Tell us about yourself
I am a lecturer in Griffith University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and member of the Griffith Criminology Institute (GCI). My research is focused on the intersection of mental illness and offending using population-level linked administrative datasets from criminal justice and health agencies. My broader research interests are on the causes of youth offending and the development, implementation and evaluation of interventions to reduce sexual violence.
I previously worked for 10 years as a practitioner (psychologist) with the Griffith Youth Forensic Service (GYFS) where I gained extensive experience in the assessment and treatment of sexual violence committed by youth, including collaboration with families and community services to reduce the risk of reoffending and improve the outcomes for youth.
Why did you want to become a Research Affiliate?
I am undertaking a program of research focused on examining the links between offending and mental illness using administrative datasets. This includes using both police-recorded incident information and population-based longitudinal linked administrative data for Australian birth cohorts.
A component of this research program is focused on applying Natural Language Processing (NLP) models to police-recorded incident descriptions to better understand the conditions under which people with mental illness encounter law enforcement and the outcomes of these encounters.
This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr Dan Birks, Deputy Director of the Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre. I wanted to be a Research Affiliate to facilitate cross-national collaboration and strengthen connections between the Centre and the Griffith Criminology Institute.
How does your research connect to the Centre’s mission and values?
My research focused on the overlap between mental illness and offending has a direct connection to the Centre’s mission and values. Specifically, my research aligns directly under the Centre’s project Mental Health and Routine Police Work, where we will be examining how people with mental illness encounter police through routine police work, and the outcomes of these encounters. The findings of the research will help inform the development of “good practice” for police in managing mental illness, and also inform possible diversionary strategies for a highly vulnerable group of people to avoid becoming ensnared in the criminal justice system.