Foreword

[Extract]
I have been working in tertiary education for over 15 years now. Previously, while serving in the Australian Regular Army as a Driver/Signaller in an M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier in the Royal Australian Armoured Corp, I decided to pursue studies in law in the hope of becoming a police officer. While studying law, I encountered a subject titled Human Behaviour Perspectives for Police, and found this side of human behavior and psychology to be far more interesting than any aspect of law I had studied. I changed the direction of my studies and eventually found myself enrolled in a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) at the Queensland University of Technology.

While studying, I had the opportunity to meet with and learn from an amazing lecturer, Dr Tricia Fox. Tricia’s teaching style and the ability to build rapport with her students was amazing, and I found myself having many talks outside of the class with her about the area, my studies, and my future prospects. I learned that she had worked in the prison system, and found this aspect of her past employment fascinating. I started to direct my studies toward the broader criminal justice system, and urged on by Tricia, wrote all the essays I would on criminal behavior. I became “that” undergraduate who was never happy with the stock essay questions provided by the lecturers, and became frustrated when Tricia would let me follow my interests but others would not. Still, I wrote what I could on criminal behavior, and with no shortage of nagging, other teaching staff eventually caved, allowing me to follow my interests.