Dr Margo van Felius

Lecturer in Financial Crime, Griffith University

Session #4 – Panel Discussion: Unravelling the Complexity: Social Science and Public Policy Research in Addressing Wicked Problems

In 2021, Margo was awarded a Road Safety Innovation Fund together with Associate Professor Lyndel Bates and industry partner Acusensus to investigate techniques to assess the likelihood of drivers being impaired by drugs or alcohol for the purpose of screening drivers while they are in motion, with the aim to improve police roadside breath and drug test operations.

While completing her PhD, Margo worked on a range of contracted research and evaluation projects for the Griffith Criminology Institute as well as other short term assignments. Some of these include the evaluation of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) Sexual Violence Response Strategy, research into bail conditions to mitigate risk for the Department of Justice and Attorney-General (DJAG) and QPS, review of the QPS Wanding Trial, implementing Queensland Parole System Review recommendations for Queensland Corrective Services and that of co-course leader for Australian Awards, developing and building capacity for the Sri Lanka Police to investigate gender-based violence.

Margo’s research interests are various areas of policing, multi-agency and third-party policing partnerships, financial crime and particularly organised crime organisational structures and money laundering.