Professor Dr. Donald Weatherburn

Biography

Donald Weatherburn is a Professor at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, with a background as the former Executive Director of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. He received first class honours in Psychology from the University of Sydney and earned his Ph.D. in 1979. With a publication record of 229 works including four books and 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, his research encompasses diverse topics such as sentencing, criminal justice administration, crime prevention, drug law enforcement, and harm reduction. He has also led numerous significant research studies funded by various councils and committees, focusing on matters from post-release supervision effects on re-offending to opioid substitution therapy impacts on mortality and recidivism in prisoners. His ongoing research interests include evaluating the health and social functioning impacts of the NSW Drug Court, public attitudes towards illicit drug users, and the intersection of gambling expenditure and crime.

Research Interests