During their time as Editors-in-Chief, Professors Asher Flynn and Rebecca Wickes:
After three years at the helm of the Journal of Criminology, Professors Asher Flynn and Rebecca Wickes are handing over the reins.
During their tenure, they’ve overseen significant changes, from building a robust submissions pipeline to improving editorial processes and strengthening representation of First Nations scholars.
In our conversation, Asher and Rebecca reflect on their proudest achievements, the challenges they’ve navigated, how the journal has evolved, and why taking on an editorial role can be both a privilege and a career-defining experience.
Looking back on your time as editors, what achievements are you most proud of?
Asher Flynn: One key achievement was building a strong pipeline of high-quality journal articles. When we started, submissions were limited, but we created a space, both nationally and internationally, where researchers wanted to publish their work. We also reduced the time to decision, which is crucial for timely, impactful criminology research. Much of that success was thanks to our Managing Editor, Dr Rebecca Powell, and a reliable network of reviewers
What were the biggest challenges you faced, and how did you navigate them?
Asher: The first challenge was starting with very few articles ready to publish. We had to reach out to colleagues near and far, and publicise the journal significantly through networks, our editorial board and on social media (thanks again to Bec Powell) in order to rebuild a pipeline of articles and encourage people to submit their best work to us. We also dealt with publisher process issues; proofing alone took hours in the early days. Over time, we worked closely with Sage to improve efficiency. Another challenge was balancing the diversity of research fields and perspectives, which we addressed by broadening the editorial board and being strategic about reviewer selection.
Rebecca: Additionally, we took a firm approach to desk review, only sending strong papers to peer review. This reduced pressure on reviewers and maintained quality. We’ve also had to contend with AI-generated submissions, which is a growing issue across academic publishing. Identifying and managing those has been tricky, and it’s an area where publishers need to take more responsibility.
How has the journal evolved under your leadership?
Asher: It’s become increasingly international, where we receive quality submissions from around the globe, as well as the fantastic work being done in Australian and Aotearoa, New Zealand criminology circles. Reviewer recruitment, while still challenging, is less of a struggle than when we initially started, which is thanks to the generosity of those working in academia, and aligns with some of those desk review processes Rebecca noted that we have put in place.
Rebecca: We’ve also introduced cross-institutional collaboration in the editorship for the first time in the journal’s history, which broadened the journal’s scope and reduced concerns around institutional or methodological bias. Working together from different scholarly perspectives and methodological approaches has strengthened our editorial decisions and better represented the diversity within criminology.
We’re also proud of increasing Indigenous and First Peoples representation on the editorial board. We appointed the journal’s first Indigenous Associate Editor and appointed an Indigenous early career researcher to the board.
At the beginning of our tenure, we made a commitment to our readers and provided a list of stated goals we had for our editorial tenure. We are delighted that every goal we set at the outset, we achieved, including the introduction of the Distinguished Criminology Lecture, which is now published in the Journal.
Why would someone take on this role, and what’s most rewarding about it?
Asher: You get a front-row seat to cutting-edge criminology research, innovative methods, and emerging scholars and scholarship. Seeing a paper you’ve shepherded (without being the author) reach publication is incredibly rewarding. Encouraging Indigenous-led scholarship has been especially meaningful. And, practically speaking, the next team will be working with an exceptional Managing Editor in Dr Rebecca Powell who keeps everything running smoothly.
Rebecca: This is a role that widens your professional networks and expands your knowledge of the discipline. As an Editor, you become more deeply embedded in the broader scholarly community, stepping outside your own area of expertise. To have an opportunity to shape the field beyond your own research is an honour. And if you’re fortunate in bringing together a dynamic editorial team, like we’ve been, you get to collaborate with people who challenges and inspires you.
We, the members of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (ANZSOC), acknowledge the traditional custodians of Australia and the sovereignty of the Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand.
ANZSOC would like to acknowledge the ongoing Traditional Custodians of the lands for which our constituents conduct their teaching, learning, and research. We would like to acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and the lands, now called Australia, continue to belong to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the Traditional custodians of the lands. ANZSOC would like to pay respects to the Elders who have passed on the legacy of knowledge and culture to the future generations and acknowledge that the future generations hold the hope, the stories and the continued knowledge for current and emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. May this knowledge through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing guide you with wisdom and courage.
ANZSOC also recognises iwi Māori and their unceded right to tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) and their expression of mana motuhaka (self-determination). We acknowledge mātauranga Māori (Māori ways of being and knowing) informs both traditional and contemporary knowledge production and its ability to enhance our collective futures.
The Association acknowledges the consequences and harms that continue to be inflicted by the criminal justice systems of Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand on Indigenous peoples in the region and seeks through its activities to address these harms and to work to prevent them from continuing in the future.
