If you were on main campus recently and saw a large number of police and other emergency response vehicles parked in various parking lots, not to worry – it was due to an annual conference hosted by NSU’s Center for Psychological Services.
The event brought together nearly 100 law enforcement officers and other emergency responders from local and statewide agencies, along with officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to address a number of issues and topics related to their profession, including crisis/hostage negotiation and child protection. This year, one of the keynote presenters was Michael Bourke, Ph.D., an alumnus from CPS.
Bourke is the Chief Psychologist for the United States Marshals Service and head of the USMS Behavioral Analysis Unit. He’s a 2000 graduate of the Ph.D. program in clinical psychology, completing his internship with the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Prisons Bureau. He has remained connected to CPS, including research, and is considered a leader in the area of youth protection. He often returns to NSU to meet with our students and faculty.
He serves on editorial boards for professional journals and received the highest research honor awarded in the field of child exploitation. He provides training and consults with the FBI Academy, several divisions of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA,) the United States Secret Service, INTERPOL, and numerous other law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
An active researcher, Bourke serves on the editorial boards for two professional journals. His clinical and research interests include risk assessment with Internet sexual offenders, the art of interviewing and interrogation, the detection of deception, secondary stress among law enforcement personnel, and investigative profiling.