Garth den Heyer

Dr Garth den Heyer is a leading researcher in policing and counter terrorism and is an instructor with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. He is highly regarded internationally with senior fellowships and appointments in the United Kingdom and the US.

Dr den Heyer’s research interests and publications include work on police service delivery effectiveness and strategic development, assaults on police officers, operational leadership, the police response to riots, the police role in countering terrorism, and organized crime, policing in transitioning and post-conflict nations. He currently serves on the editorial boards of a number of policing and terrorism journals.

In terms of applied practice and knowledge, Dr den Heyer was a police officer for more than 38 years. He was an Inspector at retirement, and his last position was as the Principal Advisor: Strategic Development and Planning within the National Response and Operations Group at National Headquarters. He was responsible for the development and management of the strategic planning process, project assessment and development of new opportunities. Prior to taking up this position he was the Manager: National Security for more than 12 years and was responsible for the research, development and application of national, organisational and border security, counterterrorism, emergency management, and search and rescue and disaster victim identification, policies, procedures, plans and responses. He also undertook short-term research and was responsible for the national co-ordination of protective operations, the delivery of national counter-terrorism exercises, and operational and technical security measures. He was also responsible for the police response to natural disasters and events at the national level.

Dr den Heyer also served for more than 20 months as the Coordinator: Strategic Direction and Development with Regional Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).

Dr den Heyer has served as Principal Investigator on a number of research grants, including from the National Institute of Justice, Claude McCarthy Fellowship and the Scottish Institute of Policing Research.