Radical Changes: Decolonizing, not just Diversifying, Digital Crime Archives

A radical rethinking of digital crime archives is needed to decolonize, not just diversify, historical narratives. The study highlights that current digital resources, such as those on Victorian crime and punishment, often replicate colonial biases, marginalizing Indigenous and non-White populations. While projects like the Digital Panopticon have revolutionized access to convict records, they perpetuate racialized gaps in data due to inconsistent record-keeping practices. To decolonize these archives, researchers must integrate Indigenous perspectives, challenge the epistemological foundations of colonial data collections, and disrupt linear narratives that prioritize White experiences. This requires structural changes, including crowdsourcing with Indigenous communities and leveraging digital tools like non-Cartesian mapping, rather than superficial diversifications.

Roscoe, K. (2022). Radical Changes: Decolonizing, not just Diversifying, Digital Crime Archives. Journal of Victorian Culture, 27(1), 167–173. https://doi.org/10.1093/jvcult/vcab057