The study of crime and punishment has become increasingly central to our understanding of how society works. Crime varies widely across time and place, for example, and is deeply intertwined with multiple forms of social stratification. Societal reactions to crime in the form of mass incarceration have in turn been linked to increasing racial and economic inequality. This research cluster draws together faculty in sociology and across the university to address these and other fundamental questions about crime and its control. The Program in Criminal Justice at the Kennedy School is a key institutional hub for intellectual dialogue.
