Dr Amy Loughery

Profile

I joined the ESRC Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre as a Research Fellow in 2024. I am currently working on a number of projects including the Leeds Mapping project, a ‘place-based’ project which seeks to map service provision for criminal justice-involved vulnerable groups in two case-study sites in Leeds; the County Lines demonstration project, an impact-focused project which aims to translate findings from the first national study of County Lines into policy and practice; and the Centre’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) offer, which involves the development of research-based training and resources aligning with the Centre’s thematic research strands. 

Prior to this, I was a Research Fellow on a series of projects into ‘cuckooing’ victimisation with Dr Laura Bainbridge. This included an N8 Police Research Partnership project focused on understanding and preventing County Lines ‘cuckooing’ victimisation in the North of England, conducted in partnership with seven police forces and a local Violence Reduction Unit (VRU). Findings from the N8 project were translated into award-winning impact activity supported by Research England Policy Support Funding, which included the co-production of a ‘cuckooing toolkit’ for social housing providers in partnership with local stakeholders; the delivery of a series of bespoke in-person training sessions and online webinars for police and other professionals; and co-production of a Virtual Reality training module and e-learning package for professionals who encounter ‘cuckooing’.

I am an active member of the Cuckooing Research and Prevention Network, for which I have contributed to written responses and submitted evidence to Parliament and the House of Lords on new and existing legislation; co-chair network symposiums and conferences; and regularly speak at external events. I am a member of the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies (Leeds) and the Social Research Association (SRA). I am also currently co-editing a volume for Routledge entitled ‘Cuckooing Victimisation: County Lines and Beyond’ with Dr Laura Bainbridge (Leeds) and Professor Rosemary Broad (Manchester).

I was awarded a PhD from the University of York in 2023 which explored the relationship between ‘care’ and ‘control’ in a Scottish Drug Court, in which individuals convicted of drug-related offences are sentenced to complete a programme of judicially-supervised drug treatment in the community. During PhD study, I taught on undergraduate criminology, sociology, social policy and social work, and law modules, predominantly those with a criminal justice focus. Prior to this, I completed an MA in Criminology and Social Research at the University of York and was employed as a Research Assistant at York Law School. 

Research interests

My scholarly interests lie at the nexus of social policy, criminology, and law. I am particularly interested in understanding criminal justice responses to drugs and drug misuse, as well as the policing and criminal justice management of vulnerable and marginalised social groups more broadly, and the integration of this with multi-agency, welfare-oriented approaches. I am impact-focused researcher who is committed to producing research that has applications beyond academia, with the capacity to influence law, policy, and practice. I am also interested in using innovative qualitative research methods, such as narrative methods and graphic elicitation, to engage hard-to-reach participant groups in impact-focused research.

• Preventing and Disrupting County Lines 'Cuckooing’ Victimisation

Qualifications

• PhD Social Policy and Social Work (York)
• MA Criminology and Social Research (York)
• LLB Law (York)

Professional memberships

• Cuckooing Research and Prevention Network
• Centre for Criminal Justice Studies
• Social Research Association