Agency overview

The Criminology Research Council (CRC) was established by the Criminology Research Act 1971 and is an integral part of a state, territory and Australian Government-funded approach to research on criminological issues in Australia today.

The principal objectives of the CRC are to support research that is relevant to current and future public policy issues, foster the undertaking of quality criminological research and ensure that CRC supported research is disseminated effectively.

The CRC provides a forum for Attorneys-General and their representitives around Australia to assess needs in the field of criminological research and to fund specific research projects in universities, government agencies and elsewhere. The fund receives contributions every year from the Australian, state and territory governments.

Research funded by the Council addresses the national research priorities in a number of ways. Protecting Australia from crime and strengthening the social and economic fabric under priority areas 2 and 4 are of particular relevance. Research has improved the evidence base for policy and practice, as well as public awareness of major types of offending, victimisation risk factors, and effective measures to reduce and prevent crime.

The Council's funds may be disseminated through the research grants program as well as a consultancy program. For its consultancies, the Council identifies topics of policy importance for research and then develops proposals, which are publicly advertised. These consultancies are designed to meet highly specific objectives to which the Council has accorded priority. Such research, for example, could be designed to contribute to, or complement, the work of national initiatives by other organisations, or state/territory initiatives that have clear policy or best practice implications for other governments within Australia.

Through the library, the CRC-funded research reports are listed on Libraries Australia and also on CINCH, the Australian criminology database, which is publicly available online. With hundreds of libraries Australia-wide participating in Libraries Australia, CRC reports receive wide coverage. Details of CRC-funded projects, and the reports submitted in fulfilment of the projects, are posted on the CRC's website.

Under grant funding arrangements, the grantees are able to distribute their final report themselves. Many researchers choose to publish in the form of books and journal articles, making them readily available to the broader community. They also distribute copies to appropriate government departments and agencies. Grantees also provide a draft paper, which may be produced for publication in the AIC's Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice series or where appropriate in the Research and public policy series.