Along with traditional offences, new cyber, technology and environment-related crimes are fast developing. Our research aims to understand both old and new threats to safety and security, and develop new ways for criminal justice agencies and communities to combat threats and reduce harms.

Research focus areas

  • Historical and contemporary representations of crime, criminal justice and security
  • Crime victimization, patterns, and analysis
  • Communities, guardianship and crime prevention
  • Corruption, and corporate, white collar and middle class crime and regulation
  • Policing drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, minorities, youth, extremism, and mental illness
  • Use of force, technology and innovation in criminal justice agencies
  • Criminal justice organisations, leadership, operations, practices, and partnerships
  • Health/criminal justice overlaps and harm reduction in criminal justice
  • Evolving security threats; new harms in cyber, technological and environmental domains

COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM

Dr Keiran Hardy is a Lecturer in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and a member of GCI’s Executive and Leadership Research Committee. In 2018 and 2019, Keiran completed a Griffith University Postdoctoral Fellowship investigating how theories of crime prevention can help to understand global approaches to countering violent extremism. As part of that project, he examined efforts to counter right-wing extremism (RWE) in Western Europe and Scandinavia, devising lessons that the Australian government can learn from these overseas approaches. His current research focuses on the rising threat of RWE in Australia, including white supremacy and hateful attitudes towards minority groups.

He is examining how governments can best regulate technology and social media companies to counter these harmful attitudes online. While jihadist terrorism in the style of al-Qaeda and ISIS remains a significant threat, right-wing extremism poses the next major security challenge for Australian police and intelligence agencies. Countering this threat is particularly challenging as it raises difficult questions about how democratic governments can enhance security by countering extreme political views.

Read more about Keiran's research:

EVOLVING SECURITIES INITIATIVE

The Evolving Securities Initiative (ESI) is made up of researchers at the Griffith Criminology Institute and scholars and professionals globally

Scholars at Griffith University (working in conjunction with collaborators from across Australia and more broadly) are undertaking cutting edge research on the history and development of today’s security challenges. The ESI fosters avenues for cross-disciplinary work among criminologists, historians, anthropologists, political theorists, sociologists, international relations scholars, natural scientists and security professionals from the public and private sectors.

The Griffith Criminology Institute, through its Securities Grand Challenge Initiative, provides infrastructural support for the ESI.

Visit website