Jessica Hastings

Research Assistant
Auckland University of Technology

Since completing her degree in education and criminology with multiple awards, Jessica has helped create better outcomes for people within the criminal justice system.
Her passion and drive to work in this area stems from her own personal experiences with mental health, drug addiction, and incarceration. Jessica served one year in prison for supply of methamphetamine before turning her life around in 2011.
She has been active in AOD recovery and justice reform networks since.
Her work has included curating the Just Speak/Kōrero Pono multi-media exhibition and working as a researcher on the AUT He Ture Kia Tika (Let The Law Be Right) project. Jess also brings insight and empathy to her role as a cultural report writer, which honours equitable practices through section 27 of the Aotearoa sentencing act.