The Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management is part of the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Founded in 1980, we are celebrating 40 years of research to promote sound policy and effective management in the administration of safety and justice.
The Challenge of Policing in a Democratic Society
Charles H. Ramsey, former Philadelphia Police Commissioner and Co-Chair of President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, escorts the reader on a journey through the US National Holocaust Museum and Nazi Germany, the Jim Crow era in the US, and to more recent experiences in urban centers experiencing violence, crime, and drugs to offer examples of the challenging role of protecting not only life and property but equally important, guarding freedoms and liberty. In this report Ramsey describes the expectations of and challenge for police officers "to protect the Constitutional rights of all people to liberty, equality and justice" and the role of police leaders to ensure that their officers fully understand the nature and significance of this commitment. Ramsey says this "commits us (officers) to a pact with the communities we serve."
2019-2020 Harvard Crime, Justice, and Violence Course Guide
Courses relevant to criminal justice policy and management are offered at Harvard Kennedy School as well as other Harvard schools. Download our 2019-2020 guide to Crime, Justice, and Violence courses at Harvard (updated 1/23/20 with newly-added courses).
PCJ News
- Police unions must police their members (Boston Globe)
- In Milwaukee, ‘Justice’ is About More Than Punishment (The Crime Report)
- How Well Does the Justice System Track the Incarcerated? (The Crime Report)
- A Lesson from Camden: Fixing Jails and Health Care Together (The Crime Report)
- The Recidivism Trap: Counting failure is no way to encourage success (The Marshall Project)
- How New York City has shown that “less is more” when it comes to probation supervision (Huffington Post)
- When Less is More: How putting fewer people on probation and parole can reduce prison populations, save money and keep us safer (The Marshall Project)
- Report: Slash U.S. Probation Rolls by 50% Within 10 Years (The Crime Report)
- Congress’ chance to do right by America’s youth (TheHill.com)
- Schiraldi: Justice System Failing Young People (Boston Herald)
- Crime and the Adolescent Brain (New York Times)