Mr Christopher Emzin
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Justice
Biography
Christopher Emzin is an Aboriginal and South Sea Islander man living in Bundjulung Country, home to the Kombumerri clan and Yugambeh language group. He is an Associate Professor of Indigenous Practice at the School of Justice. He is currently the Academic Lead, Indigenous and Work Integrated Learning Coordinator for the School of Justice.
Christopher holds a Master's and Bachelor's Degree of Law and was admitted to practice law as a ‘Barrister-At-Law’ in 1999.
Christopher's journey into academia followed a distinguished 37-year career with the Queensland Police Service (QPS), retiring at the rank of Inspector in 2022. His policing experience includes roles of criminal investigator, prosecutor and legal advisor. He held various operational, policy and senior management positions within the QPS including Acting Superintendent for Prosecutions Services and Acting District Officer for the Gold Coast District.
Currently, Christopher is pursuing a PhD focused on examining law enforcement policy and practice as they impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Queensland. This project seeks to collect the Oral History of Indigenous peoples who were former members of the Queensland Police Service, including police officers, police liaison officers and administrative support staff. This project will then explore the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples within the QPS, to provide Indigenous perspectives of the recruitment and retention efforts of the QPS.
Chris is the School of Justice coordinator for the Cherbourg-QUT Project whereby transdisciplinary student teams collaborate with industry partners on Aboriginal Community-initiated projects using a participatory action research framework. This work was recognized within QUT with Christopher receiving the 2020 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Excellence.
Christopher's leadership roles include being a member of the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Committee, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel and various Board of Director roles.
Personal details
Positions
- Associate Professor of Indigenous Practice, Justice
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Justice
Research field
Criminology, Other law and legal studies
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- Master of Laws (Griffith University)
- Bachelor of Laws (Queensland University of Technology)
Professional memberships and associations
- Reviewer, International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy
- Board of Directors, Queensland Police Citizens Youth Welfare Association
- Board of Directors, Cherbourg Regional Aboriginal & Islander Community Controlled Health Service (CRAICCHS)
- Board of Directors, Yiliyapinya Indigenous Corporation
- Board of Directors, Brisbane Youth Service (2020-2023)
- Barrister-At-Law: Supreme Court of Queensland and High Court of Australia
- Queensland Sentencing Advisory Committee, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel
- Women’s Safety and Justice Reform Program Implementation Reference Group, Queensland Government
- Gold Coast Suns AFL Team, External Member to the Integrity, Compliance and Legal Committee
- Tribunal Member, National Sports Tribunal, Australian Government
Teaching
- JSB307 Indigenous Justice Placement (semesters 1 and 2)
- JSB305 Professional Placement (semesters 1 and 2)
- JSB176 Criminal Law in Context
- JSB284: Policing in Context
- JSB207: Punishment & Penal Policy
Christopher currently coordinates the following units in the role of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Coordinator:
Previously, Chris has been the Unit Coordinator for:
Christopher has been responsible for the development of the following new units for the Bachelor of Justice:
Experience
Professional Experience – Queensland Police Service
- 2019 Inspector, State Discipline Office, Legal Division
- 2017 Inspector, Visiting Police Associate, Queensland University of Technology
- 2016 Acting Superintendent, Prosecution Services
- 2013 Inspector, Brisbane Police Prosecution Corps, Legal Division
- 2011 Flood Crisis Review Group, Queensland Police Service
- 2010 State Water Police Coordinator, Specialist Services Branch
- 2008 Acting Superintendent, District Officer, Gold Coast District
- 2008 Acting Detective Superintendent, Crime Coordinator, South Eastern Region
- 2005 District Inspector, Gold Coast District
- 2000 Inspector, Legal & Policy Unit, Ethical Standards Command
- 1997 Police Prosecutors Course
- 1992 Appointment to Detective Classification
- 1986 Graduated from Queensland Police Academy
Publications
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Christopher, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).