Criminology Research Unit (CRU)
The Criminology Research Unit (CRU) promotes criminology as a critical field of study and research leading to improved policy evaluation and development. To achieve this, the CRU proudly collaborates with local Tasmanian communities, as well as Australian and international governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.
The CRU was first established in 2000; it is being expanded and re-launched in 2021. It operates within the School of Social Sciences, College of Arts, Law and Education at the University of Tasmania. The CRU offers research and consultancies undertaken by professionals with diverse interests and broad skill sets. Current areas of expertise within the CRU include:
- incarceration and prison issues affecting men and women, community corrections, and working with offenders
- environmental criminology, harm, and ecological justice
- forensic studies, and communication in the criminal justice system by police and other professionals
- crime prevention, social programmes, local government and evaluation research
- historical criminology, and archival research
- sexual violence against adults and children, victim therapeutic needs, and perpetrator prevention
- youth studies, juvenile justice, children's courts, and youth gangs
If you would like us to lend our expertise to one of your projects or are looking to collaborate please contact the Co-Directors, Dr Loene Howes or Dr Vicky Nagy
Contact

Co-Director

Co-Director
Criminology Research Unit
School of Social Sciences
University of Tasmania
Private Bag 22
HOBART TAS 7001
Tel: +61 3 6226 2320 or +61 3 6226 6810
Contact: Loene.Howes@utas.edu.au or Vicky.Nagy@utas.edu.au
Alignment with CALE Research
Researchers
To see some of the work that researchers affiliated with the CRU are undertaking at UTAS, please take a look at their profiles
- Dr Loene Howes
- Dr Vicky Nagy
- Dr Michael Guerzoni
- Dr Gwynn MacCarrick
- Dr Max Travers
- Distinguished Professor Rob White
Resources
The Unit periodically releases scoping papers, briefing papers and evaluation reports, including both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Anyone interested in discussing prospective research or consultancies should contact the CRU directors, Loene Howes or Vicky Nagy:
CRU Briefing Papers are peer-reviewed short pieces on various topics created by CRU affiliated researchers.
Rapid evidence reviews are reviews of literature or knowledge that are performed in a simplified manner often with a focus on more timely research evidence synthesis than more traditional systematic reviews. Rapid evidence reviews are especially helpful when research is required in a timely manner.
- Allies for Recovery Comorbidity Family Information Pack (PDF 5.4MB) (Mar 2011)
- Comorbidity Competencies Skills Indicators (PDF 2.5MB) (Mar 2011)
- Alcohol and Other Drugs Practitioner Protocols for Responding to Self Harm (PDF 789.1KB) (Jun 2010)
- Alcohol and Other Drugs Practitioner Protocols for Attempted Suicide and Risk Assessment (PDF 787.5KB) (Jun 2010)
- Domestic Family Violence Practitioner Protocols (PDF 788.7KB) (Jun 2010)
- Panic Attacks and Anxiety Practitioner Protocols (PDF 787KB) (Jun 2010)
- Prescription Drug Misuse Practitioner Protocols (PDF 150KB) (Jun 2010)
- Psychosis Practitioner Protocols (PDF 789KB) (Jun 2010)
- Comorbidity Factsheet No. 1 - Co-occurring mental illness and drug misuse (PDF 168KB) (Sep 2009)
- Comorbidity Factsheet No. 2 - The process of grieving a loss (PDF 593KB) (Sep 2009)
- Comorbidity Factsheet No. 3 - Mephedrone (PDF 558KB) (Jan 2010)
- Comorbidity Worksheet No. 1 - Grieving a loss - the year of firsts (PDF 1MB) (Sep 2009)
- Comorbidity Worksheet No. 2 - Personal wellbeing plan (PDF 1.5MB) (Sep 2009)
- Comorbidity Worksheet No. 3 - Finding the Good [Strengths] (PDF 452KB) (Jun 2010)
- Comorbidity Worksheet No. 4 - Celebrating Strengths (PDF 510KB) (Jun 2010)
- Recovery postcards (PDF 1.7MB) (Mar 2009)
- Comorbidity Improved Services Capacity Building Project (PDF 1.1MB) (Mar 2009)
- Co-existing Mental Illness and Substance Misuse: Information & Contacts for Family and Carers (PDF 505KB) (Mar 2009)
- Comorbidity Quick Contact List (PDF 31KB) (Jan 2009)
- Comorbidity: towards evidence based practice in the ATOD sector (PDF 1.4MB) (Nov 2008)
- A Practitioner's Guide to Mental Health Services in Southern Tasmania (PDF 916KB) (Oct 2008)
- Coming Down the High Road - Doing Residential Drug Rehabilitation - Volume 1: A Literature Review on Drug Rehabilitation (PDF 12.2MB) (Apr 2008)
- Coming Down the High Road - Doing Residential Drug Rehabilitation - Volume 2: Model of Residential Drug Rehabilitation (PDF 4.4MB) (Apr 2008)
- Policing Hazardous Waste Disposal in Australia - project information flyer (PDF 282KB) (Jun 2010)
- Briefing Paper 7 - Policing Hazardous Waste Disposal: Key Trends and Issues (PDF 207KB) (Jul 2012)
- Briefing Paper 6 - Legislation, regulatory models and approaches to compliance and enforcement (PDF 899KB) (Jul 2012)
- Briefing Paper 5 - Prosecution and penalties for illegal dumping of hazardous waste (PDF 700KB) (Jul 2012)
- Briefing Paper 4 - Hazardous waste in Australia - What is the scale of the problem? (PDF 397KB) (Apr 2011)
- Briefing Paper 3 - Key vulnerabilities and limitations in the management of hazardous waste and its disposal (PDF 378KB) (Mar 2011)
- Briefing Paper 2 - What is hazardous waste and what makes it hazardous? (PDF 843KB) (Mar 2011)
- Briefing Paper 1 - The Policing Hazardous Waste Research Project (PDF 251KB) (Mar 2011)
- Briefing Paper 5 - Restructuring Dorian Gray: A New Portrait of Sexual Abuse - Sister Philippa Chapman (PDF 235KB) (Jul 2004)
- Briefing Paper 4 - Prisoner Leave and Victim-Offender Relationships - What Section 42 Means to You - Rob White (PDF 299KB) (Dec 2003)
- Briefing Paper 3 - Prison Culture and the Pains of Imprisonment - Prison Action and Reform (PDF 263KB) (Nov 2003)
- Briefing Paper 2 - Issues in Community Corrections - Rob White and Kevin Tomkins (PDF 232KB) (Mar 2003)
- Briefing Paper 1 - Community Corrections Service Tasmania - Rob White and Kevin Tomkins (PDF 188KB) (Mar 2003)
- Changing the way we think about change - The Australian and New Zealand Critical Criminology Conference proceedings 2012
- Occasional Paper 3 - Food Matters- Diane Heckenberg and Danielle Cody (PDF 237.0KB) (Jun 2006)
- Occasional Paper 2 - An Evaluation of the "Inside Out" Prison Program - Rob White and Ron Mason (PDF 361KB) (Nov 2003)
- Occasional Paper 1 - Crime Data Collection in Tasmania : A Register - Compiled by Rob White and Sue Willis (PDF 285KB) (Mar 2003)