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International research group expands

21 April 2008

 

The University has played a major part in the formation of a new international research group. The International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG) aims to bring together academics and practitioners who wish to study and carry out research into investigative interviewing of victims, witnesses and crime suspects.

iIIRG was set up by Gavin Oxburgh, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at Teesside, pictured, and Trond Myklebust, Detective Chief Inspector and Academic Researcher from the Norwegian Police University College in Oslo (NPUC).

Earlier this year a formal agreement was signed between the University and NPUC. Gavin worked for the Royal Air Force Police for 22 years before joining the University. He said: ‘The whole aim of the group is to share good practice in this highly specialist area. It will be an invaluable resource for many academics and practitioners including psychologists, police officers, criminologists and linguists. The iIIRG has many world-renowned members in the area including Professors Ray Bull and Michael Lamb, Dr Becky Milne and Dr Georgina Heydon.

‘NPUC is an extremely useful link for Teesside as they offer Police education like our Foundation Degrees for Cleveland and West Mercia forces, only their trainee police officers complete a three year Bachelor degree. So we can share research into police training. Long term, we want to get more research published and attract more funding.’

The group was set up following a research seminar at the University last year. So far it has over 100 members from across the world, including the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Research areas include interviewing sex offenders, terrorists, violent offenders, vulnerable and intimidated witnesses and victims of crime. Their first international conference attracted more than 100 delegates.


 
 
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