Convict Criminology

What Are the Barriers to the Development of Convict Criminology in Australia?

“…The CC movement is a 'collection of individuals united by a general philosophy that the discipline of criminology benefi ts from the educated input of those with experience in the realities of crime and incarceration either as prisoners, prison workers or offi cial visitors (Newbold, 2017). The members of the CC group conduct numerous activities such as research, publishing books and papers, presenting research at conferences, assisting with the development of policy and procedure, providing role modelling to previously incarcerated people, contributing to academic and career guidance and assisting others to fi nd work in academic positions across the world (Ross and Richards, 2003;Richards et al, 2008;Richards et al, 2010;Newbold and Ross, 2013;Richards, 2013;Newbold et al, 2014;Ross et al, 2014;Richards, 2015;Ross and Darke, 2018).…”

“…The CC perspective has also been utilised by former incarcerated academics in other parts of the world including New Zealand (Newbold and Ivory, 1993;Weiss and South, 1998;Hakeem et al, 2015;Newbold, 2016;Ross and Vianello, 2020). One of the dreams of CC pioneer John Irwin was an international movement, this is happening, slowly, but challenges remain in Australia (Ross and Richards, 2003;Newbold, 2017). The challenges faced by several countries such as Australia, New Zealand and other smaller populated countries are unique when compared to countries with higher populations and incarceration levels.…”

“…Convict Criminology (CC) is a concept that has its roots in the USA in the mid-1990s and was created by a group of previously incarcerated academics (Ross and Richards, 2003). The movement has spread to other countries, with similar groups commencing in the UK and Canada with large numbers of active members (Richards and Ross, 2001;Aresti, 2012;Ross et al, 2014;Newbold, 2017;Ross and Darke, 2018) with others such as New Zealand having smaller numbers of members (Newbold, 2017). Some countries are in the process of formalizing a CC group, but due to numerous barriers the progress is slow (Richards et al, 2008;Aresti, 2012;Hakeem et al, 2015;Newbold, 2017;Earle, 2018;Ross and Vianello, 2020).…”

“…The movement has spread to other countries, with similar groups commencing in the UK and Canada with large numbers of active members (Richards and Ross, 2001;Aresti, 2012;Ross et al, 2014;Newbold, 2017;Ross and Darke, 2018) with others such as New Zealand having smaller numbers of members (Newbold, 2017). Some countries are in the process of formalizing a CC group, but due to numerous barriers the progress is slow (Richards et al, 2008;Aresti, 2012;Hakeem et al, 2015;Newbold, 2017;Earle, 2018;Ross and Vianello, 2020). This paper will discuss the barriers faced in developing convict criminology in Australia.…”

The Importance of Incorporating Lived Experience in Efforts to Reduce Australian Reincarceration Rates

“…We argue there are concerns about using 'convict' criminology in the Australian context given Australia's history of colonisation. There has been a small number of Australians who have served prison sentences and then proceeded to university studies (Newbold 2017). Anu Singh is an Australian convict criminologist who served a 10-year sentence in the 1990s.…”