Russell Brewer

Research Interests

Causes and Prevention of Crime Computer System Security Crime Policy Criminology

Prof Russell Brewer

Professor

School of Society and Culture

College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD as Principal Supervisor - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Dr Russell Brewer is a Professor of Criminology and research leader at Adelaide University. He has held several senior leadership positions over his acadmic career, including as his Faculty’s Deputy Dean of Research, Associate Dean for Research Engagement, and his School's Academic Lead for Research. Currently, he is serving as the Director of the Australian Cybercrime Observatory.

Professor Brewer's research spans the technological and human dimensions of cybercrime. This work investigates the risk factors driving (cyber)criminal behaviour, while developing AI-driven tools to identify perpetrators and detect emerging trends across large-scale online environments. His program of work is supported by nationally competitive grants and sustained through strong partnerships with law enforcement, defence, and leading industry stakeholders. This research has been published in leading books, academic and trade journals.
 
For more information visit www.CybercrimeObservatory.au

Date Position Institution name
2026 - ongoing Professor Adelaide University
2021 - 2025 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 Research Fellow Griffith University

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 -

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

Year Citation
2026 Holt, K., Holt, T. J., Brewer, R., Cale, J., Logos, K., & Goldsmith, A. (2026). An examination of self-control and opportunity in Non-Consensual Intimate Image Sharing offending among youth. Journal of Criminology, 1-20.
DOI
2026 Cubitt, T., Logos, K., & Brewer, R. (2026). The digital lives of adolescents: National prevalence of internet, technology, and AI use in Australia.
DOI
2026 Logos, K., Brewer, R., Seigfried-Spellar, K. C., Palmer, E., Napier, S., Nicholas, M., . . . Cubitt, T. I. C. (2026). Examining how children experience, interpret, and respond to incidents of online grooming and solicitation: Results from an Australian study. Child Abuse and Neglect, 181, 108291-1-108291-14.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2026 Cubitt, T. I. C., Logos, K., Brewer, R., Mathews, B., Jago, M., & Gannon, C. (2026). Prevalence and disclosure of AI and non-AI online child sexual victimisation: Findings from a national study of Australian adolescents. Child Abuse and Neglect, 181, 108328-1-108328-13.
DOI
2024 Whitten, T., Cale, J., Brewer, R., Logos, K., Holt, T. J., & Goldsmith, A. (2024). Exploring the Role of Self-Control Across Distinct Patterns of Cyber-Deviance in Emerging Adolescence. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 70(10-11), 1080-1099.
DOI Scopus8 WoS10 Europe PMC4
2024 Westlake, B. G., Seigfried-Spellar, K., Brewer, R., Napier, S., Logos, K., & Davidson, J. (2024). Innovations from the launch of the child sexual abuse reduction research network. Child Abuse and Neglect, 155, 106999.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2024 Westlake, B., Brewer, R., Toole, K., Daly, T., Swearingen, T., Fletcher, S., . . . Logos, K. (2024). Benefits and risks of implementing cloud-based technology for child sexual abuse investigations in Australia. Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, (699), 1-18.
DOI
2024 Holt, T. J., Cross, C., Brewer, R., Cale, J., Logos, K., & Goldsmith, A. (2024). Assessing the Correlates of Online Fraud Offending Among Juveniles. Crime and Delinquency, 72(6-7), 1-21.
DOI WoS2
2023 Turner, N., Holt, T. J., Brewer, R., Cale, J., & Goldsmith, A. (2023). Exploring the Relationship between Opportunity and Self-Control in Youth Exposure to and Sharing of Online Hate Content. Terrorism and Political Violence, 35(7), 1604-1619.
DOI Scopus11 WoS9
2023 Malinski, R., Holt, T. J., Cale, J., Brewer, R., & Goldsmith, A. (2023). Applying Routine Activities Theory to Assess On and Offline Bullying Victimization among Australian Youth. Journal of School Violence, 22(1), 1-13.
DOI Scopus6 WoS5
2023 Brewer, R., Whitten, T., Logos, K., Sayer, M., Langos, C., Holt, T. J., . . . Goldsmith, A. (2023). Examining the Psychosocial and Behavioral Factors Associated with Adolescent Engagement in Multiple Types of Cyberdeviance: Results from an Australian Study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 32(7), 2046-2062.
DOI Scopus19 WoS13
2023 Logos, K., Brewer, R., Langos, C., & Westlake, B. (2023). Establishing a framework for the ethical and legal use of web scrapers by cybercrime and cybersecurity researchers: Learnings from a systematic review of Australian research. International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 31(3), 186-212.
DOI Scopus9 WoS7
2023 Logos, K., Brewer, R., Langos, C., & Westlake, B. (2023). Establishing a framework for the ethical and legal use of web scrapers by cybercrime and cybersecurity researchers: learnings from a
systematic review of Australian research. International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 20, 1-27.
DOI
2022 Bright, D., Brewer, R., & Morselli, C. (2022). Reprint of: Using social network analysis to study crime: Navigating the challenges of criminal justice records. Social Networks, 69, 235-250.
DOI Scopus22 WoS19
2021 Holt, T. J., Cale, J., Brewer, R., & Goldsmith, A. (2021). Assessing the role of opportunity and low self-control in juvenile hacking. Crime and Delinquency, 67(5), 662-688.
DOI Scopus23 WoS21
2021 Bright, D., Brewer, R., & Morselli, C. (2021). Using social network analysis to study crime: Navigating the challenges of criminal justice records. Social Networks, 66, 50-64.
DOI Scopus88 WoS70
2021 Holt, K. M., Holt, T. J., Cale, J., Brewer, R., & Goldsmith, A. (2021). Assessing the role of self-control and technology access on adolescent sexting and sext dissemination. Computers in Human Behavior, 125, 106952-1-106952-8.
DOI Scopus21 WoS22
2020 Bright, D., & Brewer, R. (2020). Innovations in research on illicit networks. Global Crime, 21(1), 1-2.
DOI Scopus1
2019 Holt, T. J., Brewer, R., & Goldsmith, A. (2019). Digital drift and the “sense of injustice”: counter-productive policing of youth cybercrime. Deviant Behavior, 40(9), 1144-1156.
DOI Scopus46 WoS35
2018 Brewer, R., Cale, J., Goldsmith, A., & Holt, T. (2018). Young people, the internet, and emerging pathways into criminality: a study of Australian adolescents. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 12(1), 115-132.
DOI Scopus42 WoS33
2017 Brewer, R. (2017). The malleable character of brokerage and crime control: a study of policing, security and network entrepreneurialism on Melbourne’s waterfront. Policing and Society, 27(7), 712-731.
DOI Scopus14 WoS7
2017 Roach Anleu, S., Brewer, R., & Mack, K. (2017). Locating the Judge within Sentencing Research. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 6(2), 46-63.
DOI Scopus11 WoS10
2015 Goldsmith, A., & Brewer, R. (2015). Digital drift and the criminal interaction order. Theoretical Criminology, 19(1), 112-130.
DOI Scopus108 WoS88
2014 Brewer, R., & Grabosky, P. (2014). The Unraveling of Public Security in the United States: The Dark Side of Police-Community Co-Production. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(1), 139-154.
DOI Scopus37 WoS33
2014 Brewer, R. (2014). Policing the Waterfront.
DOI
2013 Brewer, R. (2013). Enhancing Crime Control Partnerships Across Government: Examining the Role of Trust and Social Capital on American and Australian Waterfronts. Police Quarterly, 16(4), 371-394.
DOI Scopus11 WoS9
2012 Brewer, R. (2012). A Snapshot of Crime Prevention Partnerships on Australian and American Waterfronts. CEPS Briefing Paper Series, 1-6.
2008 Brewer, R., & Dalton, D. (2008). Assessing the Importance of Culture in Explaining Drug Use amongst Indigenous Police Detainees in Adelaide. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 20(2), 265-286.
DOI

Year Citation
2019 Brewer, R., Vel-Palumbo, M. D., Hutchings, A., Holt, T., Goldsmith, A., & Maimon, D. (2019). Cybercrime prevention: theory and applications. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
DOI
2018 Lennon, C., & Brewer, R. (Eds.) (2018). Criminal Justice and Regulation Revisted: Essays in Honour of Peter Grabosky. Routledge.
DOI Scopus1 WoS2
2014 Brewer, R. (2014). Policing the Waterfront: Networks, Partnerships, and the Governance of Port Security. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Year Citation
2021 Brewer, R., Westlake, B., Hart, T., & Arauza, O. (2021). The Ethics of Web Crawling and Web Scraping in Criminological Research: Navigating Issues of Consent, Privacy and Other Potential Harms Associated with Automated Data Collection. In A. Lavorgna, & T. Holt (Eds.), Researching Cybercrimes: Methodologies, Ethics, and Critical Approaches (pp. 435-456). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave MacMillan.
DOI Scopus23
2020 Brewer, R., Fox, S., & Miller, C. (2020). Applying the techniques of neutralization to the study of cybercrime. In T. Holt, & A. Bossler (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of international cybercrime and cyberdeviance (pp. 547-565). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave.
DOI Scopus16
2019 Brewer, R., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Hutchings, A., Holt, T., Goldsmith, A., & Maimon, D. (2019). Positive Diversions. In Cybercrime Prevention (pp. 93-108). Springer International Publishing.
DOI
2019 Brewer, R., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Hutchings, A., Holt, T., Goldsmith, A., & Maimon, D. (2019). Restorative Justice. In Cybercrime Prevention (pp. 109-122). Springer International Publishing.
DOI
2019 Brewer, R., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Hutchings, A., Holt, T., Goldsmith, A., & Maimon, D. (2019). Designing and Evaluating Crime Prevention Solutions for the Digital Age. In Cybercrime Prevention (pp. 125-146). Springer International Publishing.
DOI
2019 Brewer, R., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Hutchings, A., Holt, T., Goldsmith, A., & Maimon, D. (2019). Setting the Scene. In Cybercrime Prevention (pp. 1-14). Springer International Publishing.
DOI
2019 Brewer, R., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Hutchings, A., Holt, T., Goldsmith, A., & Maimon, D. (2019). Targeted Warnings and Police Cautions. In Cybercrime Prevention (pp. 77-90). Springer International Publishing.
DOI
2019 Brewer, R., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Hutchings, A., Holt, T., Goldsmith, A., & Maimon, D. (2019). Mentoring Programs. In Cybercrime Prevention (pp. 63-76). Springer International Publishing.
DOI
2019 Brewer, R., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Hutchings, A., Holt, T., Goldsmith, A., & Maimon, D. (2019). Educational Workshops. In Cybercrime Prevention (pp. 51-62). Springer International Publishing.
DOI
2019 Brewer, R., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Hutchings, A., Holt, T., Goldsmith, A., & Maimon, D. (2019). Situational Crime Prevention. In Cybercrime Prevention (pp. 17-33). Springer International Publishing.
DOI
2018 Brewer, R. (2018). Non-State Actors as Brokers of Crime Control: Accounting for Entrepreneurialism on the Waterfront. In L. Chang, & R. Brewer (Eds.), Criminal Justice and Regulation Revisited: Essays in Honour of Peter Grabosky (pp. 85-108). United Kingdom: Routledge.
DOI
2018 Brewer, R., & Chang, L. Y. (2018). Peter Grabosky: At the interface of criminal justice and regulation. In Y. Chang, & R. Brewer (Eds.), Criminal justice and regulation revisited: Essays in honour of Peter Grabosky (pp. 3-16). United Kingdom: Routledge.
DOI
2018 Chang, L. Y., & Brewer, R. (2018). Conclusions. In Y. C. Lennon, & R. Brewer (Eds.), Criminal justice and regulation revisted: Essays in honour of Peter Grabosky (pp. 186-192). Routledge.
DOI
2018 Chang, L. Y. C., & Brewer, R. (2018). Conclusions. In Criminal Justice and Regulation Revisited (pp. 186-192). Routledge.
DOI
2018 Brewer, R. (2018). Non-state actors as brokers of crime control. In Criminal Justice and Regulation Revisited (pp. 85-108). Routledge.
DOI
2018 Brewer, R., & Chang, L. Y. C. (2018). Peter Grabosky. In Criminal Justice and Regulation Revisited (pp. 3-16). Routledge.
DOI
2017 Brewer, R. (2017). Controlling crime through networks. In P. Drahos (Ed.), Regulation, Institutions and Networks (pp. 447-464). ACT; Australia: ANU Press.
WoS10
2014 Brewer, R. (2014). Charting the Evolution of Collaborative Crime Control. In Policing the Waterfront (pp. 32-60). Oxford University Press.
DOI
2014 Brewer, R. (2014). Crime, Police, and the Waterfront. In Policing the Waterfront (pp. 2-31). Oxford University Press.
DOI
2014 Brewer, R. (2014). Identifying Barriers to Collaboration on an Australian Waterfront. In Policing the Waterfront (pp. 134-170). Oxford University Press.
DOI
2014 Brewer, R. (2014). Reforming and Re-imagining Collaborative Crime Control Partnerships. In Policing the Waterfront (pp. 172-199). Oxford University Press.
DOI
2014 Brewer, R. (2014). Crafting Productive Partnerships on an American Waterfront. In Policing the Waterfront (pp. 101-133). Oxford University Press.
DOI
2014 Brewer, R. (2014). The Anatomy of Policing American and Australian Waterfronts. In Policing the Waterfront (pp. 62-100). Oxford University Press.
DOI

Year Citation
2024 Westlake, B., Brewer, R., Toole, K., Daly, T., Swearingen, T., Fletcher, S., . . . Logos, K. (2024). Benefits and Risks of Implementing Cloud-Based Technology for Child Sexual Abuse Investigations in Australia.
2022 Logos, K., Ashwood, R., Brewer, R., Whitten, T., Cale, J., Holt, T., & Goldsmith, A. (2022). South Australian Digital Youth Survey Research Report: Year 4 Results. Adelaide: University of Adelaide.
2021 Logos, K., Rubinshtein, S., Brewer, R., Whitten, T., Cale, J., Holt, T., & Goldsmith, A. (2021). South Australian Digital South Survey Research Report: Year 3 Results. Adelaide: University of Adelaide.
2020 Sayer, M., Whitten, T., Brewer, R., Cale, J., Holt, T., & Goldsmith, A. (2020). South Australian Digital Youth Survey Research Report: Year 2 Results. Adelaide: University of Adelaide.
2020 Brewer, R., Whitten, T., Sayer, M., & Langos, C. (2020). Identifying risk factors associated with adolescent cyber-deviance in Australia Implications for Policy and Practice. Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre.
2019 Cale, J., Whitten, T., Brewer, R., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Goldsmith, A., & Holt, T. (2019). South Australian Digital Youth Survey Research Report: Year 1 Results. University of Adelaide.
2017 Goldsmith, A., Holt, T., Brewer, R., & De Vel-Palumbo, M. (2017). Interventions in Cyber Crime: A Review.

Year Citation
2026 Cubitt, T., Logos, K., Brewer, R., & Mathews, B. (2026). AI- and non-AI online child sexual victimisation, disclosures and help-seeking.
DOI

Year Citation
2026 Cubitt, T., Logos, K., Brewer, R., Mathews, B., Jago, M., & Gannon, C. (2026). Prevalence and disclosure of AI and non-AI online child sexual victimisation: Findings from a national study of Australian adolescents.
DOI
2026 Cubitt, T., Logos, K., & Brewer, R. (2026). The Digital Lives of Adolescents: National Prevalence of Internet, Technology, and AI Use in Australia.
DOI
2026 Cubitt, T., Logos, K., & Brewer, R. (2026). The digital lives of adolescents: National prevalence of internet, technology, and AI use in Australia.
DOI
Year Amount Funding Body Project
2026 $788,774 Office of National Intelligence Missed signals in the escalation to extremist violence: Revealing the connection between extremism, child sexual
exploitation and domestic violence
2025 $555,000 Australian Research Council Linkage Project Consolidating intelligence data to identify victims of child sexual abuse
2025 $81,126 Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation Assessing children's ability to detect risky online behaviour: Implications for preventing sexual exploitation and 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

 

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2026 Co-Supervisor Understanding the impacts of artificial intelligence facilitated online harms experienced during adolescence Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Matthew Ball
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
2025 Principal Supervisor Identifying and overcoming intelligence sharing constraints in Child Sexual Exploitation investigations. 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 Assessing the extent to which third party regulatory activities impact online illicit wildlife trade. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Ashley Jean Allen
2023 Principal Supervisor Advancing the prosecution of child exploitation offences. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Bec Medhurst

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

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

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

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