Dr Kay Lancefield

Registered Psychologist

Kay Lancefield is a registered Psychologist who has worked in the forensic field for some thirty plus years and over the past twenty years has worked in the field of the assessment and treatment of harmful sexual behaviours. Kay’s qualifications include Master of Psychology, Forensic obtained from Monash University, in 1994 and in 2021 she completed a Doctorate in Philosophy from Federation University, thesis title: Early intervention to reduce young peoples’ contact with the criminal justice system: Local knowledge to inform practice. Along with generalist therapeutic work recent practice has included a range of consultancies, training workshops and program development and evaluation nationally and internationally to Government and non-Government agencies. Research interests have focused on prevention initiatives across social ecological systems. Recently she has been engaged as a member of professional standards panels and delivered advice to inform safeguarding practices.

Concurrent Session Two – Excellence in Leadership: How can we do better? Local knowledge to inform local intervention to reduce youth contact with the justice system.

This presentation details an aspect of a translational research project that examined how police data sets can be applied to enhance the effectiveness of developmental prevention strategies. The presentation highlights systemic aspects of delivering practice innovations, utilising and sharing data sets across service systems and the importance of place-based initiatives in increasing efficacy in youth crime prevention. The research findings are considered in terms of police operational processes and broader practice implications for the local service system. Key findings considering current practice and potential innovations to respond effectively at police contact with youth are discussed. The research indicated that it is feasible to intervene with vulnerable young people at their first contact with police, even before offending to reduce the potential of future involvement in the criminal justice system.