Research

Globally recognised for our research strengths and innovations in teaching, our impact-driven research transforms lives and shapes the future.

Criminology

Discipline Lead | Brian Stout

The core agenda of Criminology at Western Sydney University is to trace the divergences between social and criminal justice through the critical scrutiny of criminal justice systems and their practices. Our research on violence includes: gender violence, homicide, institutional, state and symbolic violence; drug policies and harm reduction; and law enforcement and legal practices. This engages with how extant structural inequities in criminal justice result in intersectional marginalisation across gender, race/Indigeneity, class, sexuality, and disability.

Through these specialisations, Western’s Criminology and Policing researchers are dedicated to nurturing industry engagements and achieving external impact that fosters the local and international social and policy needs of both the greater Western Sydney and Asia-Pacific regions. Criminology research at Western reflects the world standard as indicated in the Excellence in Research for Australia rankings. Our research-led teaching reinforces these strengths and engagement activities through partnership pedagogies and a commitment to the decolonisation of our curriculum.

See Global Rankings

Academics for this Discipline

Acknowledgement of Country

With respect for Aboriginal cultural protocol and out of recognition that its campuses occupy their traditional lands, Western Sydney University acknowledges the Darug, Dharawal, Gadigal, Gundungurra and Wiradjuri peoples and thanks them for their support of its work in their lands (Greater Western Sydney and beyond).