Australia has the highest rate of amphetamine dependence in the world, and of all the world’s regions, Australasia has, by a substantial margin, the highest rate of all-cause deaths associated with amphetamine dependence. Methamphetamine in its crystal form is particularly addictive and can quickly ruin the health and derail the lives of users and pose enormous challenges for their families and friends. In NSW, a staggering figure of around 8,000 persons with a current crystal methamphetamine addiction are received into the state’s gaols every year and require detoxing. But are we doing enough to help addicts get back on track? Should simple use and possession remain criminalised? Another drug in the amphetamine family is MDMA (‘ecstasy’) which, whilst less addictive, can have harmful side effects and can be especially dangerous to naïve users. MDMA has been linked to numerous deaths of young adults attending music festivals. There have been strong calls for the introduction of ‘pill testing’ facilities and an equally strong resistance by the NSW government to this. The ‘Ice Inquiry’ heard a vast amount of evidence and did a ‘deep dive’ into the many problems arising from amphetamine use, and its report released in February 2020 made 109 recommendations for addressing them. Before Covid-19 struck, the NSW government indicated that it would make a detailed response to the report by the end of the year. Nothing has yet been forthcoming, and in the meantime the pandemic has heightened the ‘drivers’ of drug use such that the problems identified in the report will only continue to worsen unless profound changes are made. About the Presenter Professor Dan Howard SC was the Commissioner of the Special Commission of inquiry into the Drug ‘Ice’, and delivered his final Report to the Governor and Premier of NSW on 28 January, 2020. A former President of the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal and a former Acting Judge of the District Court of NSW, Dan is a Visiting Professorial Fellow with the School of Law at the University of Wollongong, and has for many years taught ‘Psychiatry and the Criminal Law’ in the Masters of Forensic Mental Health Program at UNSW.  Tickets Registration for this webinar is free for all current ANZAPPL members, $10 for students and $20 for non-members. Click here to purchase tickets. Please note that this webinar will not be recorded. There will be an opportunity for discussion and questions at the end of the presentation.

The new Family Violence Act has changed much about prosecuting family violence. It will introduce two new criminal offences - Suffocation and Strangulation and a Persistent Family Violence Offence, which change the landscape under which family violence is prosecuted. The Act also makes changes to expert evidence in family violence, i.e. in terms of ‘who is an expert?’ and there will be a requirement for directions to be given to the jury about family violence. Western Australia is the first state to introduce a Serial Family Violence Offender declaration - a means of identifying high risk family violence offenders who often move from victim to victim. This presentation will discuss these amendments and also the other changes such as dowry abuse, explosive prohibitions, electronic monitoring, traffic fines and penalties. Ms Kati Kraszlan is the Commissioner for Victims at the Department of Justice and advocates to Government for ongoing improvement in victim of crime legislation, policies and services in Western Australia. Mr Tom Samuels is the A/Assistant Director, Legislative Services, Strategic Reform at the Department of Justice. He was the instructing officer on the bill and responsible for its passage through parliament. Please click here to purchase tickets.

Secure Care is considered to be one of the most intensive and restrictive forms of care provided for children who are at immediate and substantial risk of causing significant harm to themselves and/or others. Children requiring Secure Care are placed involuntarily in a locked centre in order to provide safety for themselves and others, with the overarching goal of being able to safely transition them back into the community. Many countries utilise such a service, however under vastly different frameworks and policies, with little evidence to support such differences. This presentation explores key findings from an international Churchill Fellowship examining care frameworks, stay duration and transition planning for children requiring Secure Care; as well as providing considerations for the development of a higher standard of therapeutic care in secured settings. Kelly Thompson is the Senior Clinical Psychologist for the Kath French Secure Care Centre in WA. Prior to this she worked in Residential Group Homes with children who have challenging, pain-based behaviour resultant from complex developmental trauma. Whilst her work has included experience in the private sector, her predominant focus has been on government systems, with a strong focus on the impact of trauma on children as well as the impact on the families and systems that surround the child. Kelly has recently completed a Churchill Fellowship, examining care frameworks, stay duration, and transition plans for children requiring Secure Care. CPD pending (for lawyers). This meeting will be preceded by ANZAPPL WA's Annual General Meeting. Please click here for more information. Please click here to purchase tickets.

On Wednesday 9 September 2020, ANZAPPL WA will hold its Annual General Meeting. The Annual General Meeting will summarise ANZAPPL WA's activities and financial status as well as elect committee members.  Please find below an order of business, proxy form (for those unable to attend the AGM but wishing to vote by proxy), and nomination form.  If you are an ANZAPPL member and interested in joining the ANZAPPL WA committee you are able to nominate yourself for any position.  Completed paperwork can be returned by email to Catherine Korda, Secretary, ANZAPPL WA:  secretary.anzapplwa@gmail.com. Please return your completed paperwork by 5.45pm on Wednesday 02/09/2020. The AGM will be followed by a seminar, 'Creating a secure foundation for children at risk', presented by Kelly Thompson, Senior Clinical Psychologist, Kath French Secure Care Centre. Please click here to RSVP. Order of business Proxy voting form Nomination form

Dr Malinder Bhullar is a forensic psychologist who qualified in Western Australia before moving to the UK in 2003. Her presentation will provide an overview of the RO-DBT theoretical and treatment framework; a brief look at research and therapeutic innovations using RO-DBT in forensic mental health and criminal justice contexts in the UK. It will also cover pioneering forensic RO-DBT in Australia and discussion of future projects. Dr Bhullar has owrked in prisons, inpatient secure settings and community forensic teams. Her clinical work has included assessment, research and treatment of complex mental disorder and trauma in violent offender populations, and expert witness work for parole boards and family and immigration cases. With the aid of Polyvagal Theory-informed clinical and theoretical models such as Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and RO-DBT, she has a special interest in organisational / systemic trauma and the prevention and management of trauma-related experience in staff who work in forensic settings. Price Students (full-time, unsalaried only) $20 ANZAPPL members $25 Non-members $35 The price includes a drink on arrival and light canapes prior to the presentation. Click here to purchase a ticket. RSVP: Please purchase tickets by Monday 27 July, 2020.

Ed Heffernan is the Director of the Queensland Forensic Mental Health Service and an Associate Professor in Psychiatry at The University of Queensland. He is a clinician with over 20 years’ experience working at the interface of the mental health and criminal justice systems and he leads the Forensic Mental Health Research Group at Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research. He is also the Clinical Director of the Mental Health Liaison Services to the Police Communications Centre and Queensland Ambulance. Ed will discuss the novel initiatives, the opportunities and the challenges for mental health services in supporting the first response to mental health crisis situations. He will overview and critique the range of collaborative models, including co-responder models, unique police mental health programs and the important role of the broader mental health sector in this space. He will discuss work happening in Queensland, including findings of a globally unique research study: Partners in Prevention: Understanding and Enhancing First Responses to Suicide Crisis Situations. Price: Registration for ANZAPPL members: $70 Registration for non-members: $90 Please click here to register.

We are excited to welcome Associate Professor Helen Fraser, Adjunct Associate Professor in Linguistics at the University of New England, Armidale, who will present a seminar on the use of covert recordings as evidence in criminal trials. The ANZAPPL NSW Branch AGM will be held prior to the presentation. 2020 AGM minutes 2020 AGM election notice ANZAPPL NSW 2020 AGM notice and agenda ANZAPPL NSW 2020 AGM Proxy

Tony Buti MLA is the Member for Armadale, a lawyer and legal academic and prolific writer. In his fourth book ‘A Stolen life’, Buti continues his examination of the Trevorrow case, this time with an in-depth examination of the life of Bruce Trevorrow, his fight for recognition and compensation and the processes he lived through to gain a final judgement. State authorities failed to return baby Bruce Trevorrow to his family after he was hospitalised with a short illness. He did not see his biological family for 10 years after he was placed in a non-indigenous household. He lost his attachment to his family and indigenous culture. He was never able to properly connect with his brothers and sisters. Tony introduces the reader to the work of Dr John Bowlby whose seminal report in the 1950s changed the way we view the relationship of parent and child. Bowlby’s work on attachment has been influential in many fields and in Trevorrow's case, it provides the template for understanding the dislocation suffered by Trevorrow throughout his life. The understanding of attachment theory was an important element in the ultimate discussion of damages for Trevorrow as the plaintiff. In this seminar Tony will be discussing the key details of the book, how it came towritten and his interest in the Trevorrow case. Price Students (full-time, unsalaried only) - $20 ANZAPPL Members $25 Non-members $35 A drink on arrival and light canapes will be provided prior to the presentation. Please RSVP by Monday 17 February. Click here to RSVP.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This year the ANZAPPL WA committee have decided to give back to the people who have supported us through their membership in 2019. Join us for a Christmas sundowner in a relaxed environment, have a few drinks and nibbles on us, and mingle with those people that you see at our seminars but never have a chance to talk to! Price Members of ANZAPPL (WA) – FREE Non-members – $45

There has been a global increase in lone actor attacks in recent years, and Australia and New Zealand have not been spared. This presentation will describe the current national security environment and the limitations of traditional policing responses. It will focus on the concept of lone actor grievance-fuelled violence, including lone actor terrorism. The presentation will highlight the non-causal role of mental illness and related vulnerabilities in lone actor terrorists, apolitical mass murderers and fixated persons, the roles and responsibilities of mental health practitioners in mitigating the threat posed, and the increasing need for multi-agency cooperation to achieve the best outcome for these individuals and the wider community. Speaker Professor Michele Pathé is a forensic psychiatrist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health (Forensicare), Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Swinburne University of Technology and Clinical Lead at the Victorian Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (VFTAC). Professor Pathé was a member of the multi-national Fixated Research Group commissioned by the British Home Office to investigate the threat posed to the British Royal Family and politicians by fixated persons. This project culminated in the establishment of the world’s first FTAC in the UK in 2006, a joint police-mental health intelligence agency for assessing and managing fixated persons. Professor Pathé has since played a key role in setting up Australia’s first FTAC in Queensland (QFTAC) in 2013 and its later expansion to address lone actor grievance-fuelled violence more broadly. This received an Australian Crime and Violence Prevention National Gold Award in 2017. Prof Pathé consulted to the AFP in the establishment of its Fixated Threat Assessment model for high office holders in Canberra, and provided consultation and training to fixated threat capabilities in other Australian jurisdictions and New Zealand. She has consulted widely to health, law enforcement and security personnel in relation to stalking, public figure fixation, lone actor terrorism and other forms of grievance-fuelled violence. She has co-authored risk assessment tools, three books and 100 journal articles and book chapters. In 2018 she received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.

Violence against an intimate partner is common and can have a wide range of outcomes. In this seminar leading experts will share their knowledge concerning how we might identify and respond to the highest-risk offenders. Click here to download a flyer [PDF]. 1630-1640: Welcome, Introduction and Context Professor Mark Kebbell, School of Applied Psychology and Griffith Institute of Criminology, Griffith University. 1640-1700: Intimate partner violence fundamentals – how the law is structured, and how it is applied. Joseph Briggs, Queensland Legal Aid View PowerPoint [PDF] 1700-1720 :Learning from Tragedy: Findings from The Queensland Domestic and Family Death Review Board. Associate Professor Kathleen Baird, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University Deputy Chair, Queensland Domestic and Family Death Review and Homicide Review Board. View PowerPoint [PDF] 1720-1750: Assessing intimate partner violence risk: challenges and possible solutions. Associate Professor Troy McEwan, Swinbourne University and Forensicare. View PowerPoint [PDF] 1750-1800: Closing remarks Speakers Professor Mark Kebbell is Queensland President of ANZAPPL and Professor of Forensic Psychology at the School of Applied Psychology Griffith University and Griffith Criminology Institute. His expertise and research are in the area of investigative psychology particularly with regards the investigation and prosecution of serious crime. Mark’s previous work has included writing the guidelines for police officers in England and Wales (with Wagstaff) for assessing witness evidence and developing risk assessment methods for policing. Joseph Briggs was admitted as a barrister in 1992 and, since 1998, has been a member of the Public Defenders’ Chambers of Legal Aid Queensland in Brisbane. Joe has considerable experience in trial courts in diverse locations including the aboriginal communities in the Gulf and Mt Isa regions on circuit. He has conducted a number of appeals in the Court of Appeal, and has appeared in a number of Commissions of Inquiry including the Indefinite detention of people with cognitive and psychiatric impairment in Australia in 2016. For the many years, Joe has also practised in the Queensland Mental Health Court and has conducted over 1800 matters including numerous murders and attempted murders, and has also represented several persons who have appealed from decisions of the Mental Health Court. Joe has experience in the Mental Health Review Tribunal and is a member of the Queensland Law Society (QLS) Health and Disability Committee and helped established the QLS Ethics Sub-Committee. Associate Professor Kathleen Baird holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor with the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Griffith University and Director of Midwifery and Nursing Education, Women Newborn and Children’s Services at Gold Coast University Hospital. Dr Baird has been a midwife since 1996 and has clinical experience in a variety of positions. In her academic career, which stretches over two continents, Dr Baird work has a strong focus on maternity care, the health response to domestic and family violence and women’s health. Her current appointments include a member of Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Implementation Council and Deputy Chair of the Queensland Domestic and Family Death and Homicide Review Board. Dr Baird is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow with the University of the West of England, Bristol. Associate Professor Troy McEwan is National President of ANZAPPL and a senior clinical and forensic psychologist at Forensicare in Melbourne, and a researcher with a particular interest in the effective assessment, treatment and management of complex criminal behaviours such as stalking, family and intimate partner violence, sexual offending, and firesetting. In addition to more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, she has co-authored and validated five risk assessment instruments for stalking and family violence, which are used by police, mental health and related agencies in Australia and around the world.

After the Lindt café siege in Sydney in 2014, the NSW Coroner concluded that although he did not have a mental illness, the Iranian-born gunman Man Haron Monis had become ‘radicalised’ and committed a ‘terrorist act.’ In his findings, the NSW Coroner was highly critical of the psychiatrist who advised and supported the police negotiators throughout the siege. However, most of the assumptions made by the NSW Coroner can be questioned and his criticism of the psychiatrist was misplaced and ill-informed and overstated the psychiatrist’s influence on the negotiation strategy adopted by the police. The Coroner’s disparagement of the psychiatrist who considered all the information known about Monis and developed a sophisticated formulation may have the unintended consequence that psychiatrists may be reluctant to assist police and security agencies in hostage-sieges or other critical incidents. Dr Russ Scott, Forensic Psychiatrist to the Prison Mental Health Service, Queensland. Dr Scott has a degree in Medicine and Surgery (University of Queensland) and a Masters of Law (Queensland University of Technology). He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and was the first psychiatrist to obtain accreditation as a forensic psychiatrist in Australia and New Zealand. Dr Scott was the consultant to the acute female inpatient unit of Thomas Embling Hospital in Victoria before he became the consultant to the acute male inpatient unit at High Security Inpatient Services at The Park – Centre for Mental Health, Wolston Park, Brisbane. Between 2008 – 2011, Dr Scott was the medical issues section editor of the Journal of Law and Medicine and continues to be a regular contributor to the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Australasian Psychiatry and Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. Dr Scott is currently a consultant psychiatrist to the Prison Mental Health Service, Queensland Health and honorary secretary of the Queensland Branch of ANZAPPL. View PowerPoint [PDF] View Paper [PDF]

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a national Indigenous consensus position on Indigenous constitutional recognition. The statement called for the establishment of a ‘First Nations Voice’ in the Australian Constitution and the establishment of a ‘Makarrata Commission’ to supervise a process of agreement-making and truth-telling between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Colleen Hayward Professor Colleen Hayward is a senior Noongar woman with extensive family links throughout the south-west of WA. For more than 30 years, Colleen has provided significant input to policies and programs on a wide range of issues, reflecting the needs of minority groups at community, state and national levels. She has an extensive background in a range of areas including health, education, training, employment, housing, child protection and law & justice as well as significant experience in policy and management. She has received a number of prestigious awards for her long-standing work for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the advancement of human rights and anti-racism, education, and equity and social justice. Colleen is a Western Australian Ambassador for Children and Young People. She currently chairs the Alcohol and Other Drugs Advisory Board for the Mental Health Commission and is a member of the State Government’s Meth Amphetamine Taskforce. She is also a member of the WA Gaming and Wagering Commission and the Board of the Fremantle Football Club. She has recently accepted an invitation of membership of Chief Executive Women (Australia). Price Students (full time, unsalaried only) – $20 ANZAPPL Members – $25 Non-members – $35 A drink on arrival and light canapés will be provided prior to the presentation.

The traditional method used with suspects is to interrogate them using an accusatory style, often from the beginning of the interrogation.  Recent in research in several countries consistently demonstrates that a noteworthy proportion of guilty suspects have already decided to confess before the interview commences, and thus this traditional approach may be ‘seen’ to work for them.  For other suspects new research suggests such an approach may well not be effective.  A different approach was adopted over 25 years ago in England, which is now being adopted elsewhere (e.g. in Australia, Japan, Norway, USA) and has been recommended by a United Nations ‘Special Rapporteur’.  Instead of the seeking of confessions (that may provide very little information), this ‘new’ approach encourages suspects to provide as much relevant information as possible, the contents of which can be verified or challenged.  Research on how best to elicit such information and when best to disclose to suspects information known to the investigators will be described. Speaker Ray Bull is (part-time) Professor of Criminal Investigation at The University of Derby.  In 2014 he became (for three years) President of the European Association of Psychology and Law.  In 2012 he was made the first Honorary Life Member of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group.  In 2010 he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Psychological Society “for the contribution made to the discipline of psychology” (this honour is restricted to 40 living psychologists).  In 2008 he received from the European Association of Psychology and Law the ‘Award for Life-time Contribution to Psychology and Law’.  In 2005 he received a Commendation from the London Metropolitan Police for “Innovation and professionalism whilst assisting a complex rape investigation”.  He has authored/co-authored a large number of research publications.  He regularly acts as an expert witness and conducts workshops/training on investigative interviewing around the world, including in Australia (e.g. at the Western Australia Police Detective School), Belgium, Brazil (e.g. to parts of the national government), Canada (e.g. at the HQ of the Quebec Province Police), China (e.g. at the Beijing Police Academy and the Zheijang Police University), Cyprus (e.g. at the National Police Academy), Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (e.g. at an event organized by The Gendarmerie), Germany, Ireland (e.g. at the National Police Training School), Italy, Jamaica (e.g. to the Independent Commission of Investigations), Japan, Kenya, South Korea (e.g. at the National Detective Academy), Malaysia (e.g. at the National Police Academy), Mauritius (at the National Police Academy), Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand (e.g. at various detective training sites), Norway (e.g. at the National Police University), Pakistan (e.g. to terrorism investigators), Poland (e.g. at the National Academy for Border Guards), Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa (e.g. to the Police Behavioural Science Branch), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan (at the National Police University), Thailand (to the Royal Thai Police), USA (e.g. to the ‘HIG’ initiative), Zambia.

During his evidence to the current Coroner’s Inquest into deaths at music festivals in New South Wales, Canberra A & E consultant Dr David Caldicott asserted that the “evidence” shows that on-site pill-testing “reduces the amount of drugs consumed by individuals” and “reduces the variety of drugs consumed.” However, a recent review of pill testing in 20 countries was not able to cite any studies from anywhere in the world that demonstrated a decrease in substance use or the variety of substances used at music festivals or any effect on hospital attendances or any positive outcome attributable to any form of pill testing. In April 2018, the first pilot study of ‘front of house’ pill testing (also known as “safety testing”) was conducted in Australia during the Groovin’ The Moo music festival which attracted over 24,000 attendees. Of the 75 attendees who had their pills tested and received the brief motivational interview to discourage them from taking their pills, more than half (58%) said they intended to use the drugs as originally planned, 12% said they would use less drug, 5% said they would not use the tested drug but would use another drug and 7% were undecided. Less than a fifth (18%) said they would not use any illicit drugs and only five (7%) were observed to discard their pills in the amnesty bin provided. There is a concern that formalised pill testing may create the illusion of “safety” and contribute further to the normalisation of substance use at music festivals in Australia. For the affirmative Mark Daglish Current Chairperson, Faculty of Addiction Psychiatry, Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (Queensland Branch) View PowerPoint [PDF] For the negative Russ Scott Forensic Psychiatrist, Prison Mental Health Service Honorary Secretary ANZAPPL (Queensland Branch) View PowerPoint [PDF] View Paper [PDF] Chairperson Jeff Buckley Alcohol and other Drugs Expert and Educator