Adrian Cherney

University of Queensland | UQ · School of Social Science

Effectively engaging the Muslim community is a challenge for police given many Muslims feel unfairly targeted by counter-terrorism policies and laws because of their faith. This paper explores how such perceptions influence the willingness of Muslims to voluntarily cooperate in counter-terrorism efforts, drawing on data collected from Muslims livin...

The field of criminology has helped to inform research and debate on the causes and prevention of terrorism. It has also provided important insights into understanding and tackling radicalization and violent extremism. In this paper the criminological field of crime prevention is drawn on to highlight how lessons from crime prevention policy and pr...

Police rely on information and assistance from the community in order to disrupt and prevent acts of terrorism. However such assistance will not be forthcoming or sustained unless the police undertake effective forms of community engagement. This is particularly the case in the context of police working with Muslim communities to tackle radicalisat...

Passive support for terrorism refers to expressions of sympathy for acts of terrorism and/or the justifications (ideology) used by terrorist groups to legitimise their beliefs and actions. One form of passive support is whether Muslims feel terrorists have valid grievances. Appealing to a sense of grievance is a key way that violent Islamists attem...

Authorities are increasingly engaging community-based organisations and social service providers to help them prevent and reverse radicalisation. However, little is known about community-based services for youth at risk of violent extremism and whether service providers have the necessary capacity and willingness to take on this role. This paper re...

This paper explores the self-transformation of a former terrorist in Indonesia who is building a role as an activist against violent extremism. This case study focuses on the former extremist’s process of self-change. The participant is a 42-year-old male who was a member of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and who was captured in 2014 and imprisoned. The pa...

Violent extremism risk assessment has become an important way of dealing with terrorism and violent extremists. One violent extremism risk assessment tool adopted for use in Australia is the Violent Extremism Risk Assessment—Version 2 Revised (VERA-2R). The VERA-2R captures risk and contextual indicators across five domains and background character...

Violent extremism risk assessment tools have become an important way of understanding and managing the threat posed by radicalised offenders in custodial and community settings. The aim of this study was to examine the applicability, interrater reliability and predictive validity of the Violent Extremism Risk Assessment—Version 2 Revised (VERA‑2R)...

Background Increasingly, counter‐radicalisation interventions are using case management approaches to structure the delivery of tailored services to those at risk of engaging in, or engaged in, violent extremism. This review sets out the evidence on case management tools and approaches and is made up of two parts with the following objectives. Obj...

The present study investigates the role of self-compassion in generating change amongst violent extremists through a study of terrorist prisoners in Indonesia. The aim is to provide insights into the under-explored role of self-transformation and agency in the deradicalisation process by applying Neff’s concept of self-compassion, which comprises p...

The Profiles of Individual Radicalisation in Australia (PIRA) database captures information on individuals, residing in Australia, who have radicalised to extremism and engaged in a variety of violent and nonviolent ideologically motivated behaviours. Using open-source data, PIRA comprises demographical, individual background, and contextual inform...

Violent extremist risk assessment is an evolving field of knowledge and practice, one informed by both empirical research and practitioner field experience. Such assessments have now become a central part of counterterrorism (CT) and countering violent extremism (CVE) responses. It offers structured professional insights and guidance on risk levels...

The aim of this project was to examine research utilisation within public sector agencies in Australia at both state and national levels, focusing on agencies whose responsibilities include human services policies and programs. This project was concerned with examining the processes, practices and circumstances that facilitate and hinder the uptake...

Despite their widespread adoption, little is known about the content and implementation of case-managed programs targeting individuals at risk of radicalisation and known extremists. This study examined data on one state-based case-managed program implemented by police in Australia – referred to as Intervention 01. Drawing on case note information...

There currently exists little evidence on the effectiveness of case-managed programs targeting radicalised individuals. This paper provides results from an evaluation of two case-managed interventions implemented by police in Australia, referred to as Intervention 1 and Intervention 2. Drawing on client case note data and interviews, the paper prov...

Research shows there is variability in factors that cause a person to radicalize to violent extremism. The use of the push/pull distinction has been one way in which scholars have aimed to provide clarity to the process of radicalization and extremist disengagement. However, it remains a conceptually underdeveloped distinction. In this paper, we dr...

Engaging Muslims in counter-terrorism (CT) has proved challenging for police worldwide. Some research has focussed on the utility of police being procedurally just in their CT strategies to enhance their legitimacy and subsequent cooperation from Muslims. Despite the efficacy of procedural justice, however, some have argued that procedural justice...

Some immigrants can be reluctant to cooperate with the police due to experiences of social exclusion and discrimination. Procedural justice scholars argue that people cooperate with police when they feel the police are just and fair because such treatment motivates identification with social categories that police represent. In this paper, we consi...

Background Multiagency responses to reduce radicalisation often involve collaborations between police, government, nongovernment, business and/or community organisations. The complexities of radicalisation suggest it is impossible for any single agency to address the problem alone. Police‐involved multiagency partnerships may disrupt pathways from...

Crime Prevention: Principles, Perspectives and Practices introduces readers to the theory and practice of crime prevention. Now in its third edition, this book argues for a combination of social and situational/environmental crime prevention strategies as more effective alternatives to policing, criminal justice and 'law and order' approaches. Cont...

Studies on youth radicalisation are few, even though it has been identified as an increasing problem. This paper aims to contribute insights on youth radicalisation by examining data from 33 cases of Australians, aged 19 and below, who have been identified as radicalising to violent extremism. It draws on a subset of data from the Profiles of Indiv...

This paper examines how when police are perceived to be procedurally just it can enhance immigrants' identification and solidarity with police as well as their identification with their adopted nation. This in turn has a positive effect on their willingness to cooperate and engage with police.

Background Police can play a role in tackling violent extremism through disrupting terrorist plots and by working with communities to identify individuals at risk of radicalisation. Police programmes to tackle violent extremism can involve a range of approaches and partnerships. One approach includes efforts to improve community connectedness by wo...

Community engagement and connectedness are identified as potential mitigating factors for those at risk of engaging in violent extremism. Police have a critical role in promoting social inclusion and social connectedness and thereby preventing violent extremism. Thus, it is essential to understand the effectiveness of policing programs aimed at pro...

The evaluation of interventions aimed at countering violent extremism (CVE) remains an underdeveloped field. While various evaluation frameworks and metrics have been proposed in the literature, few have been tested against actual program data. The same observation applies to theories of disengagement, which can provide guidance on the types of cha...

Evidence-based policing (EBP) advocates the use of scientific processes in police decision-making. This paper examines results from a survey of officers in the Queensland Police Service and the Western Australia Police on the uptake of and receptiveness towards EBP research. Using a combined dataset, the paper examines a variety of factors related...

This technical report describes the methodology used to field a community survey of immigrants living in Sydney, Australia. It also presents the summary findings of the survey. The research was funded by the Australian Research Council Discovery Program.

In recent years there has been the proliferation of counterradicalization programs that incorporate a case management approach involving individually tailored intervention plans. The evaluation of case-managed countering violent extremism (CVE) interventions is challenging. This article provides results from research that evaluated a custody-based...

The increase in Islamic-inspired terrorism on Western soil has led governments around the world to introduce new counter-terrorism laws and more intrusive police practices aimed at countering the threat of terrorism. This has had a profound negative impact on Muslim communities living in the West who have expressed feeling stigmatised by institutio...

This paper explores the challenges that correctional authorities encounter when dealing with the transition of offenders back into the community after the completion of terrorism-related sentences or after demonstrating extremist views or associations. It draws on research conducted in the Australian state of New South Wales that examined mechanism...

The literature recognises that the evaluation of interventions to counter violent extremism (CVE) has been neglected. This paper fills this gap by providing results from a study of a disengagement programme in the Australian state of New South Wales. The Proactive Integrated Support Model (PRISM) is a pilot intervention delivered by Corrective Serv...

Background: Prior research indicates that patterns of combined alcohol and methamphetamine use may be associated with experiencing subjective feelings of aggression or hostility during methamphetamine use episodes. Objectives: This study examines whether subjective effects of methamphetamine use (i.e., aggression or hostility and paranoia) are a...

Background: While young adults who engage in recreational drug use are at increased risk of contact with police, their experiences of police contact have been largely overlooked. Method: In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 70 young adult amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS; i.e., ecstasy [MDMA] and methamphetamine) users who had expe...

The heightened threat of terrorism in the West has resulted in more power being granted to police. However, new anti-terror laws and heavy-handed policing practices can stigmatize Muslim communities. Using survey data from 800 Australian Muslims this paper examines whether procedural justice policing in counter-terrorism enhances Muslims’ feelings...

Police engagement of Muslim communities to prevent terrorism is fraught with tension. This paper presents results from in-depth interviews with members of the Australian Federal Police Community Liaison Team (CLT) to understand the practice of community engagement and the tactical and strategic considerations that are required when police engage Mu...

Background: The combined use of alcohol and illicit stimulants represents an emerging area of concern, with research suggesting that combined use may result in greater harms than separate use of these substances. There appears to be high rates of risky drinking among amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS; i.e., ecstasy [MDMA] and methamphetamine) users i...

Purpose Procedural justice is important for fostering peoples’ willingness to cooperate with police. Theorizing suggests this relationship results because procedural justice enhances perceptions that the police are legitimate and entitled to be supported. This paper examines how legitimacy perceptions moderate the effect of procedural justice poli...

Existing research has explored the ways the mainstream news media covers Muslims and Islam, but few studies have examined Muslims’ reactions to this reporting. Studies that have investigated this issue have identified that the responses of Muslims to news media coverage tend to be largely negative because of the lack of Muslim news sources, the ste...

Procedural justice is concerned with ensuring police treat those they interact with fairly and make fair decisions. It is a key strategy for promoting willingness to cooperate with police. Little is known, however, about how procedural justice might influence young adult drug users. This study compares perceptions of police and policing and willing...

Procedural justice is concerned with ensuring police treat those they interact with fairly and make fair decisions. It is a key strategy for promoting willingness to cooperate with police. Little is known, however, about how procedural justice might influence young adult drug users. This study compares perceptions of police and policing and willing...

Introduction: Illicit stimulants are often combined with alcohol in nightlife entertainment districts, an environment where aggressive behaviour commonly occurs. While alcohol and methamphetamine use are each associated with aggressive behaviour, relatively little is known about the impact of the combined use of alcohol and amphetamine-type stimula...

This study examined recidivism in an Australian correctional population. Three different groups of offenders were identified from their recidivism profiles: low-risk or slow recidivists, moderate-risk or delayed recidivists, and high-risk or rapid recidivists. Slow recidivists were more likely to be younger Indigenous men, with a history of both dr...

Aim: The combined use of alcohol and illicit stimulants represents an emerging area of concern, with research suggesting that combined use may result in greater harms than separate use of these substances. There appears to be high rates of risky drinking among amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS; i.e., ecstasy [MDMA] and methamphetamine) users in some...

While procedural justice has been highlighted as a key strategy for promoting cooperation with police, little is known about this model’s applicability to subgroups engaged in illegal behaviour, such as illicit drug users. This study compares willingness to cooperate with police and belief in police legitimacy, procedural justice and law legitimacy...

This article explores how released prisoners on parole overcome the stigma of a criminal conviction in their attempts to secure employment. Findings highlight how overcoming the consequences of stigma for finding work requires forms of identity management, and assistance by family and friends that send signals to employers that a former inmate has...

The present study examines whether procedural justice policing can promote Muslims’ willingness to cooperate with police in terrorism prevention. Using survey data from 800 Australian Muslims, we show that Muslims value procedural justice when it comes to working with police to prevent terrorism. We also examine whether social identification proces...

Rebuilding institutional legitimacy is considered essential for stability in postconflict societies, yet the factors that influence citizen perceptions of legitimacy in this context remain under researched. In this article, we examine citizen evaluations of government legitimacy in terms of instrumental antecedents (service delivery, distributive j...

Across the globe, a key priority of counter-terrorism policing is the building of partnerships with Muslim communities. However, the task of engaging the Muslim community to tackle extremism and terrorism is a challenging one. The paper discusses the three key challenges Australian police agencies face in their engagement efforts with the Muslim co...

Governments in many jurisdictions have called for an increase in ‘evidence-based’ policy-making. However, the international evidence-based policy movement has so far shown little progress in transforming the way that public policy is formulated and implemented. Much research on evidence-based policy has focused on political interference and context...

Procedural justice-based policing has been highlighted as a key strategy for promoting cooperation with police. However, little is known about this model’s applicability to subgroups engaged in illegal behaviour, including illicit drug users. This study compares willingness to cooperate with police and belief in police legitimacy, procedural justic...

Background: Very high levels of alcohol consumption have been observed in young adult amphetamine-type stimulant (i.e., ecstasy and methamphetamine) users. The reasons for this association are poorly understood. Objective: To examine predictors of hazardous alcohol consumption in a sample of young adult amphetamine-type stimulant users after 30 mon...

The rhetorical use of labels in the war on terror has become an important tactic post 9/11. One such example is the deployment of the categories of “moderate” and “extremist” within counterterrorism discourse, with Muslims distinguished as either friend or foe based on this dichotomy. The moderate Muslim label is a relational term, only making sens...

Effectively engaging the Muslim community is a challenge for police given Muslims feel "under siege" as a result of counter-terrorism policies and laws. This paper explores how a feeling of being “under siege” can affect the willingness of Muslims to voluntarily cooperate in counter-terrorism efforts, drawing on data collected from Muslims living i...

It is recognised that community cooperation is central to mitigating the risks of terrorism. This has seen police and security agencies in western jurisdictions engage Muslim communities in an effort to improve intelligence gathering and threats arising from violent extremism. However, community engagement in the context of counter-terrorism is fra...

Academics and policy makers in many Western countries are perceived as occupying separate communities, with distinct languages, values, and reward systems. However, data from a survey of more than 2,000 policy officials and 126 in-depth interviews with public servants in Australia suggest that the “two communities” conceptualization may be misleadi...

Research consistently reveals that public perceptions of procedural justice and police performance are important for fostering citizens’ willingness to cooperate with police, with procedural justice being more important than police performance. Identifying factors that motivate people’s intentions to cooperate with police is the focus of the presen...

The suspect community thesis has been used to explain how and why Muslims have become a stigmatised minority, subject to increased state surveillance and public discourse that constructs Muslims as a potential terrorist threat. Breen-Smyth (2014) argues that a suspect community is generated through national or state security policies and reproduced...

Introduction: Effective policing is largely reliant on public cooperation. However, little is known about perceptions of police and willingness to cooperate among groups who engage in deviant behaviour, such as illicit drug use. Compared to older age groups, young adults are more likely to have contact with police, as victims or perpetrators of cri...

Cite as: Murphy, K. Cherney, A. and Barkworth, J. (2015) Avoiding community backlash in the fight against terrorism: Research report. Australian Research Council (Grant No. DP130100392) March 2015. University of Queensland, Griffith University. Acknowledgements: this research would have not been possible without the assistance provided by a numbe...

Aims: Little is known about the possible influence of different social settings on changes in patterns of ecstasy use over time. This study explores the relationship between engagement with different types of nightlife venues and subsequent frequent ecstasy use in an Australian young adult population sample. Methods: Longitudinal data are from a po...

While academics can do more to communicate the key messages of their research, the organisational cultures and information infrastructure of policy-related work units also play a large part in influencing the extent of research uptake in government agencies. Data from a large Australian survey (N 2084) of policy-related officials in government agen...

Legitimacy is central to citizens’ perception and acceptance of power and authority. As such, rebuilding institutional legitimacy is essential for stability in post-conflict societies. In this project we explore the factors that lead citizens to view their government as legitimate following the reconstruction of central government institutions afte...

Working paper 1: Nov 2014 Avoiding community backlash in the fight against terrorism ARC Discovery Project 130100392 The impact of the war on terror on Muslim communities in Australia. Please do not cite without permission.

Finding stable employment has been identified as one of the best predictors of post-release success among prisoners. However, offenders face a number of challenges in securing employment when released from prison. This article examines processes that shape the abilities and motivations of parolees to secure gainful employment by examining interview...

This article explores the use of research and expertise within a selection of government agencies at state and federal levels in Australia. A recent survey of public officials provides new data on the reported use of evidence and expertise sourced from within the public service and from external sources. The survey instrument targeted the policy, p...

In previous chapters we have shown how procedural justice (PJ) is a key antecedent of legitimacy. In this chapter, we examine the difficulties that can arise when integrating PJ into police policy and practice. Drawing on survey data of all police who participated in the Queensland Community Engagement Trial (QCET), as well as in-depth interviews w...

Police across the world are generally familiar with the concepts of procedural justice (PJ) and police legitimacy. Academy training, promotion courses, in-service training, and university or college education of police contain modules and classes that explicate the principles of PJ and describe the importance of legitimate authority. However, we su...

In the previous chapter, we demonstrated how important it is that the public believe the police are legitimate, and we identified procedural justice (PJ) as the key antecedent of legitimacy. Many different types of police tactics, interventions, and approaches could incorporate elements of PJ and improve public perceptions of legitimacy, but what e...

In this monograph, we have outlined the merits of police legitimacy and its key antecedent: procedural justice (PJ). It is clear that there are aspects of police policy and practice where this approach can be integrated, such as community policing and problem-oriented policing. The experience of the Queensland Community Engagement Trial (QCET) show...

In the previous chapter, we examined the challenges of encouraging the police to innovate and adopt practices based on the principles of procedural justice (PJ) and brought to light various contingencies that make the integration of PJ dialogue into police practice less than straightforward. Future efforts to transform police policy and practice in...

In the previous chapter we explored the range of different ways police can get a little more procedural justice (PJ) into their various modes of service delivery. The studies presented provide many ideas for policing with more PJ across a wide range of interventions. Yet the body of literature is limited in two significant ways: First, we do not kn...