Katie Hunter

Dr. Katie Hunter is a Lecturer in Criminology and Co-Lead for Level 5 at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research examines the intersections between care experience, ethnicity, and criminal justice system involvement, with particular focus on youth justice, racialized and gendered injustices. She completed an Administrative Data Research UK Fellowship using linked Ministry of Justice and Department for Education data.

Hunter teaches Creative Research Methods, Crime, Deviance and Control, and Criminology in Practice. Her research projects include 'Disrupting the Routes between Care and Custody for Girls and Women' funded by the Nuffield Foundation, which utilized interview data to explore justice system pathways.

Research outputs focus on care-experienced populations in justice systems, particularly examining ethnic disproportionality, intergenerational harm, and gender-specific pathways. Recent work analyzes judicial perspectives, self-harm in custodial settings, and local protocol implementation challenges.

Hunter's research has informed parliamentary inquiries and been cited in the House of Lords. Media coverage includes analyses of ethnic disproportionality in care-custody pathways in The Guardian, Children and Young People Now, and iNews.