Violence Risk Assessment Certificate

× Dr. Stephen D. Hart obtained BA, MA, and Ph.D. degrees in psychology at the University of British Columbia. He has been on faculty in the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University since 1990 and has held the rank of Professor since 2001. He also served as a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Bergen in Norway between 2000 and 2021. His expertise is in the field of clinical-forensic psychology, with a special focus on the assessment of violence risk and psychopathic personality disorder. He has co-authored more than 250 books, chapters, and articles. He has served as editor of two scientific journals, a member of the editorial board of eight journals, and an ad hoc reviewer for more than 40 journals. He has served as an executive committee member of several professional organizations, including the President of the American Psychology-Law Society and the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services. He has received various distinctions for his professional work, including the Career Achievement Award from the Society of Clinical Psychology, the Saleem Shah Award for Early Career Research Excellence in Psychology and Law from the American Psychology-Law Society and the American Academy of Forensic Psychology, and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals. He maintains an active practice in violence risk assessment. He has consulted with government agencies from more than 25 countries; led more than 500 training workshops around the world; and given expert evidence before courts, tribunals, inquests, review boards, and parliamentary committees in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

× Dr. Kevin S. Douglas received his law degree (LL.B.) in 2000 from the University of British Columbia and his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in clinical (forensic) psychology from Simon Fraser University. He spent three years on faculty at the University of South Florida in Tampa and has been on faculty at Simon Fraser University since 2004. He is currently Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University. He is also a Guest Professor of Applied Criminology at Mid-Sweden University and a Senior Research Advisor at the University of Oslo. He received a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Career Scholar Award (2005-2010), and was the recipient of the Saleem Shah Award for Early Career Excellence in Psychology and Law (2005), awarded jointly by the American Psychology-Law Society and the American Academy of Forensic Psychology. Dr. Douglas has authored over 150 journal articles, books, or book chapters.

He has given over 150 invited presentations or workshops across 12 countries. His research and professional activities include violence risk assessment and management, the association between various mental and personality disorders (i.e., psychosis; psychopathy) and violence, and dynamic (changeable, treatment-relevant) risk factors in both youth and adults. He is co-author of the Historical-Clinical-Risk Management-20 (HCR-20) violence risk assessment measure, which has been translated into 20 languages and is the most broadly used violence risk assessment measure around the world (roughly 35 countries) in correctional, forensic, and psychiatric settings. Its purpose is to help guide decisions about violence potential and how to reduce it. Dr. Douglas is the lead author on the latest (third) revision of the HCR-20, published in 2013. His work has been funded, to the amount of approximately $5,000,000, by the National Science Foundation in the US and, in Canada, by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

× Laura S. Guy obtained her BA in psychology at McGill University in Quebec, MA in clinical (forensic) psychology at Sam Houston State University in Texas, and Ph.D. in clinical (forensic) psychology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. She completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS). She has Board Certification in Forensic Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology and is registered to practice psychology in Canada and the United States. As part of a team at Protect International, she conducts workplace violence risk assessments and is a psychologist with the Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission of British Columbia. She was on faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at UMMS from 2009 to 2015 and currently is Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University. She is active in research, having received research grants from federal agencies in the United States and Canada, and is the (co)author of over 150 articles, chapters, reports, manuals, and presentations. She is active in professional organizations, serving as Senior Editor of Journal of Threat Assessment and Management; ad hoc reviewer for more than 17 journals, as well as several granting agencies; and a board or executive committee member of several professional organizations, including Business Secretary of the Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals. She has consulted with and provided training workshops for mental health, law enforcement, probation, corrections, and legal professionals in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region.

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Dr. Otto is Director of Division of Forensic Behavioral Sciences at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is licensed to practice psychology in Florida and is board certified in clinical psychology and forensic psychology (ABPP). Dr. Otto has authored books on ethics in forensic psychology practice, forensic psychological assessment, report writing and expert testimony, and violence risk assessment. He currently serves as Executive Director of the American Board of Forensic Psychology. Dr. Otto’s research and writing focus on forensic psychological assessment. He has developed two psychological tests that are used in forensic assessment settings, and he has authored and edited books on forensic psychological evaluation, expert testimony and report writing, ethics in forensic psychology practice, assessment of trial competence, violence risk assessment and Florida mental health law. Dr. Otto has served as president of the American Psychology-Law Society, the American Board of Forensic Psychology, and the Board of Trustees of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 41) and has received awards for his professional contributions from the American Academy of Forensic Psychology, the American Psychology-Law Society, the Society for Personality Assessment, the New York State Psychological Association, the University of Nebraska, and the University of California, San Francisco. He currently serves as Executive Director of the American Board of Forensic Psychology. Dr. Otto shares that his daughter is continually amazed that some are actually willing to pay to hear him speak, when she regularly volunteers to pay to have him shut up. When not at work or with his wife and daughter, Dr. Otto is likely to be found at a poker table or on a motorcycle.

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Barry Rosenfeld is a Professor of Psychology and Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University. He is currently the President of the American Psychology-Law Society and past president of the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services. Dr. Rosenfeld has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters addressing a wide range of topics in psychology and law, including malingering, violence risk assessment, and cross-cultural issues in forensic assessment. He is also board certified in forensic psychology and conducts evaluations in both civil and criminal forensic settings, including individuals in diverse cultural settings both within and outside of the U.S.and Law, and the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services.

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Dr. Itiel Dror is a cognitive neuroscientist who received his Ph.D. at Harvard (1994) in the area of cognitive factors in human expert performance. Since his Ph.D. over twenty years ago, Dr. Dror has been researching this area, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles specifically looking at cognitive factors that mediate human expert performance. His insights and understanding of the human brain and cognitive system underpin the workshop. Without such deep knowledge, it is not possible to properly deliver a workshop on the ‘cognitive factors’. Dr. Dror has been working in the forensic domain for over a decade. In fact, he is the person who introduced the human and cognitive factors to the forensic community and has made this issue central in forensic science.
Over the last decade Dr. Dror has worked with a variety of forensic laboratories across the US, in which he has visited and shadowed examiners doing casework, reviewed SOPs and practices. Dr. Dror was the Chair of the OSAC Human Factor group (the new ‘SWGs’ organized under NIST/NIJ), which is responsible for the cognitive factor issues across all the OSAC forensic domains. The National Commission on Forensic Science has recognized Dr. Dror as the leader in this area and has asked him to present to the commission (as well as appointed him to their Human Factors subcommittee), as well as many other forensic bodies who have solicited Dr. Dror. The recommendations on cognitive and human factors of the NCFS and the NAS report, and other bodies is mainly based on the research of Dr. Dror. He is also a member of the AAAS (The American Association for the Advancement of Science) Advisory Committee on Forensic Science Assessment (a project in which the AAAS will conduct an analysis of the underlying scientific bases for the forensic tools and methods currently used).
Dr. Itiel Dror has a proven track record in successfully delivering workshops, specifically on ‘Cognitive Factors in Making Forensic Comparisons’, to dozens of forensic laboratories. He is the only person who has the combined cognitive and forensic expertise to deliver this training. His workshops on this specific issue have been delivered with great success to the FBI, LAPD, NYPD, SFPD, Boston PD, Kansas, and many other forensic laboratories across the US. As the world leader in this area, Dr. Dror has also been commissioned to deliver this workshop in a variety of countries across the world (Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, as well as other countries –not to mention numerous police forces the UK). The success of his workshops and his training in this area has been recognized by the professional bodies: Dr. Dror has received the ABP Annual Award for 'Excellence in Training' for his workshops on cognitive factors in making forensic comparisons. The purpose of the award is to recognize excellence in demonstrating how applying an understanding of the science of human behaviour can impact and deliver practical value to organizations. The judges commented that Dr. Dror's workshops are: "Truly outstanding and inspiring", "A highly rigorous application of relevant theoretical frameworks", "Truly innovative, breaking entirely new ground in a most challenging context", "Internationally ground-breaking impact already being used around the world", "Entirely focused on application of conceptual models – underpinned by deep research", and "Impact is highly impressive".

× David DeMatteo, JD, PhD, ABPP (Forensic), is a Professor of Psychology and Professor of Law at Drexel University, and Director of Drexel’s JD/PhD Program in Law & Psychology. He has published 14 books, more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, and more than 50 book chapters in his areas of interest, which include mental health law, psychopathic personality, forensic mental health assessment, and diversion of justice-involved individuals. He is a former President of the American Psychology-Law Society (APA Division 41) and the American Board of Forensic Psychology. He is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 1, 12, and 41) and the American Academy of Forensic Psychology. He routinely consults with city agencies, state agencies, policymakers, correctional facilities, and law enforcement. He conducts forensic mental health assessments of adults and adolescents on a variety of legal issues, and he has testified as an expert witness in state and federal courts. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Law and Human Behavior.