Carly Lightowlers

Dr. Carly Lightowlers is a Reader in Criminology at the University of Liverpool within the School of Law and Social Justice. Her research focuses on alcohol-related violence, criminal justice data analysis, sentencing practices, and modern slavery. She currently holds a Research Fellowship with ADR UK and has previously held roles at Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Leeds. Dr. Lightowlers serves on the Editorial Board for Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy and as Associate Editor for Criminology.

Her expertise includes applying quantitative methods to secondary and administrative data, such as probation records and police data. Key research areas include the intersection of alcohol consumption and criminal behavior, the processing of violence cases through courts, and policy evaluations. She has led projects funded by ADR UK, the British Academy, and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Teaching responsibilities include coordinating the third-year module 'Alcohol, Crime, and Society' and contributing to undergraduate courses on crime control and violence analysis. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), emphasizing her commitment to pedagogical excellence.

Recent research highlights include examining enforced alcohol abstinence’s impact on reoffending, analyzing spatial relationships between alcohol availability and violence, and investigating temporal patterns in modern slavery victimization. Her work frequently addresses policy implications, such as violence reduction strategies and sentencing reforms.

Grants and collaborations involve partnerships with Merseyside Violence Reduction Programs, police services, and homelessness organizations to reduce alcohol-related harms. She has produced evaluation reports and policy briefs on topics like pandemic impacts on crime trends and the efficacy of Blue Light approaches for vulnerable populations.