Faculty of Arts and Education

School of Humanities and Social Sciences


   A/Prof. Darren Palmer

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Position Associate Professor
Email darren.palmer@deakin.edu.au
Area School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Phone +61 3 522 72283
Campus Geelong
Location Waurn Ponds (Room ic2.203)
Role and profile Dr Darren Palmer (BA Hons, MA Criminological Studies, PhD) is the past convenor of the new major sequence in Criminology
in the BA. He has had many years teaching experience at La Trobe University (Law & Legal Studies)and Deakin University (Police Studies/Criminology). He has taught in a range of areas including criminal justice, criminal law, psychology and crime, policing, and criminology research methods.
Teaching responsibilities Bachelor of Criminology, Bachelor of Criminology/LLB
Research interests He has published widely in a number of areas and is a leading radio and television expert commentator on policing and criminal justice issues.

His current research interests include:
* Policing and criminal justice histories;
* The professionalization of police practice;
* Police education;
* Police memorials;
* Police pursuits;
* Changing forms of policing and security in Australia and internationally;
* The impact of terrorism on policing;
* Policing accountability;
* Managerialism;
* Governmentality; and
* Prisoner access to tertiary study.
Current research projects Current funded research of approximately $900,000 examining a variety of topics including:
  • evaluation of interventions addressing alcohol and violence in the night-time economy;

  • the use of 'new' technology in the night-time economy with an emphasis on ID scanners;

  • Australian Sudanese immigrants and their perceptions and experience of criminal justice;

  • rural and regional justice
Service to the University,
discipline or community  		 He has also been involved in a number of university and community activities, including:
  • Executive Committee, Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology, Victorian representative (November 2009-2011)

  • member of the Geelong Local Safety Committee (2005 - current

  • Chairperson, Geelong Drug Action Plan Committee (2009 - current)

  • member of the Safer Cities and Shires Senior Management Team, Geelong (1999-2001)

  • founding member of a Police Community Consultative Committee;

  • elected member of the State Committee of the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties;

  • co-convenor of several conferences and seminars, including Zero Tolerance: a community appraisal (June, 1999); National Crime Autority/Civil Liberties Conference Liberty, Law Enforcement and Accountability (1994); Australian Law and Society Conference (1992);

  • editor of the Socio-Legal Bulletin;

  • Founding member, Quality of Life research centre (Deakin University, 1999-);

  • elected member of the National Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (1992-5);

  • Editorial Committee, Alternative Law Journal 1992-7);

  • Member of Editorial committee of the international journal Crime Prevention and Community Safety (1998-)

  • Member of the editorial committee of Police Practice and Research: An International Journal


He has been involved in a number of funded research programs including:
  • civil litigation against Australian police

  • an examination of police historical records (London);

  • crime reparation/victim-offender mediation (Queensland);

  • Private prosecutions:

  • national evaluation of crime prevention programs in Australia;

  • Public attitudes to police, crime and safety in rural Victoria;

  • Police-Youth Initiatives in Victoria


Professional Associations
  • Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (1988-)

  • Criminal Justice History Research Unit, Griffith University (1994-)


Higher Degree by Research Examiner
He has examined HDR and Honours theses from the University of Melbourne, Monash Universty, RMIT, Griffith University and Deakin University
Awards 2009 Winner of the Geelong Smartnetwork Researcher of the Year category 'Safer Communities'(with Peter Miller)
2009 Highly Commended, Researcher of the Year: Dr Peter Miller and Dr Darren Palmer.

2007 Academic member of City of Greater Geelong Winner of the Premiers Gold Award in the 2007 Victorian Crime and Violence. Prevention Awards
Research link View Deakin associated research data
Additional URLs

Researcher of the Year Awards

Deakin University acknowledges the traditional land owners of present campus sites.

22nd April 2013