Biography

Michael O’Connell AM APM

Michael O’Connell AM (Member of the Order of Australia) APM (Australia Police Medal) MPubPol (with Distinction) BSocSc FGLF (Fellow of the Governor’s Leadership Foundation) is a consulting Victimologist; Victim Advocate for Second Chances SA; Member of the International Network of Services for Victims of Terrorism; and Foundation Board Member of Victim Support Asia.

He is a former Commissioner for Victims’ Rights. He served as South Australia’s first commissioner for12 years from 2006-2018. Prior to this appointment, he served as that state’s first Victims of Crime Coordinator and, while a police officer, the inaugural Victim Impact Statement Coordinator.

He is a life member of the World Society of Victimology (WSV). He served as the WSV Secretary-General from 2012-2022 and chaired various committees between 2006-2022, including the WSV United Nations Liaison Committee 2018-2022. He is also an ‘expert’ volunteer with the United Nations and has served on projects, including the revision of the Handbook on Justice for Victims of Crime, the drafting on a handbook to help NGOs and the model legislative provisions to support and protect the rights and needs of victims of terrorism.
He is a Vice President for the NGO Alliance on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice that is affiliated with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Vienna
Austria and the United Nations, New York. He lectures and writes in the field of Victimology and criminal justice, as well as volunteers as a journal editor (e.g. Journal of Victimology and Victim Justice) or advisor (e.g. Global Advances in Victimology and Psychological Studies).