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Peter Grabosky
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Professor Peter Grabosky


For more information on Peter's books see the Publications and Books pages, and also his CV (PDF 188KB).


Peter Grabosky holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University, and has written extensively on criminal justice and public policy. His general interests are in computer crime, policing, and regulatory failure. Peter is interested specifically in how non-governmental institutions may be harnessed in furtherance of public policy. Peter is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Experimental Criminology, and was the 2006 winner of the Sellin-Glueck Award of the American Society of Criminology for contributions to comparative and international criminology.

Peter migrated to Australia from the United States of America in 1978, to become the Foundation Director of the South Australian Office of Crime Statistics. There, he established comprehensive computer databases of statistics from criminal courts, and chaired an interdepartmental committee on victims of crime. The committee charted a course for victims' support in Australia and beyond.

In 1983, Peter moved to the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), where, with the exception of a two-year secondment to The Australian National University, he spent the next 18½ years. At the AIC, Peter served as Director of Research for the National Committee on Violence, whose report, 'Violence: Directions for Australia', provided a cross-sectoral, whole-of-society roadmap for the prevention and control of violence in Australia. Peter's later years at the AIC saw him address the newly-emerging field of computer-related crime. Written in collaboration with Russell Smith, Peter's books on the subject contributed to the development of policy in this field, and have received international recognition.

Peter’s recent books include: 'Lengthening the Arm of the Law' (with Ayling and Shearing) (Cambridge University Press 2009); 'Electronic Crime' (Pearson Prentice Hall 2007); and 'Cyber Criminals on Trial' (with Smith and Urbas) (Cambridge University Press 2004). The latter book won the Distinguished Book Award of American Society of Criminology’s Division of International Criminology.

Peter rose to become Deputy Director of the AIC before joining the Regulatory Institutions Network (RegNet) in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS) at The Australian National University, in 2001. As a Professor at RegNet, he has been Co-Director (with Clifford Shearing) of Security 21: International Centre for Security and Justice. The Centre’s research has focused on various means of enhancing the capacity of police organisations, while ensuring equity, accountability and cost-effectiveness in the delivery of police services.

Over the course of his career, Peter has held a number of visiting appointments, including Russell Sage Fellow in Law and Social Science at Yale Law School (1976-78); Visiting Professor at the Institute of Comparative Law in Japan, Chuo University (1993); Visiting Expert for the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI) (1995; 1998); and Visiting Professor at the Chinese People’s Public Security University (1996; 2006). Peter was a Rapporteur on the Expert Working Group on Crimes Related to the Computer Network at the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Vienna (2000). From 1998 to 2002, Peter was President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology. Peter has been the Co-Chair of the Crime and Justice Steering Group for The Campbell Collaboration since 2007.

In 2007, The Australian National University and Griffith University were successful in winning an Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security. Peter is the Centre's Deputy Director.