Suzanna received her PhD in Sociology at the University of Washington where she concentrated on comparative perspectives of crime, immigration, and neighborhood action as well as methodology via association with the Centre for Statistics and the Social Sciences. Her recent work centers around three themes that are related to multiple aspects of crime and the justice system. The first theme examines the comparative context of crime and considers how different people perceive crime and criminals particularly in the neighborhood context. The second considers how perceptions of gun regulation by police, dealers, and the community influence debate and enforcement of Australia’s gun laws and consider these consequences across time and space. The third, considers the perceptions of child maltreatment and abuse and it’s consequences for reporting, monitoring, and court outcomes for children and families. Underscoring all three themes are sociological questions of race and ethnic stratification, and how perceptions of crime influence individual actions.
Rebecca Wallis is a Lecturer at the TC Beirne School of Law. Rebecca’s teaching and research interests fall broadly within the areas of criminal law and procedure, the law of evidence, and criminal justice system structure and operation. She is concerned with how criminal law theories and principles play out in policy and practice, and how these shape the operation of the criminal justice system in intended and unintended ways. In addition, she is currently working on a set of projects concerning the criminalisation of threats, particularly in the context of domestic and family violence.
Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland, a Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice (Hons) and PhD from Griffith University. She is admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia (non-practising).
