They all took lives – Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, right-wing UK terrorist Thomas Mair and Dunblane school shooter Thomas Hamilton – and they also displayed fixated behaviour in the lead-up to their violent crimes.

Up to 300 people could be assessed by a new Victorian centre aimed at thwarting lone wolves, mass murderers and terrorists before they fully realise their dangerous obsessions.

The Fixated Threat Assessment Centre, which begins operating on Thursday, will be staffed by specialist police and forensic mental health clinicians who will identify and monitor seriously unwell individuals who exhibit extremist ideology, show signs of becoming radicalised, or have fixated grievances.

The Bourke Street tragedy was a catalyst for the $31.6 million centre.