The many reasons why a person kills another are complex.

Understanding why children kill their parents, why parents kill their children, findings from a world-first study into homicide-suicide and the Australian Homicide Project, and the link between mental illness and homicide are just some of the issues to be explored at a Brisbane conference this week.

Hosted by Griffith University and the Australian Institute of Criminology —Homicide — Precursors and Prevention — will examine various forms of homicide including infanticide, intimate partner homicide, youth homicide, death reviews and institutional responses to homicide and homicide prevention.

“It will also explore programs and opportunities for preventing these types of events,’’ said Griffith Violence Research and Prevention program Director Professor Paul Mazerolle.

“There is an urgent need to examine and understand the current trends in homicide, why homicides are occurring, and the opportunities for prevention.”

Speakers include:

ProfessorKathleen M. Heide, University of South Florida
Understanding Parricide: When Sons and Daughters Kill Parents

Professor Fiona Brookman, Deputy Director, Centre for Criminology, University of South Wales, UK
Homicide Investigation: Faciltators, Inhibitors and Measures of Success

Dr Adam Tomison, Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology
Child homicide in Australia: Current trends

Jason Payne, Austalian Institute of Criminology
A trajectory-based approach to the drug use and criminal careers of homicide offenders in Queensland

James Ogloff, Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science
The Relationship between Mental Illness and Homicide

Samara McPhedran, Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, Li Eriksson, Griffith University
Characteristics of homicide-suicide in Australia

Associate Professor Holly Johnson, University of Ottawa
Precursors to intimate partner homicide

Professor Thea Brown, Monash University
Recasting Research and Intervention

Professor Phillip Stenning, Griffith University
Guns and domestic homicide

WHAT: Homicide: Precursors and Prevention conference

WHERE: The Royal on the Park Hotel, Brisbane

WHEN: March 24-25, 2014

MEDIA:Deborah Marshall 0413 156 601