Te Puna Haumaru Centre for Security and Crime Science

26/05/2026

📢 Applications Are Open!! 2026 IACFP Student Research Awards

is pleased to announce that applications are now open for our 2026 Student Research Awards. To support the next generation of scholars, the IACFP Board has approved up to four awards of $1,250 USD each.

Two funding tracks are available:

⭐️ Research Excellence Award: For outstanding research that has already been completed.

📚️ Research Operations Award: To support operational costs (e.g., data collection, participant payments, software) for planned research.

Review the full evaluation criteria, verify eligibility, and upload application materials directly on the IACFP Students Page. Find the link in the comments below! 👇️

🗓️ Application Deadline: June 15, 2026

25/05/2026

06/05/2026

In late April, Centre Director Dr Lisa Tompson attended the Waikato District Police Awards Ceremony, presenting the Evidence-Based Policing Award on behalf of The University of Waikato.

Pictured is Snr Sgt Scott McKenzie accepting the award for the Hamilton City Neighbourhood Policing Team.

The Hamilton City Neighbourhood Policing Team is recognised for outstanding application of evidence-based policing through Operation Centre, a targeted initiative to address safety and disorder in the Hamilton CBD.

Responding to concerns from businesses and the community, the team applied a structured PANDA problem solving methodology, supported by detailed police data analysis, intelligence, and a bespoke CBD business safety survey. This work identified clear drivers of harm, including night time antisocial behaviour, violence, and significant under reporting.

Using this evidence, the team delivered over 300 intelligence led foot patrols, precisely targeted to hotspot locations and peak risk times. Deployment decisions were continually refined through ongoing community engagement and crime data, ensuring the right resources were applied at the right time and place. Strong collaboration with Hamilton City Council City Safe Officers, retailers, and social service agencies enabled coordinated responses to complex issues, including homelessness and youth related disorder.

The operation also embedded CPTED principles and formalised multi agency information sharing. The initiative resulted in improved police visibility, intelligence quality, reporting confidence, and community trust, establishing a sustainable, evidence driven model for CBD safety and prevention.

The initiative, effort, and commitment the team has put into this work is truly worthy of this award. 🌟👨‍✈️

23/04/2026

How do people decide whether to pay a ransomware demand?

In a recent Te Puna Haumaru Seminar (23 April 2026), Dr Zarina Vakhitova from Monash University shared research exploring the emotional dynamics behind these high-pressure decisions.

Using a nationwide U.S. experiment, the study examined how different ransomware messages influence emotions such as fear, anger, guilt, and shame — and how these emotions relate to willingness to pay.

The findings show that coercive ransomware notes significantly impact both emotional responses and payment intentions compared to neutral policy framing. Interestingly, whether the threat involved locked files or stolen data mainly affected emotions rather than the decision to pay. This research informs incident-response communication and policy in cybersecurity.

You can now watch the recording of Dr Vakhitova's seminar on our YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/gtJzWmfCLy0?si=huvWrMqohQqql_F8

Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences The University of Waikato

4 likes. "Ransomware, Emotions, and the Decision to Pay: Evidence from a Factorial Experiment"

13/04/2026

Our Honorary Research Fellow Jonathan Derbyshire has a new paper published about a functional neurodiversity model for youth courts in New Zealand. Check it out 👇

13/04/2026

The Institute of Criminal Justice and Forensic Psychology (ICJFP) will host a symposium showcasing research presentations from our members and student members at this year’s New Zealand Psychological Society conference💡 ⭐

The conference will take place from 26–29 August at the Rydges Hotel in Auckland.

We invite submissions of abstracts for presentations that align with the conference theme, Moemoeā: Remember the past and dream for the future, and reflect the ICJFP’s broad focus on criminal justice and forensic psychology.

Submit an abstract to present a short talk in the symposium here 👉 https://forms.office.com/r/SxKih2C3fS

Read more about the conference here 👉 https://www.psychology.org.nz/events/annual-conference

25/03/2026

This week, Dr Apriel Jolliffe Simpson presented an evidence to practice talk for The Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention about her research on patterns of family violence harm committed by people who come to the attention of New Zealand Police. 👮

A recording is available on The Centre's youtube channel ➡

This session focuses on patterns of family violence harm committed by people who come to the attention of Police, and will be presented by Dr. Apriel D. Joll...

20/03/2026

Yesterday, Professor Richard Wortley delivered our March installment of the Te Puna Haumaru Seminar Series ahead of his retirement this June.

His talk highlighted insights from the Australian Homicide Project, drawing on interviews with 260 offenders to better understand the situational factors behind homicide.

From levels of planning and emotional states, to victim relationships and weapon use, the research sheds light on how different contexts shape these crimes—and what that means for prevention.

A meaningful session celebrating an incredible career and lasting contributions to criminology. 👏

Watch the full seminar recording, now available on our YouTube channel.

Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences

Professor Richard Wortley from the University of Waikato presented this talk in the Te Puna Haumaru Seminar Series on 19 March 2026. This special seminar was...

01/12/2025

At this year’s Forensic Psychology Student Conference, Georgia Po***ck received the ICJFP award for best Honours-level talk 👏

Georgia presented findings from her project titled "Police Labelling of Controlling Behaviours in Reports for Intimate Partner Violence Episodes", supervised by Dr Apriel Jolliffe Simpson at Te Puna Haumaru - New Zealand Institute for Security and Crime Science, The University of Waikato.

Georgia analysed 456 New Zealand Police reports for intimate partner violence episodes to examine how often officers explicitly labelled aggressors’ actions as controlling, and to identify which types of controlling behaviours were most often associated with this recognition.

The findings highlight how specific patterns of behaviour may influence police recognition of controlling behaviour within intimate partner violence. All forms of controlling behaviour were associated with police labelling control, but emotional control (e.g., put downs, name calling) demonstrated the strongest relationship. 👮‍♀️ 🔍

New Zealand Psychological Society