Thai research visit bears fruit for investigative psychologists

Huddersfield researchers Dr Maria Ioannou and Dr John Synnott were welcomed by the Thai government, HE institutions, the Thai Prison service and the Royal Thai Police on a visit that offers a number of opportunities for collaborative research in the future.

AS the authorities in Thailand develop strategies to tackle contemporary issues such as cyber bullying, human trafficking, jail suicides and sex offending, they are drawing on the research and expertise of two psychologists at the University of Huddersfield.

Dr John Synnott and Dr Maria Ioannou have recently returned from a visit to the country, and their packed ten-day schedule included meetings with key figures in the Thai government, Higher Education, the Thai Prison Service and the Royal Thai Police, plus delivering keynote lectures on Investigative and Forensic Psychology.  They are the Associate Director and Director of the University of Huddersfield’s globally-respected MSc course on the subject and also the Associate Director and Deputy Director of the University’s Secure Societies Institute. 

Now that the Thai connection has been forged, it will lead to further research collaboration, including joint supervision of PhD students.  One outcome will be the development of new knowledge tailored to the region.

“One of the key things we spoke about a lot with our Thai colleagues is that the vast majority of research in psychology has been conducted in the Western world, and cultural issues mean it does not necessarily translate to a South East Asian population,” said Dr Synnott.  “So we need a whole new body of research that understands the issues in a different cultural context.”

Cyber-bullying has newly emerged as a cause for concern in Thailand, because of highly-publicised cases.  Dr Ioannou and Dr Synnott have researched the subject extensively and some of their material has now been translated into Thai.  One of their first appointments on arrival in the country was to take part in an interview for a documentary on cyber bullying and online suicide due to air later this year.

Research collaboration

Then there were talks with Professor Nopraenue Sajjarax Dhirathiti of Mahidol University and Dr Amorn Wanichwiwatana of Chulalongkorn University, covering topics such as research collaboration, student exchanges and joint supervision of PhD projects.

At a meeting with Professor Visit Visitsoraut, the Permanent Secretary of Thailand’s Ministry of Justice, Dr Synnott and Dr Ioannou discussed research proposals on topics that included mental health screening, suicide in Thai prisons, and risk assessment of sex offenders.

The University of Huddersfield visitors also met senior figures at Thailand’s Royal Police Cadet Academy, to discuss research collaboration and deliver a keynote lecture on Investigative Psychology.  They also conducted a workshop on profiling and there are discussions taking place to return and help develop new training programmes for cadets.

Towards the end of their visit, Dr Synnott and Dr Ioannou were flown from Bangkok to Chiang Mai – a city in mountainous northern Thailand – to talk to leaders of the Provincial Police Region 5, which deals with issues such as human trafficking at the border with Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

There was a keynote lecture on Investigative Psychology, discussions on police interview training and the possibility of research collaboration on human trafficking and drug smuggling in Northern Thailand.

Dr Ioannou and Dr Synnott also gave a public lecture on cyber bullying, at the Bangkok campus of the highly-prestigious Mahidol University, held talks with Police Colonel Naras Savestanan, the Director General of the Department of Corrections, and visited Bangkok Remand Prison to discuss research collaboration.

The University of Huddersfield visitors were impressed by what they encountered in Thailand.

“It’s a massively progressive country with a huge, developing economy and a real appetite for new knowledge and we look forward to collaborating with our new Thai colleagues in developing this knowledge,” said Dr Synnott.