Criminal Justice

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This year’s Annual Meeting coincides with the fifty-year anniversary of the publication of The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society (a.k.a., Report by the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/42.pdf). The landmark report provided a lengthy and often quite detailed assessment of the nation’s criminal justice system, highlighting concerns and advancing suggestions for improvements across a broad range of areas. It was and remains an impressive and at times visionary document. Fifty years hence, the report affords a rich opportunity to reflect upon how and why the nation failed to make good on the Commission’s recommendations and its “call for a revolution in the way America thinks about crime.” The panel will bring together several of the nation’s leading academics to offer insights on the main subjects addressed in the report, including policing, corrections, juvenile justice, and drug policy.