Pioneering Criminologist David Brown Passes Away

0:00From the Daily News Now Network, this is Sydney News Today. Emeritus Professor David Brown, a pioneering criminologist and activist, passed away on February 1 at age 78. He spent decades exposing police and prison corruption in Australia, blending sharp research with bold campaigns for reform. Born in India and raised in New Zealand, he became an accidental academic after studying in Cambridge and landing a job at the University of New South. Wales in 1974, earlier this week, tributes highlighted his role in the Prisoner's Action Group, which helped spark the Nagel Royal Commission into New South Wales. Prisons back in 1978. Brown co-wrote key books like The Prison Struggle in 1982, and rethinking law and order in 1998, pushing critical, criminology that ties theory to real world injustices. His impact rippled through academia and beyond. At UNSW, he led the creation of the groundbreaking Four David's Criminal Law textbook in 1990, now in its eighth edition.

1:02Colleagues and students remembered him as a generous mentor, who nurtured careers with quiet encouragement and civility, even in fierce debates. In retirement after 2008, Brown kept contributing. He earned honors like Emeritus Status and a Doctor of Laws from Auckland, co-authored four more books on topics from hyper-incarceration to youth. Justice and advised as a New South Wales Law Reform Commissioner on bail changes. Survived by his wife, Janice Gray, and stepchildren, Isabel, Madeline, and James, Brown died peacefully walking his dog Bentley on a beloved beach. Leaving a legacy of fearless intellect and reform, this episode is brought to you by our sponsor. See the episode description. You know what is better than earbuds and bed? No earbuds at all. S-O-L-L-I, solelypillow.com.