Dr Benjamin Spivak

Biography

Dr Benjamin Spivak holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Ph.D. from Monash University. He is the leader of the culture, psychology and law research stream and co-leader of the psychology and legal processes research stream. Benjamin conducts research on a wide range of topics including jury and judicial decision-making, violence risk assessment, cross-cultural disparities in crime and health outcomes, psychometrics and research methodology. Dr Spivak's work focuses on applying novel methodology to evaluate and improve criminal justice policy. He has conducted research collaborations at all stages of the criminal justice system including corrections, courts and police. 

For prospective students his current interests are in:

Demographic disparities in risk assessment - examining the extent to which widely used instruments to predict risk of violence or future offending function differently when applied to people from different demographic groups (e.g. race, sex, sexual orientation, gender) and what methodology can be used to reduce disparities.

Policing and diversion of young people - When young people are charged with a crime, police are able to choose between processing young people through the criminal justice system or diversion into non-criminal justice related systems. This project examines the extent to which changes in policing policy can increase the number of young people diverted away from the criminal justice system and what the longer term effects of diversion might be.

The deterrent effect of arrest on family violence - A considerable number of studies have examined whether mandatory arrest policies in relation to domestic violence can reduce repeated perpetration. These studies have shown mixed results, but have suffered from some methodological limitations. This project seeks to apply a novel design that overcomes these limitations to assess whether arrest can reduce family violence.