Trained as a lawyer, Dr Simone Deegan is at the forefront of research in the fields of juvenile homicide, life sentences and the effectiveness of parole and conditional release. She is the recipient of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Criminology (ANZSOC), Christine M Alder Book Prize (2018) for the most outstanding contribution to criminology for her work on the ARC project Generativity on Young Male (ex) prisoners (2009-2014) with Professor Mark Halsey. Her doctoral research (2015-2019) examined pathways to murder convictions and was awarded the Flinders University Vice-Chancellor’s medal for excellence in doctoral research (2020). Simone also has experience working as a criminal defence solicitor on murder cases.

Caitlin Hughes is an associate professor in criminology and drug policy and Matthew Flinders Fellow at the CCPR. She is also a 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 related issues, including 12.5 years at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW. Her research focuses on drug laws and drug law reform, the efficacy of different criminal justice responses and drug markets, including trends in illicit drug supply and use and the structure and operation of Australian and transnational drug trafficking networks.

Milla Jane is a research associate in the College of Business, Government and Law at Flinders University. She has a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) degree. In recent years, Milla has worked on projects examining factors that influence desistance from crime, and the impacts of online defensiveness on structurally disadvantaged groups.