklate

1-14

Thiago Pierobom de Avila

15-29

Jason Spraitz, Kendra N Bowen, Louisa Strange

30-43

Tully O’Neill

44-59

Antonio Iudici, Fela Boccato, Elena Faccio

60-75

Sophie De’Ath, Catherine Anne Flynn, Melanie Field-Pimm

76-90

David Rodríguez Goyes

91-107

Ida Nafstad

108-122

Aleksandar Marsavelski, John Braithwaite

123-138

Book Reviews

139-142

143-145

View All Issues

Coercive Control Workshop and Celebration of Books

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Coercive Control Workshop 

The concept of ‘Coercive Control’ as a means of making sense of the nature and extent of violence(s) in women’s everyday lives has been around since the early 1980s. However its recent revitalisation by Evan Stark has resulted in rejuvenated interest in it in the policy domain. In England and Wales an offence of coercive control was introduced in December 2015 and a recent special edition of Criminology and Criminal Justice exposes this concept and associated legal and professional practices to international interrogation. The purpose of this workshop is to examine the efficacy of the implementation of this recent legislation alongside subjecting this concept to further critical interrogation with a view to examining its potential value for other jurisdictions.

Please join the Crime and Justice Research Centre and the School of Justice for a workshop on ‘Coercive Control’, with leading practitioners and academics. Following the event, there will be a Celebration of Books recently published by Crime and Justice Research Centre members.

March 15, 2018

3.00 – 5.00pm
Including light refreshments
OJW Room, Level 12, S Block, QUT Gardens Point Campus

This event requires registration.  To register, please email Brigid Xavier – brigid.xavier@qut.edu.au.  Eventbrite link to follow. 

Speakers

Kate Fitz-Gibbon
Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Monash University.

Sandra Walklate
Eleanor Rathbone Chair of Sociology at the University of Liverpool (U.K)

Rachel Neil

Principal Solicitor of the Women’s Legal Service (WLS)

 

Media discourse surrounding ‘non-ideal’ victims – The Ashley Madison data breach case

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Media discourses surrounding ‘non-ideal’ victims

The case of the Ashley Madison data breach

Cassandra Cross, Megan Parker and Daniel Sansom

Abstract

Data breaches are an increasingly common event across businesses globally. Many companies have been subject to large-scale breaches. Consequently, the exposure of 37 million customers of the Ashley Madison website is not an extraordinary event in and of itself. However, Ashley Madison is an online dating website predominantly known for facilitating extramarital affairs. Therefore, the nature of this website (and business) is very different from those that have previously been breached. This article examines one of the media discourses surrounding the victims of the Ashley Madison data breach. It particular, it illustrates examples of victim blaming evident in the print media towards individuals (or customers) who had their personal details exposed. Importantly, it highlights the emerging tension within this particular case, of the strong victim blaming narrative contrasted against those who attempted to challenge this discourse and refocus attention on the actual offenders, and the criminality of the act. The article concludes that victims of this data breach were exposed to victim blaming, based on the perceived immorality of the website they were connected to and their actions in subscribing, rather than focusing on the data breach itself, and the blatant criminality of the offenders who exposed the sensitive information.

Available online at the International Review of Victimology

 

 

Book: Biometrics, Crime and Security

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Crime and Justice Research Centre Dr Monique Mann recently published a book on Biometrics, Crime and Security with co-authors Dr Marcus Smith (Centre for Law and Justice at Charles Sturt University) and Associate Professor Gregor Urbas (Faculty of Business, Government and Law at the University of Canberra).

The book appears in the Routledge Law, Science and Society Series and can be purchased at this link: https://www.routledge.com/Biometrics-Crime-and-Security/Smith-Mann-Urbas/p/book/9780815378068

The book addresses the use of biometrics – including fingerprint identification, DNA identification and facial recognition – in the criminal justice system: balancing the need to ensure society is protected from harms, such as crime and terrorism, while also preserving individual rights. It offers a comprehensive discussion of biometric identification that includes a consideration of: basic scientific principles, their historical development, the perspectives of political philosophy, critical security and surveillance studies; but especially the relevant law, policy and regulatory issues.

 

Publication: “Sleeping the deep, deep sleep – the Hierarchy of Disaster” – Dr. Dean Biron

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School of Justice affiliated academic Dr Dean Biron has published a new essay titled “Sleeping the deep, deep sleep.” Co-written with Dr Suzie Gibson of Charles Sturt University, the piece appears in Issue 229 of Overland Literary Journal:

https://overland.org.au/previous-issues/issue-229/essay-dean-biron-and-suzie-gibson/

Subtitled “The Hierarchy of Disaster,” the essay considers how human-made catastrophes are ordered so as to distinguish between worthy and unworthy victims. Commencing with a comparison of political and media responses to the 2001 terrorist attacks in the US and the 1984 Bhopal tragedy in India, the essay considers how many traumatic occurrences are elided from the collective memory and justice is denied to those victims of disasters which occur beyond the “self-reverent gaze” of Western society. It concludes by suggesting that the starting point to diminishing this hierarchy, and in turn confronting the ubiquity of disaster itself, must be an ethical recalibration on the part of first world governments.

In recent months Dean has also published work in The Guardian, The Conversation, Popular Music and Society and Metro Screen Journal.

Dean is currently coordinating the QUT Justice undergraduate subject ‘Deviance.’