Professor Karl Roberts

Professor Karl Roberts

Professor and Chair of Policing and Criminal Justice,
Criminology & Policing

Biography

Karl Roberts is a forensic psychologist and is Professor and Chair of Policing and Criminal Justice at The University of Western Sydney in Sydney, Australia he is also an Adjunct Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Massachusetts.  His areas of expertise are within the field of interpersonal violence and law enforcement investigation with a focus upon the behavioural assessment of offenders, investigative interviewing by law enforcement and risk assessment and risk management. He has done work on the risk identification and management of violent crimes such as stalking and honour violence and the investigation of these crimes by law enforcement. Recently He published, with colleagues from the London Metorpolitan police, a guide for law enforcement and others to the investigation and management of honor based violence, Honor based violence: Policing and Prevention with CRC press and is editing a collection of academic papers on Honour based violence with colleagues from the UK, USA and Australia. Working with Associate professor Lorraine Sheridan, Karl developed a stalking risk identification tool for use by law enforcement and other agencies which is now the standard stalking risk tool for all United Kingdom Police forces. He is now in the process of piloting this stalking risk tool in the United States. Karl also has expertise in investigative interviewing by law enforcement and other agencies and has published a number of papers and has been involved in various consultancy projects on this. In recent work Karl is exploring factors associated with suicide in the US military and the role of honor in violent crime in the United States. Karl works closely with law enforcement and other agencies throughout the world providing training and advice to investigations having provided advice to over four hundred major police investigations worldwide. He is certified as an expert witness in the UK and by the New South Wales Supreme Court.

This information has been contributed by Professor Roberts.

Qualifications

  • MSc University of Leicester
  • Phd Brunel University England
  • BSc Dundee University

Professional Memberships

  • British Psychological Society (1990 - 2015)

Awards

  • Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society 2011-05-01
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy 1996-05-31

Interests

  • Honour based violence
  • Investigative interviewing
  • Police investigative skills
  • Ressiliance of military and police personnel
  • Stalking and harassment
  • Suicide in policing and the military

Organisational Unit (School / Division)

  • Criminology & Policing

Contact

Email: Karl.Roberts@westernsydney.edu.au
Phone: (02) 9772 6102
Mobile:
Location: 3.6.10

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Publications

Books

  • Asquith, N., Bartkowiak-Theron, I. and Roberts, K. (2017), 'Policing Encounters with Vulnerability', : Palgrave Macmillan 9783319512273.
  • Roberts, K., Campbell, G. and Lloyd, G. (2014), 'Honor-Based Violence: Policing and Prevention', : CRC Press 9781466556652.

Chapters in Books

  • Roberts, K. (2022), 'Policing pandemics : developing effective policing responses during health emergencies', Law Enforcement and Public Health: Partners for Community Safety and Wellbeing, Springer 9783030839123.
  • Bartkowiak-Theron, I., Asquith, N. and Roberts, K. (2017), 'Vulnerability as a contemporary challenge for policing', Policing Encounters with Vulnerability, Palgrave Macmillan 9783319512273.
  • Roberts, K. (2017), 'Police interviews with survivors of historic child sexual abuse : challenges and solutions', Policing Encounters with Vulnerability, Palgrave 9783319512273.
  • Roberts, K. (2017), 'Honour-related beliefs and risk of harm : theory and challenges for policing', Policing Encounters with Vulnerability, Palgrave 9783319512273.
  • Roberts, K. (2015), 'Social psychology and the investigation of terrorism', Investigating Terrorism: Current Political, Legal and Psychological Issues, Wiley-Blackwell 9781119994152.
  • Roberts, K. (2014), 'Towards a psychologically oriented motivational model of honour-based violence', 'Honour' Killing and Violence: Theory, Policy and Practice, Palgrave 9781137289544.
  • Roberts, K. (2013), 'Urgent police interviews with suspects of terrorism under PACE : risks and mitigation', The Evolution of Policing: Worldwide Innovations and Insights, CRC Press 9781466567153.
  • Roberts, K. and Herrington, V. (2012), 'Detention and investigation of vulnerable suspects ', Policing Vulnerability, Federation Press 9781862878976.
  • Roberts, K. (2012), 'Strategic interrogation : interviewing terrorist suspects', Countering Terrorism: Psychosocial Strategies, SAGE 9788132109594.
  • Herrington, V. and Roberts, K. (2012), 'Risk assessment in counterterrorism', Countering Terrorism: Psychosocial Strategies, SAGE 9788132109594.
  • Roberts, K. (2011), 'Police and suspects : investigative interviewing - ethical and legal best practice', Policing in Practice, Palgrave Macmillan 9781420256468.
  • Roberts, K. and Davies, A. (2011), 'Communication skills for policing', Policing in Practice, Palgrave Macmillan 9781420256468.
  • Roberts, K. and Herrington, V. (2011), 'Police interviews with suspects : international perspective', The Handbook of Police Psychology, Routledge 9780415877664.
  • Roberts, K. (2010), 'Ethical police interviews with Islamist terror suspects : the significance of suspect behavioural, cultural and identity characteristics', Interdisciplinary Analysis of Terrorism and Political Aggression, Cambridge Scholars 9781443816403.
  • Roberts, K. (2008), 'Offender profiling and celebrity stalking cases', Stalking, Threatening, and Attacking Public Figures, Oxford University Press 9780195326383.

Journal Articles

  • Chen, T. and Roberts, K. (2021), 'Negative life events and suicide in the National Violent Death Reporting System', Archives of Suicide Research, vol 25, no 2 , pp 238 - 252.
  • Cubitt, T., Wooden, K. and Roberts, K. (2020), 'A machine learning analysis of serious misconduct among Australian police', Crime Science, vol 9 .
  • Roberts, K. (2019), 'Correlates of law enforcement suicide in the United States : a comparison with Army and Firefighter suicides using data from the National Violent Death Reporting System', Police Practice and Research, vol 20, no 1 , pp 64 - 76.
  • Roberts, K., Miller, M. and Azrael, D. (2019), 'Honor-related suicide in the United States : a study of National Violent Death Reporting System data', Archives of Suicide Research, vol 23, no 1 , pp 34 - 46.
  • Sheridan, L., Scott, A., Archer, J. and Roberts, K. (2017), 'Female undergraduate's perceptions of intrusive behavior in 12 countries', Aggressive Behavior, vol 43, no 6 , pp 531 - 543.
  • Sheridan, L., Scott, A. and Roberts, K. (2016), 'Young women's experiences of intrusive behavior in 12 countries', Aggressive Behavior, vol 42, no 1 , pp 41 - 53.
  • Roberts, K., Herrington, V., Jones, W., White, J. and Day, D. (2016), 'Police leadership in 2045 : the value of education in developing leadership', Policing, vol 10, no 1 , pp 26 - 33.
  • Asquith, N., Bartkowiak-Theron, I. and Roberts, K. (2016), 'Vulnerability and the criminal justice system', Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, vol 2, no 3 .
  • Roberts, K., Tolou-Shams, M. and Madera, K. (2016), 'Adolescent versus adult stalking : a brief review', Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, vol 16, no 4 , pp 236 - 252.
  • Roberts, K. and Herrington, V. (2013), 'Organisational and procedural justice : a review of the literature and its implications for policing', Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, vol 8, no 2 , pp 115 - 130.
  • Roberts, K. (2012), 'Police interviewing of criminal suspects : a historical perspective', Internet Journal of Criminology, , pp 1 - 17.
  • Herrington, V. and Roberts, K. (2012), 'Addressing psychological vulnerability in the police suspect interview', Policing, vol 6, no 2 , pp 177 - 186.
  • Sheridan, L. and Roberts, K. (2011), 'Key questions to consider in stalking cases', Behavioral Sciences and the Law, vol 29, no 2 , pp 255 - 270.
  • Roberts, K. (2011), 'Police interviews with terrorist suspects : risks, ethical interviewing and procedural justice', British Journal of Forensic Practice, vol 13, no 2 , pp 124 - 134.
  • Bjorklund, K., Hakkanen-Nyholm, H., Sheridan, L. and Roberts, K. (2010), 'Coping with stalking among university students', Violence and Victims, vol 25, no 3 , pp 395 - 408.
  • Roberts, K. (2010), 'Great expectations : relations of trust and confidence in police interviews with witnesses of crime', Policing, vol 4, no 3 , pp 265 - 272.
  • Bjorklund, K., Hakkanen-Nyholm, H., Sheridan, L. and Roberts, K. (2010), 'The prevalence of stalking among Finnish university students', Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol 25, no 4 , pp 684 - 698.
  • Herrington, V., Roberts, K. and Young, L. (2010), 'Building the education revolution? : training partnerships for strategic intelligence in Australia', The Journal of the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers, vol 18, no 2 , pp 23 - 42.
  • Roberts, K. and Herrington, V. (2010), 'Applying theory to intelligence practice : counter terrorism and the psychology of small group development', Journal of the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers, vol 18, no 2 , pp 43 - 55.
  • Roberts, K. (2009), 'Investigative interviewing and Islamic extremism : the case of public safety interviews', iIIRG Bulletin, vol 2, no 1 , pp 30 - 36.
  • Roberts, K. and Horgan, J. (2008), 'Risk assessment and the terrorist', Perspectives on Terrorism, vol 2, no 6 , pp 3 - 9.

Suicide in the US military

With colleagues from Harvard School of Public Health I am currently exploring factors associated with suicide amongst active service personnel in the US army. We are particularly concerned with the role of honour and moral outrage as psychological motives.

 

Suicide amongst serving police officers

With colleagues from Harvard School of Public Health I am currently exploring factors associated with suicide amongst active service personnel in US Law enforcement.

 

Exploring the US National Violent Death Reporting System for crime of Honour

With colleagues from Harvard School of Public Health I am currently examining the NVDRS data set looking at the characteristics of crimes that were motivated by honour related themes.

 

Stalking amongst adolescents

With colleagues at Brown University Rhode Island I am examining the experiences of a cohort of adolescents for their experiences of stalking and stalking violence.

 

Piloting of the stalking violence risk identification checklist

I am working with several police forces in the USA in piloting the stalking checklist the myself and Lorraine Sheridan designed for use in the United Kingdom  (Sheridan and Roberts, 2011) .

 

Organisational justice and legitimacy in police

I am working with Dr Victoria Herrington of the Australian Institute of police Management and Professor Mike Hough of the University of London on a project examining police experiences of organisational justice within their organisations.

 

This information has been contributed by Professor Roberts.

Supervision

Professor Roberts is available to be a principal supervisor for doctoral projects

Current Supervision

Thesis Title: Motivating Factors of Individuals in the Maintenance of Engagement Within Extreme Right Ideologically Based Small Group Structures
Field of Research:
Thesis Title: Mindfulness, Body and Soul: Building Resiliency on the Fly in High Demand Careers Using Micro Mindfulness Interventions and Measuring Heart Rate Variability
Field of Research:
Thesis Title: Detecting Deception within a Coercive Interviewing Environment
Field of Research:

Previous Supervision

Thesis Title: Examining human rights and ethical practice in Australian policing: A New South Wales Case Study
Field of Research: Other Society And Culture; Police Studies
Thesis Title: A Critical Examination of Australian Police Peacekeepers Navigating Ethics, Human Rights, Structure, and Agency in Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands
Field of Research: Other Society And Culture
Thesis Title: Domestic Violence: A Global Perspective
Field of Research:
Thesis Title: Reimagining Disablist and Ableist Violence as Abjection
Field of Research: Criminology; Society And Culture, N.e.c.; Sociology; Human Welfare Studies And Services

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