Dr Catherine Garrington1
1Australian Federal Police, Canberra, Australia
Biography:
Dr Catherine Garrington is a registered psychologist and psychology supervisor. Catherine has facilitated group and individual treatment for violent and sexual offenders, and worked in various management and leadership positions in prison and community corrections settings for 14 years. Currently working in Fixated Persons at the Australian Federal Police, Catherine has interests in the intersection of mental health and fixated behaviours, and belief structures encompassing sovereign citizens and freedom auditors. Her research PhD included the publication of multiple articles detailing the development of a new risk assessment tool for online child abuse material offenders.
Abstract:
A mother and her adult daughter believe they are being stalked by a gang that is threatening to kill them and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner. The gang is reportedly conducting psychological and biological warfare, microwave torture, mind reading, and using imposters and Artificial Intelligence (AI) thought monitoring and insertion. The mother and daughter have left their home state to escape the gang and requested meetings to warn government agencies. Eventually moving across four states/territories and actively avoiding mental health services, they sent over 100 emails detailing their distress.
The AFP Fixated Persons team manages fixated behaviour directed towards high office holders and protected establishments, often motivated by unmanaged mental illness. We work with Australian mental health and other service providers to ensure people who live in Australia and come to police attention for possible fixated behaviour receive the treatment and ongoing support they need to live well and not come to further police attention.
This presentation outlines the challenges faced by the AFP Fixated Persons team when managing fixated behaviour from persons with significant, untreated mental health presentations. Through the case study of a mother and daughter motivated by shared delusional beliefs, or folie a deux, to travel across Australia to escape their beliefs and seek police assistance, we consider our legislative, professional and ethical obligations and the complex balance of human rights, personal and community safety and mental health treatment, highlighting the intersection between policing and mental health services to reduce risks of harm through misadventure.