Dr Ian Warren received a small Centre for Contemporary Histories (CCH) research grant in 2023 to undertake a joint research initiative with the Geelong Chapter of University of the Third Age (U3A). Members of U3A globally are retirees picking up study on a voluntary basis, often covering areas they were unable or had no time to pursue during their adult lives. Ian and several other members of CCH have had a long history in sharing their knowledge on a range of topics with the Geelong Chapter. An overview of the project and some of Ian’s findings can be found here ..read more

Applications now open. A PhD scholarship is available to initiate and conduct research on the topic ‘Preventing Water Theft in the Murray-Darling Basin’. Research topic While some threats are undoubtedly climate induced the theft of water is playing an increasingly significant role in undermining and compromising Australia’s water security. In Australia, relatively little is known of the historical and contemporary context of water theft, and the parameters of the phenomenon remain under-researched. What is known is that ‘overuse and variable source replenishment’ has brought the problem of ..read more

HDR Scholarship – Network science and covert threats Applications now open. A PhD scholarship is available to initiate and conduct research on the topic ‘Network science and covert threats’. Research topic Network science offers unique concepts, theories, and methods to analyse and understand relationships between a given set of social entitles (individuals, groups, etc.) in ways that directly inform the identification, anticipation, and disruption of covert threats. This project aims to leverage the untapped potential of network science for analysing and disrupting crime and security risks. D ..read more

In collaboration with the SurfRider Foundation Surf Coast Branch and the Australian Privacy Foundation, Deakin Criminology’s Dr Monique Mann and Dr Ian Warren have prepared a report that examines a SurfCam that is owned and operated by Swellnet PTY LTD, and is fixed to a private residence on the cliffs overlooking the Bells Beach Surfing Recreational Reserve (BBSRR) on the Surf Coast of Victoria. SurfCams provide surfers with the ability to remotely view surfing conditions and decide whether, when, and where to go surfing. They have the potential to create impacts across social, en ..read more

Dr Ian Warren has recently been interviewed about the internet of things on Episode 14 of the Outside the Screen Podcast. The podcast can be accessed at the following link: https://outsidethescreen.substack.com/p/episode-14-prosocial-video-games?utm_campaign=email-post&r=2h93ny&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#details   ..read more

Reconceptualising organised(cyber)crime: The case of ransomware Abstract The concept of organised cybercrime has been the subject of much debate over the last decade. Many researchers who have applied scholarly definitions of organised crime to cyber-criminal groups have concluded that such groups are not “organised criminal groups” and do not engage in “organised crime”. This paper adopts a different perspective to argue that certain cyber-criminal groups involved in ransomware can and should be considered organised crime if a more contemporary and flexible framework for conceptualising organ ..read more

Date: Thurs 12 October 2023 Time: 4-6 pm In person: Deakin Downtown, Collins Square, Tower 2, Level 12, 727 Collins St, Melbourne Online: Zoom Illicit firearms are an enabler of organized criminal groups and of illicit markets. Illicit firearms facilitate battles for market dominance, deter state actors from intervening, and are used to threaten and coerce communities, to extort money from victims, and to facilitate engagement in a range of other organized crimes. Firearms are used to gain dominance in conflicts between organized criminal groups, to protect and extend territories, and to faci ..read more

Deakin University is hosting the Illicit Network Workshop in December 2023. Details of the program and registration can be found at: https://web-eur.cvent.com/event/f14a9ea9-591a-479f-a3d5-5a4744bbc115/summary The Illicit Networks Workshop (INW) includes the leading scholars and analysts from across the world that share a research interest in the use of network analysis in furthering the understanding of the activities of individuals, groups and organisations engaged in organised crime, gangs, transnational crime, terrorism, economic crime and corruption issues. The INW is designed with t ..read more

Register your in-person attendance via Eventbrite: The Crime-Crypto Nexus: Nuances across crypto-crime transactions Tickets, Wed 28/06/2023 at 3:00 pm | Eventbrite C2G Seminar flyer_Leuprecht (The Crypto-Crime Nexus 28 June 2023) (002 ..read more

‘Tonight I’ll either be in jail or dead’ – women who use fatal force in the context of family violence –  On Wednesday 15th February, Associate Director Elena Campbell was privileged to facilitate an expert panel of academics and practitioners who work in a particularly specialist and complex area. Women who experience long term abuse and coercive control from their partners – and who then use fatal force as a means of defending or protecting themselves or their children – have repeatedly been failed by service and justice systems. Women from marginalised communities are doubly fa ..read more