Dr Gavin Oxburgh

Reader in Applied Forensic Psychology

Email: gavin.oxburgh@ncl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 6557
Address: School of Psychology,
Newcastle University
Room 5.11, 5th Floor,
Ridley Building 1,
Queen Victoria Road,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE1 7RU

Background

Dr. Gavin Oxburgh is a Reader in Applied Forensic Psychology (Associate Professor) and a member of the School Executive. He is a Forensic Psychologist (HCPC Registered), a Chartered Psychologist and Scientist, a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS). He is also a registered Expert Witness with the BPS and provides advice in legal cases in the UK and overseas. Following an appointment at NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, as the Child Protection and Vulnerable Persons Training Lead (2004 - 2006), Gavin entered academia, and joined the School of Psychology at Newcastle University in September 2013. Prior to academia, he had a highly successful 22-year career with the Royal Air Force Police where he was a senior detective specialising in child protection and sexual offences, serving throughout the UK and across Europe. He is an Associate Professor at the Norwegian Police University College, Oslo, and a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Kings College London.

Professional Qualifications

PhD Forensic Psychology - University of Portsmouth, UK. Thesis entitled, Developing a more effective framework for the investigative interviewing of suspected sex offenders.

MSc Forensic Psychology - University of Portsmouth, UK. Thesis entitled, Police officers use of emotional language during child sexual abuse investigations (see Oxburgh, Williamson & Ost, 2006, in Publications for further details).

BSc (Hons) Psychology - The Open University, UK.

PgCLTHE - Teesside University, UK

International Collaboration and Consultancy

Gavin works in close collaboration with many police forces and law enforcement agencies around the world, providing consultancy and training on a wide variety of topics relating to forensic psychology. For example, he works in close collaboration with the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, and provides specialist training to their Investigation Division (incl. investigators and their Protection Strategies Unit). In July 2016, he was invited by the United Nations to assist in the drafting of a new thematic report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In June 2017, he was invited to the UN Headquarters, New York City, to meet with Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights for a round-table meeting on developing a set of standards for investigative interviewing by law enforcement and attendant legal services across the world. In January 2018, he was invited to sit on a UN Steering Committee regarding universal standards for non-coercive interviewing and procedural safeguards.

He has also trained members of the European Investment Bank, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Investigation Services in specialist interview techniques. He has previously provided specialist training to members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and South African Prosecution Services on the investigative interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects involved in child sexual abuse and on-line child exploitation. In 2008, he was a specialist advisor to the Credibility Assessment Research Summit (CARS), Washington DC, on Educing Information from suspects, a US Government research group sponsored by the Defence Academy for Credibility Assessment (DACA).

Membership of Professional Bodies

Gavin is a member of the following professional bodies:

The UK Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC);
The British Psychological Society (BPS);
The BPS Division of Forensic Psychology (DFP) Training Committee (Deputy Chair);
The American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS);
The European Association of Psychology & Law (EAPL);
The UK Higher Education Academy (HEA);
The UK Science Council (UKSC).

Research

Gavin is the Director of the Newcastle Forensic Psychology Research Group and he has attracted over £1.9m in research grants to date from the ESRC/EPSRC, The British Academy, Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST), College of Policing, N8 Policing Research Partnership, and Newcastle University. His research draws upon, and contributes to, the broad area of forensic psychology including: International human rights; the investigative interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspected offenders; the social and cognitive processes associated with achieving co-operation (incl. the effects of vulnerability, culture, empathy, and rapport-building); mental health; miscarriages of justice; false and recovered memories; historical allegations of child sexual abuse, and; (cyber) crime in the cloud.

Gavin has published widely in the area of forensic psychology, policing, and communication (see publications), and regularly reviews research grants, empirical research papers and books for various research councils, major publishers and internationally renowned journals. He is also an Associate Editor for the Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, and is a member of the Centre for Research in Linguistics and Language Sciences (CRiLLS) at Newcastle University. In 2016, he founded the Newcastle Forensic Psychology Research Group and has developed a bespoke Forensic Interview Laboratory for use by staff and students conducting research in investigative interviewing. In 2017, he was awarded Associate Investigator status of the Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACE-CSR) which is EPSRC and GCHQ managed.

PhD and post-doctoral supervision

Gavin is currently supervising:

Naomi Jones (post-doc) - Working on joint EPSRC and ESRC project (CRITiCaL: Combatting Criminals in the Cloud). Part of the Northern Cloud Crime Centre.
Gary Pankhurst - Improving techniques to facilitate information retrieval during investigative interviews of suspected sex offenders;
William Webster - Towards an effective framework for interviews with victims of sexual assaults.

If you are interested in conducting a PhD under Gavin's supervision, please contact him at gavin.oxburgh@ncl.ac.uk

Recent Research Income (total successful funding received to date = £2,809,753.78).

April 2017 – Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner: Oxburgh, G.E. (2017). The evaluation of Sex Worker project in Northumbria (total grant received = £20,000).

March 2017 - Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST): Gabbert, F., Wright, G., Hope, L., & Oxburgh, G.E. (2017). Quantifying the effectiveness of an evidence-based rapport-building training programme for use in information-gathering contexts (total grant received = £119,466.38).

February 2017 – Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner: Oxburgh, G.E., Gabbert, G., & Wright, G. (2017). The evaluation of polygraph and eye detect testing of convicted sexual offenders (total grant received = £27,000).

January 2017 – British Academy: Hope, L., Gabbert, F., Oxburgh, G.E., Ferenczi , N., & Umurerwa, O. (2016). Supporting the investigation of genocide, war crime and crimes against humanity: Towards evidence-driven policy for building trust and rapport in cross-cultural interviewing contexts (total grant received = £43,655).

March 2016 – College of Policing, UK: Gabbert, F., Hope, L., Oxburgh, G. E., La Rooy, D., Oxburgh, L. D., Wheeler, R., McGregor, A. (2016). The development of a systematic map - What works in investigative interviewing? (SO16774) (total grant received = £7,553.28);

June 2015 – Newcastle University Innovation Fund: St Clair-Thompson, H., Rosenkranz, P., Tzemou, E., Clapperton, T., Fielden, A., Thorpe, S., Oxburgh, G. E. (2015). How to facilitate reading for undergraduate psychology students (total grant received = £1,520).

June 2015 – Patent Support Fund, Newcastle University: Oxburgh, G. E., Oxburgh, L. D., & Gabbert, F. (2015). Development of ‘Forensic Interview Trace’ software (total grant received = £6,500).

March 2015 – Newcastle University PhD Studentship (commencing September 2015): Improving techniques to facilitate information retrieval during investigative interviews of suspected sex offenders (total award = £60,000).

February 2015 – Joint Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) grant: Gross, T., Oxburgh, G. E., Bacardit, J., Yan, J., Ploetz, T., van Moorsel, A., & Yan, J. (2014). CRITiCaL – Combatting cRiminals In The Cloud (total grant received = £2,503,635.35 (£1,178,126.61 excluding matched funding from HEIs & other partners).

February 2015 - N8 Policing Research Partnership - HEFCE Catalyst Fund. Innovation and the application of knowledge for more effective policing. Clark, J., & Oxburgh, G. E. (total grant = £193,118.43). Part of a grant application to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for £2,999,822 (overall grant total = circa. £7,100,000 which includes matched funding from N8 HEIs and policing partners).

The International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG)

Gavin is the Chair and Founding Director of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG), a worldwide network of interviewing professionals, developed to maintain research-based practice and practice-based research amongst academic researchers and law-enforcement professionals. The iIIRG, which was founded in 2007, is now present in 31 countries and has its own International, peer-reviewed journal, Investigative Interviewing: Research and Practice. If you would like to join the iIIRG or just find out more about this unique and specialist group, please click here.

Media and Public Engagement Activities (related to research)

Gavin has taken part in public engagement activities and provided interviews about his research and International collaboration:

The Psychology of a Murder Investigation. Assisted with organisation, development and appearance in a public engagement initiative with Goldsmiths, University of London, 29th of January 2016;
Interview with BBC Radio 4 on the German Luftwaffe’s WWII ‘master interrogator’ Hanns Scharff and the effectiveness of empathy during contemporary police interviews and interrogations. Interrogation without pliers. Programme broadcast on 15^th October 2012;
Interview with NBC Business, USA, on the effectiveness of interview techniques in the UK and USA. 10^th February 2012, Middlesbrough, UK;
Interview with BBC Radio Tees on child sexual abuse and Internet grooming of children. 31^st January 2012, Middlesbrough, UK.

Teaching

Teaching Responsibilities

Undergraduate

Stage 3 Programme Director;
Module Leader for the Stage 3 Foundations in Forensic Psychology (PSY3030) elective module.

Postgraduate

Programme Director, MSc Forensic Psychology (BPS accredited);
Module Leader, Legal Psychology and The Criminal Justice System (PSY8046);
Module Leader, Professional Practice in Forensic Psychology (PSY8057);
Module Leader, Forensic Psychology Project (PSY8059).

PhD and Post-doctoral Supervision

Gavin is currently supervising:
- Naomi Jones (post-doc) - Working on joint EPSRC and ESRC project (CRITiCaL: Combatting Criminals in the Cloud). Part of the Northern Cloud Crime Centre
- Gary Pankhurst - Improving techniques to facilitate information retrieval during investigative interviews of suspected sex offenders;
- William Webster - Towards an effective framework for interviews with victims of sexual assaults.

If you are interested in conducting a PhD under Gavin's supervision, please view his research areas (using the Research tab above), then contact him at gavin.oxburgh@ncl.ac.uk

Office Hours

Please check e-portfolio or e-mail Gavin at gavin.oxburgh@ncl.ac.uk to make an appointment.

Publications

Warren S, Oxburgh G, Briggs P, Wall D. How might crime-scripts be used to support the understanding and policing of cloud crime?. In: International Conference on Human Aspects of Information Security, Privacy, and Trust (HAS 2017). 2017, Vancouver, BC, Canada: Springer Verlag.
Oxburgh GE, Myklebust T, Grant TD, Milne R, ed. Communication in Investigative and Legal Contexts: Integrated Approaches from Forensic Psychology, Linguistics and Law Enforcement. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2016.
Oxburgh GE, Myklebust T, Grant T, Milne R. Communication in Investigative and Legal Settings: Introduction and Contexts. In: Oxburgh, G.E; Myklebust, T; Grant, T; Milne, R, ed. Communication in Investigative and Legal Contexts: Integrated Approaches from Forensic Psychology, Linguistics and Law Enforcement. Chichester, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2016, pp.1-14.
Myklebust T, Oxburgh GE, Walsh D, Redlich A. Conclusion: Interview practices for victims and witnesses - realising our potential. In: Walsh, D; Oxburgh, G.E; Redlich, A; Myklebust, T, ed. International Developments and Practices in Investigative Interviewing and Interrogation: Victims and Witnesses. London, UK: Routledge, 2016, pp.299-303.
Walsh D, Redlich A, Oxburgh GE, Myklebust T. Conclusion: Interviews and interrogation of suspects - Obtaining the truth, not just confessions. In: Walsh, D; Oxburgh, G.E; Redlich, A; Myklebust, T, ed. International Developments and Practices in Investigative Interviewing and Interrogation: Suspects. London, UK: Routledge, 2016, pp.267-270.
Dando C, Oxburgh GE. Empathy in the field: Towards a taxonomy of empathic communication in information gathering interviews with suspected sex offenders. The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context 2016, 8(1), 27-33.
Walsh D, Oxburgh GE, Redlich A, Myklebust T, ed. International developments and practices in investigative interviewing and interrogation. Routledge, 2016.
Oxburgh GE, Fahsing I, Haworth K, Blair JP. Interviewing suspected offenders. In: Oxburgh, G.E; Myklebust, T; Grant, T; Milne, R, ed. Communication in Investigative and Legal Contexts: Integrated Approaches from Forensic Psychology, Linguistics and Law Enforcement. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2016, pp.135-158.
Redlich A, Walsh D, Oxburgh GE, Myklebust T. Introduction: International developments in practice for suspects of crime. In: Walsh, D; Oxburgh, G.E; Redlich, A; Myklebust, T, ed. International Developments and Practices in Investigative Interviewing and Interrogation: Suspects. London, UK: Routledge, 2016, pp.1-4.
Oxburgh GE, Myklebust T, Redlich A, Walsh D. Introduction: International developments in practice for victim and witness interviews. In: Walsh, D; Oxburgh, G.E; Redlich, A; Myklebust, T, ed. International Developments and Practices in Investigative Interviewing and Interrogation: Victims and Witnesses. London, UK: Routledge, 2016, pp.1-3.
Oxburgh GE, Hynes I. Investigative practice. In: Radcliffe, P; Gudjonsson, G; Heaton-Armstrong, A & Wolchover, D, ed. Witness Testimony in Sexual Cases: Evidential, Investigative and Scientific Perspectives. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2016, pp.221-233.
Livermore C, Oxburgh GE. Professionals’ experiences of vicarious traumatisation and working within multi-agency teams: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, 2016.
Oxburgh GE, Ost J, Morris P, Cherryman J. Police officers' perceptions of interviews in cases of sexual offences and murder involving children and adult victims. Police Practice and Research: An International Journal 2015, 16(1), 36-50.
Oxburgh GE. Forensic psychology: Current initiatives and research in investigative interviewing. In: Health and Social Work International Conference. 2013, Hamm, Germany.
Oxburgh GE. Improving the efficacy of investigative procedures in South Africa. In: Health and Social Work International Conference. 2013, Hamm, Germany.
Oxburgh GE, Ost J, Morris P, Cherryman J. The Impact of Question Type and Empathy on Police Interviews with Suspects of Homicide, Filicide and Child Sexual Abuse. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 2013, 21(6), 903-917.
Oxburgh GE. The psychology of interviewing suspects, from Woolwich to Boston. London: The Conversation, 2013. Available at: https://theconversation.com/the-psychology-of-interviewing-suspects-from-woolwich-to-boston-14827.
Oxburgh GE. Collaborative, International research in investigative interviewing. In: Quebec du Nationale de Police 5th Annual Conference. 2012, Quebec, Canada.
Oxburgh GE. Empathetic questioning techniques should be used on sex offenders. Middlesbrough: The Northern Echo, 2012.
Oxburgh GE. Investigative interviewing of high-stake offenders: Current practice and the efficacy of training. In: Youth Research Unit Annual Conference. 2012, University of South Africa, Pretoria.
Phillips E, Oxburgh GE, Gavin A, Myklebust T. Investigative Interviews with Victims of Child Sexual Abuse: The Relationship between Question Type and Investigation Relevant Information. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology 2012, 27(1), 45-54.
Oxburgh GE, Ost J, Cherryman J, Morris P. Police officers’ perceptions of interview techniques with suspects of sexual offences and murder. In: 5th Annual Conference of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG). 2012, Toronto, Canada.
Oxburgh GE, Ost J, Cherryman J, Morris P. The impact of empathy and question type on information obtained in police interviews with suspects of filicide, child rape and adult murder. In: 5th Annual Conference of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG). 2012, Toronto, Canada.
Oxburgh GE, Sparrow T. Best practice interview techniques. In: Business Systems (UK) Annual Conference. 2011, London, UK.
Oxburgh GE. Developing a more effective framework for the investigative interviewing of suspected sex offenders. 2011. Portsmouth, UK: University of Portsmouth, 57.
Oxburgh GE, Dando CJ. Psychology and interviewing: What direction now in our quest for reliable information?. British Journal of Forensic Practice 2011, 13(2), 135-144.
Myklebust T, Oxburgh GE. Reviewing the Case (Post-interview). In: Lamb, M., La Rooy, D., Katz, C., Malloy, L, ed. Children’s Testimony: A Handbook of Psychological Research and Forensic Practice. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, pp.165-178.
Oxburgh GE, Walsh D, Milne B. The Importance of Applied Research in Investigative Interviewing: A Real-life Perspective. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 2011, 8(2), 105-109.
Oxburgh GE, Myklebust T, Grant T. The question of question types in police interviews: A review of the literature from a psychological and linguistic perspective. In: 4th Annual Conference of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG). 2011, Dundee, Scotland.
Oxburgh GE, Ost J. The Use and Efficacy of Empathy in Police Interviews with Suspects of Sexual Offences. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 2011, 8(2), 178-188.
Oxburgh GE, Ost J, Cherryman J. The impact of empathy and question type: An analysis of police interviews with suspects of child sexual abuse, filicide and adult murder. In: 3rd Annual Conference of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG). 2010, Stavern, Norway: IIIRG.
Oxburgh GE. The question of question types in police interviews. In: 9th Annual Conference of the International Academy of Investigative Psychology. 2010, London, UK.
Oxburgh GE, Myklebust T, Grant T. The question of question types in police interviews: A review of the literature from a psychological and linguistic perspective. International Journal of Speech, Language & the Law 2010, 17(1), 45-66.
Oxburgh GE, Ost J, Cherryman J. Interviewing suspected child sex offenders: Factors that influence the obtaining of investigation relevant information. In: 19th Annual Conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law. 2009.
Oxburgh GE, Gozna L, Teicher S, Boon J. Interviewing suspected offenders in the UK: Fiction, facts & future directions. In: 2nd Annual Conference of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG). 2009, Teesside University, Middlesbrough.
Oxburgh GE, Ost J, Cherryman J, Wilson C. Communicating with sex offenders: A content analyses of investigative interviews. In: 18th Annual Conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law. 2008, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
Oxburgh GE, Myklebust T. Effective communication with child sex offenders. In: European Police College (CEPOL). 2008, Stockholm, Sweden.
Walsh D, Oxburgh GE. Investigative interviewing of suspects: Historical and contemporary developments in research. Forensic Update 2008, 92, 41-45.
Anand D, Oxburgh GE. Understanding sex offenders. In: European Police College (CEPOL) Annual Conference. 2008, Oslo, Norway.
Oxburgh GE, Ost J, Cherryman J, Wilson JC. A content analyses of investigative interviews with suspected sex offenders. In: Division of Forensic Psychology Annual Conference. 2007, University of York, UK.
Oxburgh GE. Child sexual abuse: The use of emotional utterances by forensic interviewers. In: Language, Psychology and Law Conference. 2006, University of Leicester, UK.
Oxburgh GE, Ost J, Cherryman J, Wilson JC. Investigative interviewing: Can negative emotion affect the quality?. In: 2nd International Investigative Interviewing Conference. 2006, University of Portsmouth, UK.
Oxburgh GE, Williamson T, Ost J. Police officers' use of emotional language during child sexual abuse investigations. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 2006, 3(1), 35-45.
Bell A, Keys M, Good L, Oxburgh GE, Mitchell R. Turbulent times: The impact of child abuse inquiries on child protection policy, practice and education in Scotland. In: International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse & Neglect. 2006, University of York, UK.
Oxburgh GE. Child sexual abuse: The use of emotional utterances by forensic interviewers. In: Investigative Interviewing of Child Witnesses Conference: Taking Stock and Moving Forward. 2005, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Oxburgh GE, Williamson T, Ost J. Police officers’ use of emotional language during child sexual abuse investigations. In: 15th Annual Conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law. 2005, Vilnius, Lithuania.