Associate Professor in Criminology and Drug Policy, Centre for Crime Policy and Research, Flinders University
Caitlin Hughes is an Associate Professor in criminology and drug policy and Matthew Flinders Fellow at the Centre for Crime Policy and Research, Flinders University. She is also Visiting Fellow at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW and Vice-President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy. Caitlin has spent 17 years researching drug and alcohol policy, including 12.5 years at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW, working as part of the Drug Policy Modelling Program. Her research seeks to advance Australian and international drug policy by improving the evidence-base into the effects of different legislative and law enforcement approaches to drug use and supply and working directly with policy makers. Her research focuses on 1) drug laws and drug law reform (including depenalisation, decriminalisation, legalisation), 2) criminal justice policies (including policing and alternatives to arrest) and 3) drug markets, outlining what laws and policies are deployed, how they operate in practice, the impacts of this investment and identifying avenues for more effective responses that can reduce drug-related health, social and criminal justice harms. She works extensively with policy makers and criminal justice practitioners from within and outside of Australia and has a track record of evidence-informed reforms, including the expansion of drug diversion programs and reform of drug trafficking laws.
Caitlin Hughes is an Associate Professor in criminology and drug policy and Matthew Flinders Fellow at the Centre for Crime Policy and Research, Flinders University. She is also Visiting Fellow at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW and Vice-President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy. Caitlin has spent 17 years researching drug and alcohol policy, including 12.5 years at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW, working as part of the Drug Policy Modelling Program. Her research seeks to advance Australian and international drug policy by improving the evidence-base into the effects of different legislative and law enforcement approaches to drug use and supply and working directly with policy makers. Her research focuses on 1) drug laws and drug law reform (including depenalisation, decriminalisation, legalisation), 2) criminal justice policies (including policing and alternatives to arrest) and 3) drug markets, outlining what laws and policies are deployed, how they operate in practice, the impacts of this investment and identifying avenues for more effective responses that can reduce drug-related health, social and criminal justice harms. She works extensively with policy makers and criminal justice practitioners from within and outside of Australia and has a track record of evidence-informed reforms, including the expansion of drug diversion programs and reform of drug trafficking laws.