Lucy Strang is a research leader at RAND Europe. She focuses on criminal justice and drug policy research and is currently a co-principal investigator of a NIHR grant to evaluate the first three years of the treatment and recovery portfolio of the UK Government’s 10-year drug strategy.

Lucy has extensive experience in leading research studies for the UK government, including a major study for the UK Ministry of Justice on the use of Out of Court Disposals to support vulnerable adults, process evaluations of prison drug testing regimens and support programmes for prisoners who use drugs. She has expertise in conducting systematic reviews, most recently on the impact of law enforcement on drug-related violence, for the Home Office. She also recently led a study on approaches to measuring police performance in nine countries.

Lucy has also conducted research for U.S., Australian and European governments, including a comparative study examining approaches to drug misuse treatment in Switzerland, Canada, the United States, England and Wales, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands. She holds a B.A in law and humanities and an M.S.Sc. in applied anthropology and participatory development, all from the Australian National University.