Associate Professor Stephane Shepherd awarded ARC Grant

Associate Professor Stephane Shepherd from the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology has been awarded an ARC Discovery Grant for the project ‘Understanding the drivers and motivators of extremist violence’.

The project received total funding of $864,680 for the period 2023-26 and will be conducted with fellow researchers Professor Michele Grossman, Professor Michele Pathé and Professor Paul Gill.

Despite intense interest in the issue, the understanding of and ability to respond to extremist violence is limited. This innovative program of research is designed to establish an empirical foundation for understanding and responding to extremist violence in Australia. It aims to examine risk and protective factors for such violence, the needs of those susceptible to committing such acts, and the effectiveness of intervention. Findings are expected to inform health, national security, social welfare, and justice agencies in their pursuit to identify those at risk of offending, address their clinical needs and manage the risk of harm they pose to society and to themselves.

Forensicare works in partnership with the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science (CFBS) at Swinburne University of Technology. The CFBS is Australasia’s leading centre for excellence in the areas of forensic mental health and forensic behavioural science research, teaching and practice development.