Dr Michael Chataway
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Justice
Biography
Dr Michael Chataway is a Senior Lecturer and researcher at the Queensland University of Technology, with a strong track record in securing competitive grant funding across projects focused on workplace violence, fear of crime, and safety.Michael currently leads a dynamic program of research that leverages technology and digital interventions to enhance the measurement of workplace violence (WV) and responses to it—particularly in healthcare settings. His work is at the forefront of efforts to improve how WV is measured and managed, with a focus on supporting nurses and midwives who face elevated risks.
Internationally recognised for his innovative contributions to the fear of crime scholarship, Michael has pioneered the use of mobile app-based methods to collect real-time data on perceptions of disorder and fear. This work has led to the development of new social-psychological models that deepen our understanding of risk perception and fear in urban environments.
Dr Chataway has published over 30 scholarly publications, including 17 in Q1-ranked journals, and his research has appeared in leading outlets such as the Journal of Environmental Psychology, Journal of Criminology, Applied Geography, City & Community, and Victims & Offenders. He is also a co-author of Space, Time, and Crime, a book that explores spatio-temporal dimensions of crime, incorporating cutting-edge insights from technology-driven studies on fear, victimisation, and offending.
In addition to being a teaching-research focused academic, Michael currently serves as the Co-Editor in Chief for the Journal of Criminology, which is the flagship Q1 journal for the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology. Prior to this external research leadership role, he served at QUT in several Faculty and School-level leadership roles, including: Academic Lead Research Training, Academic Integrity Officer, Chair (Faculty of Law Equity Committee), Chair (SoJ Scholarships Committee), Book Review Editor (IJCJSD), and First Year Experience Coordinator.
Michael is widely regarded as an innovative thinker and is passionate about using research to make workplaces and communities safer.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Justice
Keywords
Fear of Crime, Workplace Violence, Research Methodology, Smartphone Ecological Momentary Assessment, QUT Centre for Justice
Research field
Criminology, Other psychology
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- PhD (Griffith University)
- Bachelor of Criminology & Criminal Justice with Honours (Griffith University)
Professional memberships and associations
Co-Editor in Chief - Journal of Criminology (Q1)
Member of the Committee of Management - Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (ANZSOC)
Editorial Board Member - Advancing Methods for Interdisciplinarity in the Social Sciences Book Series
ANZSOC 2025 Conference Co-Convenor
ANZSOC Thematic Group Leader - Spatiality and Justice
Chief Investigator - Centre for Justice (QUT)
Teaching
Dr Michael Chataway has taught extensively across psychology and criminology, with over a decade of experience in higher education curriculum design and delivery. His teaching spans key areas such as:
- Psychological Explanations of Crime
- Applied Statistics
- Research Methods
- Environmental Criminology
- Forensic Psychology
He currently teaches the following units offered by the School of Justice:
- JSB181: Interrogating Justice Problems
- JSB228: Technology and Crime
- JSB399: Justice Industry Project
Dr Chataway has evaluated leading criminology programs at several Australian universities and served as an external advisor in national reaccreditation processes, contributing to program-level improvements across institutions. His co-authored book Space, Time and Crime is featured in international curricula and is widely used in courses on environmental criminology.
His teaching philosophy centers on critical inquiry, evidence-based practice, and interdisciplinary engagement. He is committed to fostering inclusive learning environments and supporting students in developing the analytical and ethical skills needed for justice-related careers.
Publications
- Chataway, M., Hart, T. & Mellberg, J. (2025). Fear of Crime in Urban Environments. In D. Orberwittler & R. Wickes (Eds.), Handbook on Cities and Crime (pp. 349–364). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/246467
- Chataway, M., Duff, J. & Xu, G. (2026). Introducing a New Model of Fear of Workplace Violence: Examining Nurses and Midwives' Perceptions of Victimization Risk in Their Workplaces. Victims and Offenders, 21(2), 371–390. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/257192
- Richards, K. & Chataway, M. (2025). Victim/Survivors' views about the causes of sexual offending: an exploratory mixed methods inquiry. Criminal Justice Studies, 38(3), 340–360. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/257359
- Richards, K. & Chataway, M. (2025). Victim/survivors' reasons for volunteering in Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA). Probation Journal. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/256533
- Brisudova, L., Chataway, M. & Moir, E. (2024). Mapping perceptions of topophilia and topophobia using a mobile app: A tale of two cities. Moravian Geographical Reports, 32(2), 90–100. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/250471
- Hart, T., Chataway, M. & Mellberg, J. (2022). Measuring fear of crime during the past 25 years: A systematic quantitative literature review. Journal of Criminal Justice, 82. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/235228
- Chataway, M., (2021). Occupational Violence Against Healthcare Professionals: Applying a Criminological Lens. QUT Centre for Justice Briefing Papers, 16, 1–4. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/211872
- Chataway, M., (2020). Sense of place and feelings of safety: Examining young adults' experiences of their local environment using mobile surveys. City and Community, 19(3), 656–675. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/133696
- Chataway, M. & Hart, T. (2019). A social-psychological process of "fear of crime" for men and women: Revisiting gender differences from a new perspective. Victims and Offenders, 14(2), 143–164. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/123214
- Chataway, M., Hart, T., Coomber, R. & Bond, C. (2017). The geography of crime fear: A pilot study exploring event-based perceptions of risk using mobile technology. Applied Geography, 86, 300–307. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/122827
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Michael, 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/michael.chataway
Awards
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- Academic Excellence in Research awarded by the Dean Griffith Graduate Research School
- Type
- Other
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- In 2018, I was appointed an honorary Adjunct Research Fellow of the Griffith Criminology Institute at ERA 5 research institute
Supervision
Looking for a postgraduate research supervisor?
I am currently accepting research students for Honours, Masters and PhD study.
You can browse existing student topics offered by QUT or propose your own topic.
Current supervisions
- Exploring the Bystander Perspective: Scripting Bystander Intervention in Australian Hate Crimes
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Angela Higginson - Introducing a Systems Thinking Approach for Measuring Workplace Violence and its Outcomes on Frontline Employees in Australia
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Danielle Watson
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
The supervisions listed above are only a selection.