Dr Mark Harrison

Mark is Head of Academic Delivery for Police Education within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences. He has a professional doctorate in policing and an MBE for services to policing and national security. His areas of expertise are in police degree education, geoforensics and no body homicide investigations.

[email protected]

Background

Mark is a seasoned educator and law enforcement professional with 35 years of international experience, including 20 years at senior executive level. He has a proven track record in developing educational programmes, leading strategic initiatives, and enhancing intelligence and forensic capabilities, and is recognised for innovative teaching approaches and contributions to policing and forensic geoscience. He is a pracademic, complex unsolved criminal case consultant and expert witness for court on no-body homicide.

Since 2007, Mark has held policing professorships at the University of Southampton, University of Canberra, and Charles Sturt University. His professional doctorate relates to integrative capabilities of forensics, investigations and intelligence, drawing on 32 research publications in this field.

Research interests

• Geoforensics
• Missing Persons
• Criminal Intelligence
• Police Higher Education

Qualifications

• Professional Doctorate by Publication (Criminology & Police Science), University of Portsmouth, England
• Master of Arts (Criminal Investigations Management), Charles Sturt University, Australiia

National Awards

• MBE for services to Policing and National Security
• Australian Humanitarian Overseas Medal for Policing services
• Australian Federal Police Operations Medal

Selected recent publications

Edited Book

Donnelly, L.J., Harrison, M (2021) A Guide to Forensic Geology. The Geological Society Professional Textbook Series

Journal Articles

Harrison, M., Walsh, P. F (2021) Strategic intelligence practice in the Australian intelligence community: evolution, constraints and progress. Intelligence and National Security, 1-16

Harrison, M (2020) Optimising Engagement Between Forensics & Policing: avoiding the dialogue of the deaf, Forensic Science International.

Harrison, M., Donnelly, L.J (2020) The geoforensic search strategy: A high assurance search method to assist law enforcement locate graves and contraband associated with homicide, counter terrorism and serious and organised crime. The Journal of the Geological Society of Japan Vol. 126, No.8

Ryan, N., Westera, N., Kebbell, M. R., Milne, B., Harrison, M (2019) Where is the body? Investigative interviewing strategies in missing body homicide cases. Investigative Interviewing: Research and Practice, 10(1), 61-77

Harrison, M., Walsh, P., Horan, C., Lyons-Smith, S., Troung, D., Jabbour, R (2018) Tradecraft to standards – Moving criminal intelligence practice towards a profession. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice

Donnelly, L.J., Harrison, M (2027) Searching the Ground for Graves and Buried Items Related to Homicide, Terrorism and Organised Crime. Special edition; Forensic Geology, Episodes, The Journal of International Geoscience, Volume 40 number 2

Edmondson, K., Harrison, M., Scott, B (2015) The applied use of forensic intelligence for community and organised crime, Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 72–82

Donnelly, L. J. and Harrison, M0 (2013) Geomorphological and Geoforensic Interpretation of Maps, Aerial Imagery, Conditions of Diggability and the Colour Coded RAG Prioritisation System in Searches for Criminal Burials. In: Pirrie, D., Ruffell, A. R. & Dawson, L. (2013). Environmental and Criminal Geoforensics. Geological Society of London, Special Publication, 384, 173-194

Recent presentations and conferences

Harrison, M (2025) Developing Integrative Investigative, Geoforensic, and Intelligence Practices. IUGS-IFG Conference, Rome, Italy

Harrison, M (2023) The Lost Missing & Murdered. International Missing Persons Conference, UK

Harrison, M (2023) Organised Crime and Disruptive Technologies. National Police Conference, Wellington, New Zealand

Harrison, M (2022) Organised Crime& Illegal Mining. International Seminar on gold forensics and illegal gold trade investigations, Brasilia, Brazil

Harrison, M (2021) Organised Crime & Disruptive Technologies. International Police Cooperation Forum, Taipei, Taiwan

Media experience

Harrison, M (2025) Interviewed by J. Clemente & K. Canning. Geoforensic 1 (Audio podcast episode 549) & Geoforensic 2 (Audio podcast episode 550). In Real Crime Profile. XG Productions

Harrison, M (2025) Intelligence and Missing. In K. Shalev & C. Hummer (Hosts), Missing Persons Uncovered: Season 4, Episode 1. (YouTube).