Jamie Livingston

 

Associate Professor
Email: jamie.livingston@smu.ca
Office: McNally South, Room 431 

Google Scholar Profile

 

Personal Profile

Ph.D. (Criminology) Simon Fraser University 
M.A. (Criminology) Simon Fraser University
B.A. honours (Psychology) University of Prince Edward Island

Dr. Livingston critically studies a range of issues at the intersection of the mental health, substance use, and criminal legal systems, with a specific focus on people’s experiences with stigma, criminalization, and recovery/ desistance processes. His scholarship often calls attention to the harms created by carceral and coercive interventions that target people with mental health and substance use issues.

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Research Areas

• Criminalization of mental health & substance use
• Forensic mental health
• Non-carceral mobile crisis services
• Labeling and stigma

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Recent Projects and Grants

• Evaluation of the Crisis Intervention and Outreach (CIAO) program being delivered by Peer Support Services & Outreach (POSSE) in West Hants, Nova Scotia (2025-27)
• Community-based evaluation of the Mobile Outreach Street Health Justice Project in Halifax, Nova Scotia (2022-23)

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Recent Publications

• Livingston, J., & Chambers, J. (2024). Civilian mobile crisis services. In  A. Szigeti, R. Dhand, D. Bonnet, & J. Presser. (Eds.), Canadian anthology on mental health and law. Lexis Nexis.
• Salvalaggio, G., Brooks, H., Caine, V., Gagnon, M., Godley, J., Houston, S., Kennedy, M. C., Kosteniuk, B., Livingston, J., Saah, R., Speed, K., Urbanoski, K., Werb, D., & Hyshka, E. (2023). Flawed reports can harm: The case of Supervised Consumption Services in Alberta. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 114, 928-933. https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-023-00825-x
• Livingston, J., Bonn, M., Brown, P., Deveau, S., & Houston, A-M. (2022). Experiences of stigma and criminal in/justice among people who use substances. In G. Schomerus & P. Corrigan (Eds.), The stigma of substance use disorders: Explanatory models and effective interventions. Cambridge University Press.
• Livingston, J. D. (2021). Commentary on Kelly et al (2020): The struggle to define or be defined. Addiction, 116, 1768-1769.  https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15425
• Livingston, J. D. (2021). A framework for assessing structural stigma in healthcare contexts for people with mental health and substance use issues. Mental Health Commission of Canada. https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/resource/a-framework-for-assessing-structural-stigma-in-health-care-contexts-for-people-with-mental-health-and-substance-use-issues/
• Livingston, J. D. (2021). Criminal justice responses to people with mental illnesses. In J. V. Roberts & M. G. Grossman (Eds.), Criminal justice in Canada: A reader. (6^th ed.). Nelson.
• Livingston, J. D. (2021). Supervised consumption sites and crime: Scrutinizing the methodological weaknesses and aberrant results of a government report in Alberta, Canada. Harm Reduction Journal, 18, 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-020-00456-2

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Recent Media Engagements

• CBC News. (2025, Oct 15). Group calls for fatality inquiry in case of Halifax man who died during arrest. [Text and Radio interview]. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/group-calls-for-fatality-inquiry-in-case-of-halifax-man-who-died-during-arrest-9.6939573
• CBC News. (2025, Mar 8). Group calls to end deploying police for wellness checks. [Text and Radio interview]. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/groups-call-to-end-deploying-police-for-wellness-checks-1.7477781
• CBC Radio. (2025, Feb 26). Civilian alternatives to policing and mental health calls. [Radio interview]. Information Morning Nova Scotia. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-27-information-morning-ns/clip/16130467-civilian-alternatives-policing-mental-health-calls
• CBC News. (2024, Dec 19). Halifax hopes to launch civilian crisis response team in 2025. [Text interview].  https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-hopes-to-launch-civilian-crisis-response-team-in-2025-1.7415547
• CBC News. (2023, Sep 18). Criticism mounts over N.B. public safety minister’s plan to force drug users into rehab. [Text interview]. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/kris-austin-drug-addiction-forced-treatment-1.6968187
• CBC News. (2023, Apr 17). N.S. shooting report calls for police to be ‘secondary in public safety work. [Text and TV interview]. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/report-on-n-s-mass-shooting-calls-for-civilians-to-handle-mental-health-calls-1.6811228
• Global News. (2023, Apr 3). Mass Casualty Commission recommendations focus on mental health calls. [TV interview]. https://globalnews.ca/video/9599319/mass-casualty-commission-recommendations-focus-on-mental-health-calls/

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Current Course Offerings

• CRIM 3505: Prisons and Punishment
• CRIM 4429: Criminalization of Mental Illness