Spotlight

Holding officials accountable in the criminal legal system

The Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy and Harvard Kennedy School have launched a new initiative, The Case for Equity, looking at policies aimed at making a more equitable society. As part of that initiative, Sandra Susan Smith writes about the impact of courtroom observers.  "Race and racism are so deeply embedded in so many aspects of our society that even when we are designing policies that we hope will make a difference, we must include transparency and accountability measures so that we can track what is happening and adjust accordingly over time."

Research from Faculty and Affiliates

 

Untenable Harm of Our Carceral System

Premal Dharia, executive director of Harvard Law’s Institute to End Mass Incarceration, discusses her new anthology on transforming the criminal system, Dismantling Mass Incarceration.

Read the Q&A
 

Reconciling Conceptions of Disparate Impact

New research by Sharad Goel looks at disparate impact in a dataset of 2.2 million pedestrian stop-and-frisk decisions recorded by the NYPD.

Learn about disparate impact
 

This Is What Thriving Communities Look Like

New PCJ report seeks to understand how Boston residents conceptualize healthy, safe, and thriving communities.

Learn about thriving communities
 

The Perils of Late-Night Releases

New PCJ research looks at the many perils of being released from jail in the middle of the night, an all-too-common practice.

Learn More about Late-Night Releases
 

A Youth-Led Vision in Saint Paul

It’s not just the absence of crime that impacts the way youth are able to live their lives—it’s the presence of safety.

Read More
 

Pretrial Incarceration Diminishes Employment Prospects

Sandra Susan Smith explores the ways in which pretrial incarceration affects job retention, job-seeking, and relative confidence in the ability to succeed in getting a job.

Read the Article
 

The pyramid of (in)justice

Harvard Law Professor Alexandra Natapoff explains the stark inequalities between the top and bottom of the criminal justice system in a lecture to celebrate her appointment as the Lee S. Kreindler Professor of Law.

Read the article
 

Civic Society and the Global Police Violence Problem

A Forum event brought together advocates and activists from three continents. Read the HKS article about the event to learn more.

Watch the Recording
 

Want a Fairer Jury? Diversify the Jury Pool

Interview with Sandra Susan Smith, Katy Naples-Mitchell and Haruka Margaret Braun on their research brief on jury exclusion in Massachusetts, Inequitable and Undemocratic.

Read the Q&A
 

Something Works in U.S. Jails

New research by Marcella Alsan and Crystal Yang  shows that the IGNITE education program in the Flint, MI county jail reduces misconduct and recidivism. 

Learn More
 

Bias, Distrust, and Trauma

New PCJ research reveals large racial disparities in trust in law enforcement and a strong association between experiences of police harassment and self-reported chronic health conditions.

Read the Report
 

Algorithmic Bias in Criminal Risk Assessment

New research by Harvard doctoral student Michael Zanger-Tishler looks at algorithmic racial bias in the risk assessment instruments (RAIs) used in the criminal legal system. 

Read the article

 

Events

Fall Speaker Series: Health Impacts of Criminal System Involvement

In June 2024, a group of experts in the field of criminal system health convened at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute to establish consensus around the central problems that produce or accentuate disparities in health equity for people subjected to criminalization and punishment. This speaker series, The Diagnosis of Incarceration, will build on that emerging consensus and continue to explore the nature and extent of health inequities in the system. Organized into three parts, this series will first define what the system of care looks like for people who cycle through the criminal legal system; then move through discussions around the implications and outcomes of this system; and finally, conclude with an examination of case studies and practical examples from people working to build a different future. We will be joined by a multidisciplinary ensemble of guests to critically explore perception, policy, and practice surrounding healthcare and incarceration. All events in the series will take place on Zoom. Click here to register. 

News and Commentary

Map Shows Which States Have the Worst Prisons
Newsweek, September 24, 2024
Featured: Kaia Stern

New HKS research asks communities what reimagining public safety means to them
HKS Policy Topic, August 21, 2024
Featured: Sandra Susan Smith

Harvard Kennedy School Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad To Leave, Join Princeton in 2025
The Harvard Crimson, July 20, 2024
Featured: Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Sandra Susan Smith

ICE detainees suffer preventable deaths − Q&A with a medical researcher about systemic failures
The Conversation, June 28, 2024
Q&A with Cara R. Muñoz Buchanan

A Plummeting Murder Rate Stuns Boston. But Can It Survive the Summer?
The New York Times, June 27, 2024
Featured: Sandra Susan Smith

Three years after police reforms, Black Bostonians report harassment and lack of trust at higher rates than other groups
HKS Policy Topic, June 26, 2024
Featured: Sandra Susan Smith

More News and Commentary

Harvard Crime, Punishment, Justice, and Safety Course Guide

Our Program in Criminal Justice annual course guide contains a broad selection of courses from across Harvard's different schools. Many of the courses are taught by our PCJ faculty affiliates. Topics include policing, mass incarceration, the use of algorithms, injury prevention, firearms, prison education, gender violence, surveillance, and abolitionist movements. 

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Student Opportunities
Learn about courses, student research funding, the Criminal Justice PIC and other student opportunities.
Link to Student Opportunities