Types of research supported by SAL
SAL supports quantitative and mixed-methods research using sensitive administrative data. Typical research domains include criminology, justice policy, social interventions, offender rehabilitation, and public health. While based at Griffith, the lab is open to national and international researchers, provided they meet data governance ethics, and security requirements.
Data Custodians
Queensland Police Service
Individual‑level crime incident data from Queensland covering 2008–2021, including when and where incidents occurred, the types of offences, outcomes, and brief descriptions, as well as information about victims and offenders such as age, gender and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status.
Queensland Cros-sector Research Collaboration
Linked government records from an ARC‑funded project examining mental illness and offending across the life course. The data covers selected Queensland birth cohorts and brings together information from police, courts, corrections, child safety, youth justice and health, linked under a single person identifier.
Queensland Corrective Services
Prisoner and community corrections data for Queensland from 2008–2019, updated annually, including prisoner census information (such as location, demographics and sentence details) as well as community supervision, movements in and out of custody, and assessments related to risk and reoffending.
WEBINAR: A discussion about Griffith University's Social Analytics Lab
26 May 2022 - Social Analytics Lab Webinar
SAL enables a new breed of impact-driven social science research, applying cutting edge analytics to large scale administrative data sets to solve complex real world problems. SAL has been purpose-built to house large, highly sensitive datasets. These data are protected by a range of industry standard security protocols and remain the property of the data providers. Researchers from any national or international academic institution are welcome to apply for access to SAL.
Presenters discuss what SAL is, who can access it and how, and its current data holdings. Researchers describe how they have used SAL data and the types of research it can be useful for.
Highlights
Offending and mental illness: Understanding the experiences of Australian First Nations People across the life course
James Ogilvie
The project aims to address the gaps in knowledge regarding the relationship between mental illness and offending for Indigenous Australians. It is well established, both in Australia and internationally, that mental health problems are highly prevalent among people who encounter the criminal justice system. However, little is known about the impact of race on this relationship or about the sequencing and dynamic nature of the relationship across the life course.
Intergenerational Continuity of Maltreatment: An Empirical Investigation
Emma McKenzie
This research investigates how experiences of child maltreatment may continue—or break—across generations. Using linked, population‑level longitudinal data from the Queensland Cross‑sector Research Collaboration, the study tracks individuals’ contact with child protection systems both as victims in childhood and as adults responsible for harm. By examining related life‑course factors such as offending, mental health and domestic violence, the project identifies risk and protective factors to inform prevention and early intervention strategies.
Female Pathways to Offending: Investigating Precursors to Promote Prevention
Aydaka Kuluk
This thesis explores how and why women come into contact with the criminal justice system, focusing on different offending pathways across the life course. Drawing on Queensland‑wide linked administrative data held in the Social Analytics Lab, the research examines how risk and protective factors—such as child protection, health, mental health and domestic violence system contact—shape female offending patterns. The findings aim to inform more effective gender‑responsive prevention and intervention approaches.
Understanding the complexity of child maltreatment and domestic violence
Brigitte Gilbert
This project examines how domestic violence victimisation and perpetration overlap with child maltreatment and criminal offending over time. Using longitudinal linked data from the Queensland Cross‑sector Research Collaboration, the study shows significant co‑occurrence across these systems, with patterns differing by gender, Indigenous status and parental status. The findings highlight the need for more integrated and coordinated service responses across justice, child protection and domestic violence systems.
Contact the Griffith Data Trust
Find us
Reach out and locate Facility
- Data Trust Lab
- datatrustlab@griffith.edu.au
- Social Analytics Lab
- socialanalyticslab@griffith.edu.au