Emma's research aims to help create a just and safe society through examination of specific areas of interest in the criminal justice system.  Her doctoral research on bail support services included a comparative analysis of service provision in urban, suburban and regional areas, exploring the concept of postcode justice. She is particularly interested in the intersection of vulnerabilities and how this impacts on peoples’ experiences in the criminal justice system.

In her most recent projects, she examines these experiences in the context of bail and out-of-home care. She has recently completed two externally funded Criminology Research Grants exploring these issues, including as a member of a national bail research team, comprising members from the University of Tasmania, Deakin University, University of South Australia and Griffith University. In 2019 Emma was awarded funding from the Collier Charitable Fund to examine the transition of children from out-of-home care into the higher education system. 

Since 2021, Emma has been a member of the Threats to Australian Domestic Security team, within the Contemporary Threats to Australian Security (CTAS) research group. The Domestic Security team is currently focused on collaborative research on the contemporary extreme right wing milieu. Emma is has served as a Co-Editor of Salus Journal from 2018-2020. She was the NSW Representative for Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology 2018-2020 and the Editor of PacifiCrim, the Society's newsletter from 2016-18. She was the Managing Editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology from 2010-2012 and Chair of the Bathurst Regional Council's Community Safety Committee 2014-18.

• Social justice, postcode justice
• Out-of-home care and criminalisation
• Bail, court processes and procedures, access to justice, prisons and remand imprisonment
• Therapeutic jurisprudence and 'problem' solving initiatives
• Young people and children in the criminal justice system
• Vulnerability and risk

External Appointments and Memberships:

• Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies Editorial Board 2022-
• Committee of Management NSW Representative, Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology, 2019-2020
• Co-Editor of Salus Journal 2018-2020
• Committee of Management (Newsletter Editor), Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology, 2016-18
• Chair, Bathurst Regional Council Community Safety Committee, 2014-2018
• Member, Howard League for Penal Reform, 2014-2020
• Foundation Member, International Society for Therapeutic Jurisprudence, 2018-2020

Editorial Roles on journals

Co-Editor Salus Journal 2018-20

• JST110 Criminal Justice in Society
• JST309 Indigenous Communities, Criminal Justice and Policing