Introducing Swinburne’s new Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science
In Summary
The Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science (CFBS) was established at Swinburne in January 2014, strengthening the University’s research and teaching focus in forensic psychology and, more broadly, forensic mental health.
The CFBS is a multidisciplinary centre with staff from the disciplines of psychology, psychiatry, nursing, social work, occupational therapy and law. While the CFBS is recognised as the leading Australasian research centre in this field, it also runs a large suite of postgraduate education and training programs for professionals in the field, with awards ranging from graduate certificates to doctoral degrees.
The CFBS is closely associated with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health (Forensicare), the state-wide forensic mental health service, which was established in 1997 to provide forensic mental health services in Victoria.
The Director of the CFBS is Professor James Ogloff AM. Jim is the Foundation Professor of Forensic Behavioural Science at Swinburne University and is also Director of Psychological Services at Forensicare. He has worked in clinical and forensic psychology in a variety of settings for 30 years and has specific expertise in forensic psychology, forensic mental health, mental health law, and the assessment and management of offenders.
A recent initiative by the Centre has been to work in collaboration with the Behavioural Risk Assessment and Management (BRAM) team to deliver the ‘Safer Community Lecture Series’ for all Swinburne staff.
Dr Annabel Chan from the BRAM team and Dr Troy McEwan from CFBS, combined their expertise to run educational sessions around stalking. Stalking can be an issue on university campuses around the world, with research showing that it affects 20% of students, and approximately 25% of staff during their academic lifetime.
People who are affected frequently don’t know how to respond in the most effective way. So this was a perfect topic to open the Lecture Series with. Staff who attend the lecture will take away new, applicable knowledge and will better understand the resources available to help them.
Dr McEwan stated that “the lecture will provide some basic facts about stalking so people can recognise it more easily, understand why it might be occurring, and learn how to respond in the most effective way. We really want to ensure that everyone in the Swinburne community is aware of the resources available to help them deal with stalking situations, and how BRAM can help”.
Staff are invited to attend this lecture to learn the basics about how to prevent the occurrence of stalking, recognise it early, and respond appropriately.
The CFBS and BRAM are planning to run a ‘Safer Community Lecture Series’ over the next 12 months, with possible topics including responding to threats and recognising and dealing with complaints.