Event

Recent terrorist incidents in the UK have seen a shift from group actors to lone or solo actors. What role does mental disorder play? Can a new joint liaison and diversion scheme between police and mental health make a difference?

To elaborate on these issues, we have invited forensic psychiatrist Dr. Richard Taylor to the Consortium for Research on Terrorism and International Crime.

He is currently working in a mental health liaison and diversion team, which is a joint agency initiative between the National Health Service and National Counter Terrorism Police in the UK. Dr Taylor has extensive experience with psychiatric assessment of violent extremists since 2001 and is currently engaged in risk assessment and with terrorism and extremism-related work in the UK. In this seminar he will share a mental health perspective with insight gained from his work in this area looking at both lone actors and group-based extremists. Dr Taylor will present cases that illuminate the role of mental disorder in these forms of violent extremism, addressing issues that are pertinent to researchers and practitioners alike.

Dr. Richard Taylor is a forensic psychiatrist at North London Forensic service and at the Prevent Liaison and Diversion team at Counter Terrorism Command. He has extensive experience of assessment and treatment of mentally disordered offenders, risk assessment, terrorism, and the interface between the health services and criminal justice agencies.

Chair is Rita Augestad Knudsen, Senior Research Fellow at NUPI.