Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP150100910 [ 2015 - 2016 ]

Research Grant

Researchers Dr Caitlin Hughes; Prof Alison Ritter; Prof Robert MacCoun; Dr Donald Weatherburn

Brief description Drug law enforcement efforts have been underpinned by the assumption that police deter or prevent drug use and trafficking. Yet deterrent effects have gone unexamined or measured using narrow parameters. By using modern criminological conceptualisations of deterrence and innovative methods, this project will measure the deterrent effects of four Australian policing strategies on current and would-be offenders’ decisions to use, possess and traffick illicit drugs and identify mechanisms by which police can and cannot deter. It will provide detailed empirical insight into an enduring policy conundrum, namely the extent to which police can be expected to deter, and build capacity for more evidence-informed responses to drug-related crime.

Funding Amount 114500

Funding Scheme Discovery Projects