Convict Taint: Australia and New Zealand (From Crime History and Histories of Crime: Studies in the Historiography of Crime and Criminal Justice in Modern History, P 271-290, 1996, Clive Emsley and Louis A Knafla, eds. -- See NCJ-161818)

• NCJ Number: 161829
• Author(s): S Garton
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 20 pages
• Sale Source: Greenwood Publishing Group
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Although research on crime and criminal justice in Australia and New Zealand is largely in its infancy, this paper examines some promising studies on convicts and bushrangers, policing, imprisonment, and women and crime.

Abstract

No historiographical analysis of crime history in Australia could begin without a discussion of the convicts; European colonization of Australia began with the decision to establish penal colonies there to relieve the overcrowding in the hulks after the American colonies declared their independence. Research on the history of these convicts has focused on their character, offenses, and the impact they had on crime and society in Australia. Bushranging, the contemporary Australian expression for rural banditry, has been the other great theme in Australian crime history. Some of the best research work of recent years has been in the field of policing. Australian and New Zealand historians have had the opportunity to explore the nature of policing in unique settler society contexts. As British colonies, Australia and New Zealand adopted British styles of policing but had to adapt them to the particular demands of colonial life. European colonization of Australia is inscribed in the history of punishment. There have been a number of studies of the harsh convict system, particularly of the colonies of secondary punishment and the female factories; what is surprising is the lack of attention to the history of punishment since the convict period. New Zealand history has been better served for general histories of punishment and imprisonment. Another important area of recent concern has been the relationship between imprisonment and other forms of incarceration. One of the most significant fields of criminal justice history in Australia and New Zealand in recent years has been that of women and crime. Historians of women and crime have pointed to the significant place of women in this field as both victims and perpetrators. Overall, the history of crime and criminal justice in Australia and New Zealand offers an opportunity to examine the transformation of British and European structures and practices in unique contexts. 59 footnotes