Professor Kelly Richards
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Justice
Biography
Background
Kelly is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and criminologist in the QUT Centre for Justice who researches primarily in the area of sexual offending and responses to it. She has an extensive research track record in the areas of restorative and innovative justice practices and sexual offending.Recent research
Kelly’s current and recent research includes:- An ARC-funded Future Fellowship examining the motivations of perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
- working with Indigenous Elders to document their innovative practice in reintegrating people who sexually offend.
- working with Indigenous Elders and researchers to identify the desistance narratives of Indigenous men who have sexually offended.
- Kelly is currently the lead Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council Linkage Project examining the experiences of young women (including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young women) with the youth justice and community services sector across Australia.
- working with victim/survivor communities to document their needs during sexual offender reintegration.
- examining the experiences of staff, volunteers, perpetrators, and victim/survivors in community-based post-custodial responses to people with sexual offence convictions.
Research interests
- child sexual abuse
- child sex offenders
- sexual offending
- sexual violence
- restorative justice
- circles of support and accountability
Student supervision
Kelly supervises master’s and PhD projects relating to the above areas. Some of her current students are investigating: judicial decision-making in relation to young people who sexually offend; the policing of Indigenous communities in Queensland; online performance and the phenomenon of “paedophile hunting”; and child sex offender motivations.Personal details
Positions
- Professor
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Justice
Keywords
Criminology, Restorative justice, Sexual offending, Sexual offenders, Child sexual abuse, Circles of Support and Accountability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice-related matters, QUT Centre for Justice
Research field
Criminology
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- PhD (University of Western Sydney)
Professional memberships and associations
- Editorial Board Member, Current Issues in Criminal Justice
- Editorial Board Member, The Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology
- Board Member, Bravehearts Foundation
Experience
Invited and keynote presentations Richards, K. (2020) Keynote: Circles of Support and Accountability and identity transformation among sexual offenders. 5th Perth Symposium on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, Perth, 10 June Richards, K. (2020) Keynote: Desistance narratives of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander men who have sexually offended. 5th Perth Symposium on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, Perth, 11 June Richards, K. (2020) Context and effective reintegration. Context matters symposium, Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit, University of the Sunshine Coast, Mooloolaba, 7 April Richards, K. (2020) Keynote: Justice that restores for sexual offenders. Queensland State Chaplaincy Board for Corrections Annual In-Service Training Conference, Brisbane, 16 March Richards, K. (2020) Towards redemption: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander men’s narratives of desistance from sexual offending. Centre for Social Research & Methods, Australian National University, Canberra, 25 February Richards, K. & Death, J. (2019) Community-based approaches to reintegrating individuals who have sexually offended. QUT Roundtable on community-based approaches to reintegrating individuals who have sexually offended, Brisbane, December. Richards, K. (2019) The role of Circles of Support and Accountability in desistance from sexual offending. CoSA Fresno Community Circle, Fresno, California, November. Richards, K. (2019) Desistance from sexual offending and identity transformation: The role of Circles of Support and Accountability. CoSA Fresno Board, Fresno, California, November. Richards, K. (2019) Reintegrating people who have sexually offended via Circles of Support and Accountability. QUT Women In Research showcase, Brisbane, October. Richards, K. (2019) Keynote: Towards desistance from sexual offending: Using Circles of Support and Accountability to reintegrate people who have sexually offended. Queensland Police Service Taskforce Argos’ Youth, Technology and Virtual Communities conference, Gold Coast, August. Ellem, K. & Richards, K. (2019) Young people with cognitive disabilities and contact with the police. Queensland Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women, Brisbane, August. Richards, K., & Ellem, K. (2019) Young people with cognitive disabilities and the police. Ipswich Disability Interagency Network, Ipswich, March. Richards, K. (2018) Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA): Restorative justice, risk reduction and the views of the community and victim/survivors. Center for Restorative Justice, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, October. Richards, K. (2018) Born this way? Public views about the causes of pedophilia and/or child sex offending. Griffith Criminology Institute Seminar Series, Brisbane, February. Richards, K. (2017) Reintegrating sex offenders: Implications for parole. Presentation to the ACT Sentencing Administration Board, Canberra, September. Richards, K. (2017) Born this way? Public views about the causes of pedophilia and/or child sex offending. QUT Seminar on Identifying, Understanding and Responding to Child Sex Offending, Brisbane, March. Richards, K. (2016) Circles of Support and Accountability: Examining public opinion about causes of and responses to child sexual abuse. Children, young people and perceptions of sexual harm workshop, Sydney, November. Richards, K. (2016) Keynote: Juvenile justice. Legal Studies Teachers conference, Queensland Parliament, Brisbane, April. Cross, C. & Richards, K. (2016) An evaluation of the effectiveness of Police-Citizens Youth Clubs on crime prevention and community safety. Invited presentation to Youth Justice, Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Brisbane, March. Richards, K. (2015) Public support for Circles of Support and Accountability in Australia. Annual Brisbane Psychology and Law Symposium, University of Queensland, Brisbane, October. Richards, K. (2015) Restorative justice, risk, and Circles of Support and Accountability. Centre for the Study of Science, Religion and Society, University of Queensland, Brisbane, August. Cross, C., Dwyer, A. & Richards, K. (2015) An evaluation of the effectiveness of Police-Citizens Youth Clubs on crime prevention and community safety. Annual Queensland Police-Citizens Youth Welfare Association conference, Gold Coast, April. Bartels, L, McGovern, A. and Richards, K. (2014) Teaching criminology: Current issues. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Sydney, October Richards, K. (2014) Keynote address: Key challenges for the future of youth justice in Australia. The Future For Young Australians: Beyond 2014 conference, Melbourne, April Cross, C, Dwyer, A. and Richards, K. (2014) Never work with animals or children: Lessons from researching in outback Queensland, Queensland University of Technology School of Justice Seminar Series, Brisbane, May Richards, K. (2013) Circles of Support and Accountability: Potential benefits and dangers. Restorative justice beyond the mainstream seminar, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, November Richards, K. (2013) Destabilising ‘diversion’: Doing nothing (and doing something) about youth offending. Whose justice? Contested approaches to crime and conflict seminar, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, September Richards, K. (2013) The facts about youth offending. Expert panel to discuss youth justice. Queensland Parliament, Brisbane, May Hutchinson, T., Richards, K. and Wight, J. (2013) Young people and boot camps. Queensland University of Technology Crime and Justice Research Centre Symposium, Brisbane, March Richards, K. (2011) Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA): An innovative measure for protecting Australia’s children? Children: A resource most precious conference, Perth, November Richards, K. (2011) Youth justice conferencing seminar: Principles of restorative justice. Sydney University Law School Events, Sydney, October Richards, K., Rosevear, L. and Gilbert, R. (2011) Promising interventions for reducing offending by Indigenous juveniles. NSW Aboriginal juvenile justice staff conference, Sydney, October Richards, K. (2011) Keynote address: Developing research into the policy process: A case study of measuring juvenile recidivism in Australia. Policy development, implementation and evaluation conference, Canberra, September Richards, K. (2011) Circles of Support and Accountability: Lessons from the USA, Canada and the UK. Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, Canberra, March Richards, K., Rosevear, L. and Gilbert, R. (2011) Promising interventions for reducing offending by Indigenous juveniles. Indigenous Justice Forum, Perth, May Richards, K. (2011) Circles of Support and Accountability: Lessons from the USA, Canada and the UK. Presentation to the Interagency Public Protection Committee, Perth, May Richards, K. (2011) Circles of Support and Accountability. Australian Institute of Criminology Occasional Seminar. Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra, March Richards, K. (2009) Keynote address: The Australian Business Assessment of Computer User Security (ABACUS): A national survey. Australian Federal Police High Tech Crime conference, Sydney, June
Other presentations Richards, K. (2019) Identity transformation and desistance among people who have sexually offended: The role of Circles of Support and Accountability. Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers conference, Atlanta, November. Richards, K. & Death, J. (2019) Victim/survivor views about sex offender reintegration and Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA). Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers conference, Atlanta, November. Ronken, C., McCartan, K., Richards, K. & Death, J. (2019) Victims’ perspectives of sexual abuse, perpetrators and their management. Australian and New Zealand Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers conference, July, Brisbane. Richards, K. & Death, J. (2019) The role of culture in identity transformation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men who have sexually offended. Crime, Justice and Social Democracy conference, Gold Coast, July. Richards, K. & Death, J. (2019) The role of culture in identity transformation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men who have sexually offended: Findings from a cultural mentoring reintegration program. Reintegration Puzzle conference, Darwin, June. Ronken, C. & Richards, K. (2019) Reintegrating sexual offenders: Exploring the views of victims/survivors. Reintegration Puzzle conference, Darwin, June. Richards, K. & McCartan, K. (2018) Indigenous individuals on intensive community supervision in Townsville, Queensland. Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers conference, Vancouver, October. Richards, K. & Ellem, K. (2017) Young people with cognitive disabilities and the police: Service provider perspectives. Australasian Society for Intellectual Disability conference, Hobart, December. Read, V., Wood, L., Lin, S., Richards, K., & Goodwin-Smith, I. (2017) Youth Voices
workshop, co-hosted with Complexability, Anglicare Southern Queensland, Anglicare NSW West, NSW South and ACT, and Flinders University, Brisbane, 23-24 October. Richards, K. & McCartan, K. (2017) Public views about Circles of Support and Accountability: A qualitative analysis. Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers conference, Kansas City, MI, October. Richards, K. (2017) Born this way? Public views about the causes of pedophilia and/or child sex offending. Crime and Justice in Asia and the Global South conference, Cairns, July. Bartels, L., Ewing, B. & Richards, K. (2017) Learning Together: Bringing students and prisoners together to learn in a prison environment. International Australasian Corrections Education Association Conference, Canberra, October. Bartels, L., Ewing, E. & Richards, K. (2017) Learning Together: Australia’s moves to bring students and prisoners together to learn in a prison environment. British Society of Criminology Annual Conference, Sheffield, July. Bartels, L., Ewing, B. & Richards, K. (2017) Learning Together: Bringing students and prisoners together to learn in a prison environment. Reintegration Puzzle Conference, Sydney, June. Richards, K. (2016) An update on Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) and COSA research in Australia. Presentation to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, St Paul, MN, November. Cross, C. and Richards, K. (2016) “I wasn’t expecting anything anymore”: The challenges of reporting online fraud in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Hobart, November. Cross, C. and Richards, K. (2016) The reporting and support needs of online fraud victims: An Australian case study. American Society of Criminology conference, New Orleans, November. Richards, K. (2016) Police perceptions of young people: A qualitative analysis. American Society of Criminology conference, New Orleans, November. Richards, K., Cross, C. and Dwyer, A. (2016) Police perceptions of young people: A qualitative analysis. 2nd Australasian Youth Justice conference, Brisbane, September. Cross, C., Dwyer, A., and Richards, K. (2016) Evaluating the crime prevention and community safety benefits of Police Citizens Youth Clubs (PCYCs) across Queensland. 2nd Australasian Youth Justice conference, Brisbane, September. Richards, K. (2015) ‘A noose would be a whole lot cheaper’:
Public support for Circles of Support and Accountability in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Adelaide, November. Cross, C. & Richards, K. (2015) The ACA effect: The role of current affairs programs in creating unrealistic victim understandings of and responses to online fraud. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Adelaide, November. Dragiewicz, M., Cross, C. & Richards, K. (2015) Psychological abuse: Insights from emerging research on romance fraud and domestic violence. European Domestic Violence conference, Belfast, September. Richards, K. (2015) An examination of the rise and rise of offender ‘accountability’ in contemporary penality. European Society of Criminology conference, Porto, Portugal, September. Richards, K. (2015) ‘Turning over a new leaf’? Offender “accountability” in contemporary penality. Queensland University of Technology Crime, Justice and Social Democracy conference, Brisbane, July. Cross, C. & Richards, K. (2015) “But you gave it away…”: Experiences of victims reporting online fraud to police. Centre for Counter Fraud Studies conference, Portsmouth, June. Lyneham, S. & Richards, K. (2015) Broadening the conceptualisation of human trafficking in Australia: The problem of marriage trafficking and how to respond. Inaugural Asia-Pacific Conference on Gendered Violence and Violations, Sydney, February. Richards, K. (2014) Does rape happen for a reason? A critical examination of the impacts of new age truth claims on victims of violence. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Sydney, October Lyneham, S. & Richards, K. (2014). Bride traffic: Challenging assumptions about human trafficking to Australia. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Sydney, October Richards, K. (2014) Does rape happen for a reason? A critical examination of the impacts of new age truth claims on victims of violence. British Society of Criminology conference, Liverpool, England, July Cross, C, Dwyer, A. and Richards, K. (2014) “You’ll only need three days”: Lessons learned doing research in Indigenous communities, World Indigenous Legal Conference, Brisbane, June Richards, K. (2013) Does rape happen for a reason? A critical examination of the impacts of new age truth claims on victims of violence. American Society of Criminology conference, Atlanta, Georgia, November Cross, C, Dwyer, A. and Richards, K. (2013) Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Police Citizen Youth Clubs on Crime Prevention and Community Safety Queensland Police Citizens Youth Welfare Association conference, Gold Coast, October McGovern, A., Bartels, L. and Richards, K. (2013) Degrees of difference? A preliminary study into the composition of ‘criminology’ degrees in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Brisbane, September Richards, K. and Lyneham, S. (2013) Delilah’s story: An empirical case study demonstrating the role of partner migration in human trafficking into Australia. Queensland University of Technology Crime, Justice and Social Democracy conference, Brisbane, July Carrington, K., Dwyer, A., Richards, K., Hutchinson, T. and Bessant, J. (2013) Reimagining youth justice. Queensland University of Technology Crime, Justice and Social Democracy conference, Brisbane, July Cross, C, Dwyer, A. and Richards, K. (2013) Proposed Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Police Citizen Youth Clubs on Crime Prevention and Community Safety Queensland University of Technology Crime, Justice and Social Democracy conference, Brisbane, July Richards, K. and Renshaw, L. (2013) Bail and remand for juveniles in Australia: Key findings from a national research project. Australasian Youth Justice conference, Canberra, May Hutchinson, T. and Richards, K. (2013) Scared straight: Boot camps for young people. Australasian Youth Justice conference, Canberra, May Dwyer, A. and Richards, K. (2013) Unspeakably present: The (un)acknowledgement of diverse sexuality and gender human rights in policing young people in Australia. Australasian Youth Justice conference, Canberra, May Dwyer, A. and Richards, K. (2013) Unspeakably present: The (un)acknowledgement of diverse sexuality and gender human rights in policing young people in Australia. Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security conference, Canberra, April Richards, K. and Renshaw, L. (2012) Bail and remand for juveniles in Australia: Key findings from a national research project. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Auckland, New Zealand, November Stewart, J. and Richards, K. (2012) Where’s the logic? Assessing the program logic for four Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth crime prevention, early intervention and diversion programs. Doing justice for young people – Issues and challenges for judicial administration in Australia and New Zealand conference, Brisbane, August Richards, K. and Renshaw, L. (2012) Bail and remand for juveniles in Australia: Key findings from a national research project. Doing justice for young people – Issues and challenges for judicial administration in Australia and New Zealand conference, Brisbane, August Bartels, L. and Richards, K. (2012) Talking the talk: Therapeutic jurisprudence, restorative justice and oral competence. Australian and New Zealand Critical Criminology conference, Hobart, July Richards, K. (2011) What makes juvenile offenders different from adult offenders? Young people, risk and resilience: The challenges of drugs and alcohol conference, Melbourne, March David, F., Richards, K. and Gray-Barry S, (2011) Information sessions on trafficking in persons: Recent research and approaches to tackling it. A series of forums for non-experts, Perth and Kalgoorlie, June Gray-Barry, S. and Richards, K. (2011) The role of marriage in human trafficking-related exploitation of migrant women. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Geelong, September Richards, K. (2011) Circles of Support and Accountability: Lessons from the USA, Canada and the UK. Australian and New Zealand Critical Criminology conference, Cairns, July Richards, K. (2011) Trends in juvenile detention in Australia, 1981 - 2008. Bimberi Juvenile Detention Centre Review Forum, Canberra, March Richards, K. (2010) Measuring juvenile recidivism in Australia: Challenges and ways forward. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Alice Springs, September Richards, K. (2010) Trends in juvenile detention in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Critical Criminology conference, Sydney, July Lyneham, M. and Richards, K. (2010) A snapshot of young people in the Australian Capital Territory. Crime Prevention Forum, Australian Capital Territory Department of Justice and Community Safety, Canberra, May Richards, K. (2009) Negotiating power and access and being called ‘kid’: Conducting qualitative interviews in criminological research. Regulatory Institutions Network seminar, Australian National University, Canberra, October Richards, K., Dearden, J. and Tomison, A. (2009) Child homicide victims in Australia: An overview. Children and the Law conference, Prato, Italy, September Richards, K. (2009) The Australian Business Assessment of Computer User Security (ABACUS): A national survey. Australian Federal Police High Tech Crime conference, Sydney, June Richards, K. (2009) Promise or practice? The past, present and future of restorative justice for Indigenous juveniles. Australian and New Zealand Critical Criminology conference, Melbourne, July Richards, K. (2009) Restorative justice in Australia: An overview. Australian Institute of Criminology address to delegation from Tai Pei University, Canberra, February Richards, K. (2009) Juvenile justice in Australia: An overview. Australian Institute of Criminology address to delegation of Swedish Parliamentarians, Canberra, January Richards, K. (2008) Cyber crimes against Australian businesses: A national survey. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Canberra, November Richards, K. (2006) Not directly to blame? Considering the role of parental responsibility in the emergence of restorative practices for juveniles. New frontiers in restorative justice conference, Auckland, New Zealand, December Richards, K. (2006) Negotiating power and access and being called ‘kid’: Interviewing elites in criminological research. University of Western Sydney Postgraduate Colloquium, Campbelltown, November Richards, K. (2005) Not directly to blame? Considering the role of parental responsibility in the emergence of restorative justice. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Wellington, New Zealand, February Richards, K. (2005) Exploring the history of the restorative justice movement. Fifth International Conference on Conferencing and Circles, Vancouver, Canada, August Richards, K. (2003) What’s Oprah Winfrey got to do with it? The rise and rise of restorative justice. Annual conference of The Australian Sociological Association, Armidale, December Richards, K. (2003) What’s Oprah Winfrey got to do with it? The rise and rise of restorative justice. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology conference, Sydney, October
Publications
- Richards, K., Death, J. & McCartan, K. (2020). Towards redemption: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander men's narratives of desistance from sexual offending. Victims and Offenders, 15(6), 810–833 . https://eprints.qut.edu.au/199989
- Richards, K., (2020). Police officers' implicit theories of youth offending. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 53(1), 8–24. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/129682
- Richards, K., Cross, C. & Dwyer, A. (2019). Police perceptions of young people: A qualitative analysis. Police Practice and Research, 20(4), 360–375. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/115809
- Richards, K. & Ellem, K. (2019). Young people with cognitive disabilities and overrepresentation in the criminal justice system: service provider perspectives on policing. Police Practice and Research, 20(2), 156–171. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/118442
- Richards, K., (2018). Born this way? A qualitative examination of public perceptions of the causes of pedophilia and sexual offending against children. Deviant Behavior, 39(7), 835–851. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/222945
- Richards, K., Bartels, L. & Bolitho, J. (2017). Children's court magistrates' views of restorative justice and therapeutic jurisprudence measures for young offenders. Youth Justice, 17(1), 22–40. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/98901
- Richards, K., (2017). Responsibilising the parents of young offenders through restorative justice: a genealogical account. Restorative Justice, 5(1), 93–115. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/105636
- Bartels, L., Bolitho, J. & Richards, K. (2016). Indigenous young people and the NSW Children's Court: Magistrates perceptions of the court's criminal jurisdiction. Australian Indigenous Law Review, 19(2), 34–44. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/102695
- Cunneen, C., White, R. & Richards, K. (2015). Juvenile justice: Youth and crime in Australia [Fifth Edition]. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/90229
- Richards, K., (2014). Blurred lines: reconsidering the concept of 'diversion' in youth justice systems in Australia. Youth Justice, 14(2), 122–139. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/67411
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Kelly, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Filter publications:
A complete list of publications is available at: https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/k1.richards
Selected research projects
- Title
- Reducing Young Women's Offending Through Improved Service Delivery
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- LP190101100
- Start year
- 2021
- Keywords
- Title
- An Evaluation of Circles of Support and Accountability (South Australia) and the Reintegration of Indigenous Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act Perpetrators (Queensland)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- PIStream 00030
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- Circles Of Support and Accountability; Indigenous Offenders; Prisoner Reintegration; Sex Offenders
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Over-Representation of Indigenous Peoples in The Queensland Criminal Justice System: a Critical Analysis of Queensland Police Service Policy
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Danielle Watson
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Child Sexual Abuse and the Australian Roman Catholic Church: Using Techniques of Neutralisation to Examine Institutional Responses to Clergy-Perpetrated Child Sexual Abuse (2020)
- Reporting Clergy Sexual Misconduct Against Adults to Roman Catholic Church Authorities: An Analysis of Survivor Perspectives (2020)
- An Evaluation of Youth Justice Conferencing for Youth Misuse of Fire (2018)
- An empirical investigation into how young women engage in and upload female-to-female fights on social media (2018)
- Life-Saving and Life-Changing: The Decision-Making Processes of People Seeking Asylum (2018)
- Sexual consent and sexual violence prevention in sexuality education: What can be learned from the negotiation of sexual consent between same-sex attracted women? (2018)
The supervisions listed above are only a selection.