Chris Cunneen | University of Technology Sydney (original) (raw)

Papers by Chris Cunneen

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

What I intend to argue in this chapter is simple enough: the current direction of the criminal ju... more What I intend to argue in this chapter is simple enough: the current direction of the criminal justice system is one that could be regarded as criminogenic to the extent that it fosters and compounds Indigenous anger. Thus what I would like to achieve through the development of this argument is a deeper understanding of the way in which the criminal justice system may be part of the problem (particularly the way it is currently configured) rather than part of the solution to Indigenous anger and consequently Indigenous crime. The criminal justice system is not an 'excuse' for Indigenous anger, however it may well be a part of the explanation. The purpose of the chapter is to cast light on the institutional, political and historical factors connected directly to the criminal justice system that cause at least one layer of Indigenous anger.

Youth Justice and Penality in Comparative Context

Justice Reinvestment, 2016

In little over a decade, the concept of justice reinvestment has captured the imagination of comm... more In little over a decade, the concept of justice reinvestment has captured the imagination of communities, the actors in the criminal justice system and legislatures alike in a range of Western countries. With its promise of reduced spending, decarceration and improved public safety, justice reinvestment emerged at a unique point in time as a reaction to mass incarceration. In the USA, and increasingly elsewhere, a combination of fiscal, political and societal conditions are favourable to the emergence of strategies of penal reduction, including justice reinvestment, to an extent not seen since the 1970s.

For years prior to and following the significant work of the Australian National Committee on Vio... more For years prior to and following the significant work of the Australian National Committee on Violence (NCV), the subject of Australian Indigenous people and violence has attracted intense focus and debate. Some two and a half decades ago, the NCV report stressed the need to understand the complex nature of the causes of violence in contemporary Indigenous communities. Yet debates continue to be dominated by colonising discourses of pathology, tribalism and barbarity, or simplistic interpretations of the impact of colonialism, which is usually reduced to frontier violence. Moving beyond the restricted focus on Indigenous peoples' so-called 'problem' with violence, this chapter seeks to provide a more nuanced and critical interpretation of the complex relationship between Indigenous people and violence. Building on the work of a range of Indigenous writers (ATSISJC 2011; Dodson 2003; Moreton-Robinson 2011; Watson 2009), and postcolonial (Said 1995; Spivak 1988) and decolo...

Theoretical Criminology

Drawing on comparative work between Australia and England and Wales, this article considers issue... more Drawing on comparative work between Australia and England and Wales, this article considers issues of criminalization, racialization and youth justice. The article explores both the overt and more subtle forms of racializing and criminalizing young people and highlights the necessity for historically and situationally contextualized understandings of identity and race. The rationalities, practices and discourses of youth justice through which racialization occurs are identified, including how race itself becomes solidified as a category in which people, in many cases, from heterogeneous backgrounds, can be captured and named. In particular there is discussion of the rise of apparently neutral and non-discriminatory justifications for intervention found in the use of risk assessment that leads to racialized differentiation. It is argued that these practices both mask race in their practices and mark race in their outcomes.

Annual Review of Criminology

This review provides a critical overview of Indigenous peoples’ interactions with criminal justic... more This review provides a critical overview of Indigenous peoples’ interactions with criminal justice systems. It focuses on the experiences of Indigenous peoples residing in the four major Anglo-settler-colonial jurisdictions of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. The review is built around a number of key arguments, including that centuries of colonization have left Indigenous peoples across all four jurisdictions in a position of profound social, economic, and political marginalization; that the colonial project, especially the socioeconomic marginalization resulting from it, plays a significant role in the contemporary over-representation of Indigenous peoples in settler-colonial criminal justice systems; and that a key failure of both governments and the academy has been to disregard Indigenous peoples responses to social harm and to rely too heavily on Western theorizing, policy, and practice to solve the problem of Indigenous over-representation. Finally, we a...

Indigenous Criminology, 2016

Borders and Crime, 2012

[Extract] At the beginning of this century, restorative justice had come to receive a relatively ... more [Extract] At the beginning of this century, restorative justice had come to receive a relatively high degree of acceptance in many jurisdictions. By 2002 it found its way onto the United Nations (UN) agenda, when the Economic and Social Council adopted the Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programs in Criminal Matters. Restorative justice increasingly appeared to be the answer to a range of crime control problems, ranging from local issues like juvenile offending to international crimes and human rights abuses in transitional societies. For problems as diverse as child misbehaviour at school and ethnic cleansing and genocide, restorative justice was seen to offer a viable strategy both for satisfying victim needs and for reintegrating offenders. From seemingly humble beginnings as a localized justice strategy to taking a place on the UN's agenda, restorative justice appeared as an alternative to retributive justice.

Restorative Justice Critical Issues, 2003

Abstract: The idealized male sex role is usually portrayed as tough, competitive, emotionally ine... more Abstract: The idealized male sex role is usually portrayed as tough, competitive, emotionally inexpressive, public, active, and autonomous. The specific content of these characteristics varies, however, depending on the culture, class, and ethnic background of young men. ...

The Wiley Handbook of Violence and Aggression

Page 1. Editors: Chris Cunneen - David Fraser • Stephen Tomsen Hawkins Press Page 2. Page 3. Face... more Page 1. Editors: Chris Cunneen - David Fraser • Stephen Tomsen Hawkins Press Page 2. Page 3. Faces of Hate hate crime in Australia editors Chris Cunneen David Fraser Stephen Tomsen Hawkins Press 1997 Thi s On< E34S-98 ■7A1 Page 4. ...

Crime, Deviance and Society

Alternative Law Journal

This article provides a brief analysis of the place, role and purpose of monetary penalties and t... more This article provides a brief analysis of the place, role and purpose of monetary penalties and their theoretical underpinnings. Against this critique of financial penalties and the revenue ('the Benjamins') 1 that flows from penalty infringement notices, the article examines the six-fold growth in penalty infringement notices 2 issued to children and young people in NSW between 1998 and 2013. It outlines the disproportionate impact of monetary penalties on them and the increasing displacement of diversionary options, raising questions about the appropriateness of issuing infringement notices to children and young people. This article also addresses positive developments in relation to children and young people, including the introduction of Work and Development Orders (WDOs) in NSW.

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

... 8 8 Some of these points can be found in a various articles including (Burke 1998; Dixon 1998... more ... 8 8 Some of these points can be found in a various articles including (Burke 1998; Dixon 1998; Greene 1999; Nicholl 1997; Palmer 1997; Pollard 1997; Wadham 1998). ... Chris Cunneen Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney REFERENCES ...

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

Achieving access to justice has long been regarded as essential to policies for social reform. In... more Achieving access to justice has long been regarded as essential to policies for social reform. In 1973 when the Labor Government introduced the Australian Legal Aid Office with the view of providing means tested legal aid, it was noted by the then Attorney-General, Lionel ...

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

... parents.6 On the face of it, some of the above variables would place groups such as refugeeyo... more ... parents.6 On the face of it, some of the above variables would place groups such as refugeeyouth and unat ... NESB young people were more likely to be injured in the contact with police; Overall the Youth Justice Coalition report concluded that; our survey found that the ...

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

What I intend to argue in this chapter is simple enough: the current direction of the criminal ju... more What I intend to argue in this chapter is simple enough: the current direction of the criminal justice system is one that could be regarded as criminogenic to the extent that it fosters and compounds Indigenous anger. Thus what I would like to achieve through the development of this argument is a deeper understanding of the way in which the criminal justice system may be part of the problem (particularly the way it is currently configured) rather than part of the solution to Indigenous anger and consequently Indigenous crime. The criminal justice system is not an 'excuse' for Indigenous anger, however it may well be a part of the explanation. The purpose of the chapter is to cast light on the institutional, political and historical factors connected directly to the criminal justice system that cause at least one layer of Indigenous anger.

Youth Justice and Penality in Comparative Context

Justice Reinvestment, 2016

In little over a decade, the concept of justice reinvestment has captured the imagination of comm... more In little over a decade, the concept of justice reinvestment has captured the imagination of communities, the actors in the criminal justice system and legislatures alike in a range of Western countries. With its promise of reduced spending, decarceration and improved public safety, justice reinvestment emerged at a unique point in time as a reaction to mass incarceration. In the USA, and increasingly elsewhere, a combination of fiscal, political and societal conditions are favourable to the emergence of strategies of penal reduction, including justice reinvestment, to an extent not seen since the 1970s.

For years prior to and following the significant work of the Australian National Committee on Vio... more For years prior to and following the significant work of the Australian National Committee on Violence (NCV), the subject of Australian Indigenous people and violence has attracted intense focus and debate. Some two and a half decades ago, the NCV report stressed the need to understand the complex nature of the causes of violence in contemporary Indigenous communities. Yet debates continue to be dominated by colonising discourses of pathology, tribalism and barbarity, or simplistic interpretations of the impact of colonialism, which is usually reduced to frontier violence. Moving beyond the restricted focus on Indigenous peoples' so-called 'problem' with violence, this chapter seeks to provide a more nuanced and critical interpretation of the complex relationship between Indigenous people and violence. Building on the work of a range of Indigenous writers (ATSISJC 2011; Dodson 2003; Moreton-Robinson 2011; Watson 2009), and postcolonial (Said 1995; Spivak 1988) and decolo...

Theoretical Criminology

Drawing on comparative work between Australia and England and Wales, this article considers issue... more Drawing on comparative work between Australia and England and Wales, this article considers issues of criminalization, racialization and youth justice. The article explores both the overt and more subtle forms of racializing and criminalizing young people and highlights the necessity for historically and situationally contextualized understandings of identity and race. The rationalities, practices and discourses of youth justice through which racialization occurs are identified, including how race itself becomes solidified as a category in which people, in many cases, from heterogeneous backgrounds, can be captured and named. In particular there is discussion of the rise of apparently neutral and non-discriminatory justifications for intervention found in the use of risk assessment that leads to racialized differentiation. It is argued that these practices both mask race in their practices and mark race in their outcomes.

Annual Review of Criminology

This review provides a critical overview of Indigenous peoples’ interactions with criminal justic... more This review provides a critical overview of Indigenous peoples’ interactions with criminal justice systems. It focuses on the experiences of Indigenous peoples residing in the four major Anglo-settler-colonial jurisdictions of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. The review is built around a number of key arguments, including that centuries of colonization have left Indigenous peoples across all four jurisdictions in a position of profound social, economic, and political marginalization; that the colonial project, especially the socioeconomic marginalization resulting from it, plays a significant role in the contemporary over-representation of Indigenous peoples in settler-colonial criminal justice systems; and that a key failure of both governments and the academy has been to disregard Indigenous peoples responses to social harm and to rely too heavily on Western theorizing, policy, and practice to solve the problem of Indigenous over-representation. Finally, we a...

Indigenous Criminology, 2016

Borders and Crime, 2012

[Extract] At the beginning of this century, restorative justice had come to receive a relatively ... more [Extract] At the beginning of this century, restorative justice had come to receive a relatively high degree of acceptance in many jurisdictions. By 2002 it found its way onto the United Nations (UN) agenda, when the Economic and Social Council adopted the Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programs in Criminal Matters. Restorative justice increasingly appeared to be the answer to a range of crime control problems, ranging from local issues like juvenile offending to international crimes and human rights abuses in transitional societies. For problems as diverse as child misbehaviour at school and ethnic cleansing and genocide, restorative justice was seen to offer a viable strategy both for satisfying victim needs and for reintegrating offenders. From seemingly humble beginnings as a localized justice strategy to taking a place on the UN's agenda, restorative justice appeared as an alternative to retributive justice.

Restorative Justice Critical Issues, 2003

Abstract: The idealized male sex role is usually portrayed as tough, competitive, emotionally ine... more Abstract: The idealized male sex role is usually portrayed as tough, competitive, emotionally inexpressive, public, active, and autonomous. The specific content of these characteristics varies, however, depending on the culture, class, and ethnic background of young men. ...

The Wiley Handbook of Violence and Aggression

Page 1. Editors: Chris Cunneen - David Fraser • Stephen Tomsen Hawkins Press Page 2. Page 3. Face... more Page 1. Editors: Chris Cunneen - David Fraser • Stephen Tomsen Hawkins Press Page 2. Page 3. Faces of Hate hate crime in Australia editors Chris Cunneen David Fraser Stephen Tomsen Hawkins Press 1997 Thi s On< E34S-98 ■7A1 Page 4. ...

Crime, Deviance and Society

Alternative Law Journal

This article provides a brief analysis of the place, role and purpose of monetary penalties and t... more This article provides a brief analysis of the place, role and purpose of monetary penalties and their theoretical underpinnings. Against this critique of financial penalties and the revenue ('the Benjamins') 1 that flows from penalty infringement notices, the article examines the six-fold growth in penalty infringement notices 2 issued to children and young people in NSW between 1998 and 2013. It outlines the disproportionate impact of monetary penalties on them and the increasing displacement of diversionary options, raising questions about the appropriateness of issuing infringement notices to children and young people. This article also addresses positive developments in relation to children and young people, including the introduction of Work and Development Orders (WDOs) in NSW.

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

... 8 8 Some of these points can be found in a various articles including (Burke 1998; Dixon 1998... more ... 8 8 Some of these points can be found in a various articles including (Burke 1998; Dixon 1998; Greene 1999; Nicholl 1997; Palmer 1997; Pollard 1997; Wadham 1998). ... Chris Cunneen Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney REFERENCES ...

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

Achieving access to justice has long been regarded as essential to policies for social reform. In... more Achieving access to justice has long been regarded as essential to policies for social reform. In 1973 when the Labor Government introduced the Australian Legal Aid Office with the view of providing means tested legal aid, it was noted by the then Attorney-General, Lionel ...

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

... parents.6 On the face of it, some of the above variables would place groups such as refugeeyo... more ... parents.6 On the face of it, some of the above variables would place groups such as refugeeyouth and unat ... NESB young people were more likely to be injured in the contact with police; Overall the Youth Justice Coalition report concluded that; our survey found that the ...