Indigenous Criminology

Indigenous Criminology is the first book to explore indigenous peoples’ contact with criminal justice systems comprehensively in a contemporary and historical context. Drawing on comparative indigenous material from North America, Australia, and New Zealand, it both addresses the theoretical underpinnings of a specific indigenous criminology and explores this concept’s broader policy and practice implications for criminal justice at large. Written by leading criminologists specializing in indigenous peoples, Indigenous Criminology argues for the importance of indigenous knowledge and methodologies in shaping this field and suggests that the concept of colonialism is fundamental to understanding contemporary problems of criminology, such as deaths in custody, high imprisonment rates, police brutality, and the high levels of violence in some indigenous communities. Prioritizing the voices of indigenous peoples, this book will make a significant and lasting contribution to the decolonizing of criminology.

Chris Cunneen holds joint appointments as professor of criminology at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and in the Cairns Institute at James Cook University, Australia. Among his many books are the coauthoredJuvenile Justice: Youth and Crime in Australia and Indigenous Legal Relations in Australia.Juan Tauri is an indigenous criminologist from Aotearoa (New Zealand). He holds a visiting appointment at the University of Wollongong, Australia.