Russell Brewer

Associate Professor Russell Brewer

Associate Prof/Reader

School of Social Sciences

Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics

Russell Brewer (Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor of Criminology, and the Deputy Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics.

Russell leads Adelaide Cybercrime Laboratory (www.AdelaideCybercrime.org), which houses a diverse range of projects designed to improve our understanding of the causes, prevention and policing of cybercrime. This work focuses on both the technological and human factors of cybercrime – identifying the risk factors associated with (cyber)criminality, as well as working directly with law enforcement to develop automated software tools to detect and identify perpetrators of cybercrime. Russell has published his research findings through several leading publication outlets, holds multiple nationally competitive grants, and has been called upon by Government Agencies both domestically and abroad to advise on policy.

  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2021 - ongoing Associate Professor University of Adelaide
    2019 - 2021 Senior Lecturer University of Adelaide
    2016 - 2018 Senior Lecturer Flinders University
    2013 - 2016 Lecturer Flinders University
    2012 - 2012 Postdoctoral Research Fellow Griffith University

  • Awards and Achievements
    Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
    2019 Teaching Award Vice-Chancellor's Innovation in Teaching Award Flinders University Australia -
    2014 Research Award Vice-Chancellor's Award for Early Career Researchers Flinders University Australia -

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2012 Australian National University Australia PhD
    2007 Flinders University Australia BA (Hons)
    2006 Simon Fraser University Canada BA

  • Research Interests
    Causes and Prevention of Crime Computer System Security Crime Policy Criminology
Year Amount Funding Body Project
2025 $555,000 Australian Research Council Linkage Project Consolidating intelligence data to identify victims of child sexual abuse
2022 $271,541 Australian Institute of Criminology Advancing child sexual abuse victim and perpetrator identification using biometrics
2021 $50,000 Cybersecurity Cooperative Research Centre Examining the legal and ethical dimensions of using automated data collection technologies to combat cyber threats in Australia
2020 $349,762 Centre for Invasive Species Solutions Biosecurity surveillance of e-commerce and other online platforms for illegal trade in plants
2019 $169,298 Australian Institute of Criminology Developing automated audio and facial recognition biometric tools for detecting child exploitation material online
2019 $20,000 Cybersecurity Cooperative Research Centre Adolescent pathways into cybercrime: Assessing the impact of interventions and informing prevention
2017 $296,000 Australian Research Council Discovery Project Becoming delinquent online: A longitudinal adolescent study
2017 $1,526,000 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council  Economical, psychological and societal impacts of ransomware
2017 $54,625 UK Home Office and National Cybercrime Unit Developing approaches to prevent cybercrime

Russell coordinates the following courses:

Code Title
CRIM 2004 Criminology across borders
CRIM 3002 Criminological research
CRIM 3006 Cybercrime and cyber-deviance

 

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2025 Principal Supervisor Re-framing police classification systems to enhance child sexual abuse investigations through network science. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Warren James Bulmer
    2024 Co-Supervisor Disaggregating Extreme-Right Ideological Groups: An Australian Analysis Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Aaron Thomas Calbert
    2024 Co-Supervisor Increasing Access to Justice for Autistic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Courtney Tayla Spence
    2023 Principal Supervisor Advancing the prosecution of child exploitation offences. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Bec Medhurst
    2023 Principal Supervisor Assessing the extent to which third party regulatory activities impact online illicit wildlife trade. Doctor of Philosophy under a Jointly-awarded Degree Agreement with Doctorate Full Time Miss Ashley Jean Allen

  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2019 - 2020 Principal Supervisor Punishing Disability: The Lived Experience of Incarcerated Women with Cognitive Disabilities in Australian Prisons Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mrs Julie-Anne Toohey
    2019 - 2025 Principal Supervisor Digital Drift, Online Sexual Behaviours and Internet Pathology in Adolescents Master of Philosophy Master Part Time Caitlan Elizabeth Sian Miller

  • Editorial Boards
    Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
    2020 - ongoing Board Member Policing and Society: an international journal of research and policy Taylor and Francis United Kingdom

  • Offices Held
    Date Office Name Institution Country
    2020 - ongoing Convenor, Cybercrime and Digital Criminology Thematic Group Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology Australia

  • Presentation
    Date Topic Presented at Institution Country
    2020 - 2020 Young people’s profiles of cyber delinquency. San Francisco American Society of Criminology conference United States
    2018 - 2018 Young People, the Internet and Emerging Pathways into Criminality: A study of Australian Adolescents. Atlanta American Society of Criminology conference United States
  • Position: Associate Prof/Reader
  • Phone: 83135964
  • Email: russell.brewer@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Napier, floor 1
  • Org Unit: School of Social Sciences
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External Profiles