The Griffith Criminology Institute will partner with Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) to analyse data on incarceration in Queensland.
Researchers from around the globe will also be able to analyse the QCS data through Griffith's unique Social Analytics Lab (SAL).
One of only three such facilities in the world, the custom-built, secure research facility is designed to store, manage and analyse sensitive data for research and teaching. It already houses key data provided by the Queensland Police Service.
Griffith Criminology Institute (GCI) Director Professor Janet Ransley said data shared by the QCS would inform academic research into complex real-world issues.
"Our work with Queensland Corrective Services builds on Griffith's international reputation for outstanding social science and public policy research," she said.
"The QCS-provided data will be used by researchers to help analyse people's journeys into and through the criminal justice system.
"It will help us to understand questions like why imprisonment rates are increasing throughout Australia while crime rates are dropping, and what is driving the continued over-representation of First Nations peoples in custody.
"Our research can help QCS develop better systems and policies to achieve long-term benefits for individuals and their communities."
The SAL provides a network of secure facilities that allows impact-driven collaborations between leading international researchers and practitioners.
Data shared with SAL by the Queensland Police Service has led to important research on trends in youth offending and the impact of COVID-19 on offence rates in Queensland.
QCS Commissioner Peter Martin APM, a Griffith University alumnus, said the partnership would highlight areas for reform and inform best-practice policies to help prisoners reintegrate into society and break the cycle of incarceration.
"As a public safety agency committed to evidence-based decision-making, collaborations with academia provides Queensland Corrective Services with the opportunity to address some of the 'wicked problems' we face every day," he said.
"This partnership with the Griffith Criminology Institute will assist us to understand what we do that really works, as we realise our priority of reducing crime through effective rehabilitation."
