Roundtable: Policing and Police Studies Fifty Years after the President’s Commission

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

In many ways, Lyndon Johnson’s 1967 President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice can be seen as the foundational document for modern police studies. On the one hand, it served as one of the most comprehensive analyses of the roots of crime and crime control at that time. On the other hand, it set the terms for police policy studies in a way that continues to exert significant sway over the field: fear of crime, police organization, as well as racial inequality and injustice continue to be central concerns for police scholars. On the occasion of the Commission’s 50th anniversary, this roundtable will gather a group of scholars whose work has explored the intersection of “police” and “policy” in order to assess this legacy and reflect on future directions for the study of police, crime control and policy: What were the greatest strengths and weaknesses of the report? What remains its greatest impact on contemporary policing? In what ways have discussions of police evolved since the Commission’s report? What insights can an assessment of this legacy offer for the directions of contemporary policing?

Sub Unit

• Area XIII: Roundtable Sessions

Division of Special Interest

• Divisions of Special Interest / Division of Policing

Chair

• Kevin Gerard Karpiak, Eastern Michigan University

Discussants

• Tracey Meares, Yale Law School

• Peter K. Manning, Northeastern University

• Travis Linnemann, Eastern Kentucky University

• Jennifer Carlson, University of Arizona