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Spotlight

PCJ faculty affiliate has an article in the most recent issue of Nevada Law Journal, a special issue on the topic of "." The article, "," documents the cruel and abusive use of solitary confinement in immigration detention and its negative effects on mental and physical health. It draws on information obtained from federal agencies concerning the prolific use of solitary confinement in immigration detention and concludes by charting a path forward through executive action and legislative change at the federal and state levels.

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. Our Fall 2024 speaker series, The Diagnosis of Incarceration: The Health Impacts of Criminal System Involvement, built on that emerging consensus and explored the nature and extent of health inequities in the system. We were joined by a multidisciplinary ensemble of guests to critically explore perception, policy, and practice surrounding healthcare and incarceration. 

Recordings of all six events in the series are now available.

Harvard Kennedy School is highlighting the work of emergency physician Cara Buchanan (MPA 2025), who is using policy and practice to bridge the health equity gap in justice-involved care. Dr. Buchanan organized and moderated our fall 2024 speaker series, The Diagnosis of Incarceration: The Health Impacts of Criminal System Involvement.

Research from Faculty and Affiliates

 

The Harvard Gazette spoke with PCJ faculty affiliate about his new paper, ".

 

by faculty affiliates Marcella Alsan and  suggests that healthcare accreditation of jails may improve access to medical care and lower death rates. 

 

Faculty Affiliate Carol Steiker argues in Inquest that Biden’s end-of-term commutations saved lives but ultimately lost the moral argument.

 

Sandra Susan Smith writes about courtroom observers as an accountability tool in tracking policy changes aimed at increasing equity.

 

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.

 

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

 

Sandra Susan Smith explores how , job-seeking, and relative confidence in the ability to get a job.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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. 

 

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

 

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

 

by Justin de Benedictis-Kessner examines whether mayors’ partisan affiliations lead to differences in crime and policing. 

Events

News and Commentary


Harvard Law Today, May 29, 2025
Featured: Andrew Manuel Crespo


The Harvard Gazette, April 17, 2025
Featured: Christopher Muller


Talking Points Memo, April 16, 2025
Featured: Sandra Susan Smith


The Boston Globe, February 11, 2025
Featured: Bruce Western, Boston Reentry Study


The Harvard Crimson, February 6, 2025
Featured: Marcella Alsan and Crystal Yang


The Harvard Gazette, January 30, 2025
Featured: Justin de Benedictis-Kessner

New ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø research asks communities what reimagining public safety means to them
ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø Policy Topic, August 21, 2024
Featured: Sandra Susan Smith


The Conversation, June 28, 2024
Q&A with Cara R. Muñoz Buchanan

More News and Commentary

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.  It has been updated for the Spring 2025 semester.

 

Harvard Commencement 2025

Congratulations and thank you to all the ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø PCJ affiliates graduating this year!
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