Media & Other Writing

Selective Press Coverage for The Minneapolis Reckoning

"Michelle S. Phelps on The Minneapolis Reckoning," Annex Sociology Podcast (June 17)

"Police Departments Have Shrunk. Crime Is Plummeting. Now What?," Q&A, Slate (June 20)

"How 2020 Changed Policing in Minneapolis," Q&A, Racket (June 11)

"The Minneapolis Reckoning with Michelle Phelps," Podcast, Wedge LIVE! (June 10)

"Safety Without Police," Excerpt, Inquest (June 6)

Letter to the Editor, "Crime and Punishment," Harper's Magazine (June 2024)

"Is Minneapolis a 'Secret Bellwether' for Understanding Policing and Race in America?" Review by C.J. Ciaramella, Reason Magazine (May 26)

"The Minneapolis Police Department Is Dismantling Itself," Op-ed, The New Republic (May 24)

"New book traces the city's journey to the brink of police reform," Interview, Minnesota Public Radio (May 22)

Policy Reports and Briefs

CURA Reporter (Nov 2020) -- Over-Policed and  Under-Protected: Public Safety in North Minneapolis

Scholars Strategy Network Policy Brief (May 2020) -- Improve Health for Adults on Community Supervision 

Scholars Strategy Network Policy Brief (Sept. 2018) -- Why Ending Mass Probation is Crucial to U.S. Criminal Justice Reform

Op-Eds and Blog Posts

Scatterplot (June 2020) -- One Year Later, Policing, Violence, and Public Safety in Minneapolis

MinnPost (June 2020) -- Dismantling the Police, Reimagining Public Safety

Scatterplot (June 2020) -- Dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department

Robina Institute (April 2020) -- Community Supervision and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Why We Need to Build a More Integrated Health System

Scatterplot (Nov 2019) -- Legal Estrangement and Police Reform in Minneapolis

Scatterplot (March 2019) -- Remembering Devah Pager: The Mark of a Mentor

P&S Blog (Feb. 2019) -- Are you a criminologist or a sociologist? Michelle Phelps Responds

The Conversation (Jan. 2019) -- Congress’ First Step Act Reflects a New Criminal Justice Consensus, but Will It Reduce Mass Incarceration? 

The Crime Report (Jan. 2018) -- The Lessons of Meek Mill: A Probation System ‘Set Up to Fail’

Race, Politics, Justice (August 2017) -- The Struggle for Criminal Justice Reform

In Justice Today (July 2017) -- To Fix the Justice System, Shrink and Reform Community Supervision

American Probation and Parole Association's Perspectives (June 2017) -- American Exceptionalism in Community Supervision (with Alessandro Corda)

Punishment and Society Blog (May 2017) -- Can Criminology Be Neutral?

OUP Blog (May 2017) -- On Criminal Justice Reform, Keep Fighting

Gender Policy Report (March 2017) -- Rehabilitation in Prison? Educational Programs for Women Prisoners in 2014

The Society Pages (Feb. 2017) -- The Return of Rehabilitation? Educational Programs for Prisoners Remain Inadequate

Robina Institute (July 2016) -- Mass Probation Across the United States

Scatterplot (July 2016) -- Yes, There is Racial Bias in Police Shootings

LSE US Centre (Feb. 2016) -- Falling Violent Crime and Budget Deficits Set the Stage for Shrinking Prison Populations

Offender Supervision in Europe (March 2013) -- The Paradox of Probation: Understanding Probation Expansion during the Prison Boom

SocImages (June 2011) -- The Dangerous Trade-Off between Education and Imprisonment

Media and Policy Reports' Coverage of Research

Star Tribune (January 2024) -- In Minneapolis, Police Staffing Levels Continued to Drop in 2023. So Did Crime

The Toronto Star (Feb 2023) -- After George Floyd

Star Tribune (May 2021) -- A Year After George Floyd’s Death, Seeking a New Direction for Policing (reprinted in PBS/Frontline)

WaPo (Nikki Jones) (April 2021) -- The Chauvin Trial Addressed Extreme Violence. But Most Police Abuse is Routine

The Appeal (Vincent Schiraldi) (March 2021) -- Explainer: How ‘Technical Violations’ Drive Incarceration

Minnesota Reformer (Dec. 2020) -- Black America is Over-Policed and Under-Protected

ACLU and HRW (July 2020) -- Revoked: How Probation and Parole Feed Mass Incarceration in the United States

Criminal Justice Policy Program, Harvard Law School (June 2020) -- Paying on Probation 

Pew, Public Safety Performance Project (Sept. 2018) -- Probation and Parole Systems Marked by High Stakes, Missed Opportunities

Columbia University Justice Lab (Jan. 2018) -- Too Big to Succeed: The Impact of the Growth of Community Corrections and What Should be Done About It

PBS (Jan 2018) -- Felony Conviction Rates are Up Nationwide

Crime Report (July 2017) -- Want to Shrink Our Prisons? Fix Probation and Parole

Star Tribune (April 2017) -- Yes, Minnesota Has a Low Prison Population, But That's Not the Whole Story

Robina Institute (March 2016) -- Data Brief: American Exceptionalism in Probation Supervision

The Economist (Sept. 2016) -- Think Before You Clink: Why a Rise in Community Punishment is Not Cutting Prison Rates

Prison Policy Initiative (June 2016) -- Correctional Control: Incarceration and Supervision by State

Robina Institute (Nov. 2013) -- Robina Funds Phelps’ Study of “Mass Probation” in the United States

Radio & Podcast Interviews

Minnesota Now (Sept. 2022) -- Democrats are Divided as House Passes Bill Package to Fund Police

NPR All Things Considered (Nov. 2021) -- Why Voters Rejected Plans to Replace the Minneapolis Police Department

WCCO with Chad Hartman (Sept. 2021) -- Dr. Michelle Phelps on Minneapolis Policing

MPR News with Angela Davis (May 2021) -- Police and Traffic Stops: When Should Officers Pull Drivers Over?

The TakeAway (April 2021) -- What's Next for the Minneapolis Police Department?

Dialogue Minnesota (June 2020) -- What Does "Dismantling" the Police Really Mean?

KERA NEWS (April 2019) -- Forget The Petty Theft Hullabaloo. Creuzot's Probation Reform Will Affect More People

Access Minnesota (Feb. 2018) -- Rise of Probation

Access Minnesota (April 2017) -- Criminal Justice Reform

Access Minnesota (July 2016) -- Racial Bias in Policing

Print/Digital Media Interviews

Racket (Sept. 2022) -- When RaShall Brackney Tried to Reform the Charlottesville Police Department, Cops Fought Back. Would Minneapolis Be Different? 

Time Magazine (May 2022) -- Two Years After George Floyd's Murder, Minneapolis Is Still Struggling to Redefine Policing 

Independent (March 2022) -- From George Floyd to Amir Locke, have Minneapolis Police Learned Nothing? 

Star Tribune (Feb. 2022) -- Crime in the Crosshairs as Major Minnesota Legislative, Campaign Focus in 2022

Guardian (Jan. 2022) -- Trial Begins of Three Ex-Police Officers Present at George Floyd Murder 

AP News (Jan 2022) -- Do Minnesota Cases Show it's Getting Easier to Convict Cops?

The Conversation (Nov. 2021) -- Why Voters Rejected Plans to Replace the Minneapolis Police Department 

Star Tribune (Sept. 2021) -- Minnesota Poll: Most Minnapolis Voters Want Reform, Not Fewer Cops (reprinted in PBS/Frontline)

New Yorker (July 2021) -- Derek Chauvin's Trial and George Floyd's City

New Republic (May 2021) -- The Justice Department Is Getting Back Into the Business of Police Oversight. Will It Matter? 

CNN (April 2021) -- Minnesota's Twin Cities Are Once Again the National Flashpoint over Race and Policing

WaPo (April 2021) -- As Derek Chauvin’s Former Bosses Line Up To Condemn Him, ‘Policing in America is On Trial’

Independent (April 2021) -- ‘The World is Watching’: The Fight for Minneapolis Police Reform

LeMonde (April 2021) -- Mort de George Floyd

Liberation (April 2021) -- Affaire George Floyd

BBC News Mundo (April 2021) -- George Floyd

Star Tribune (April 2021) -- After Duante Wright's Killing, Criticism of 'Pretextual' Traffic Stops Grows

Minnesota Reformer (April 2021) -- Stop the Car Stops

Star Tribune (March 2021) -- Chauvin Case Draws Inevitable Comparisons to Another High-Profile Police Murder Trial (Reprinted for FRONTLINE)

MN Daily (Dec. 2020) -- University Researchers Recommend Policing Changes Beyond Reform in North Minneapolis

CQ Researcher (Oct. 2020) -- Police Under Scrutiny - Can Law Enforcement Restore Public Trust?

Associated Press (Aug. 2020) -- GOP Portrayal of Urban Mayhem Doesn’t Always Match Reality 

Star Tribune (Aug. 2020) -- Minneapolis police face staffing challenges as violence rises

MN Daily (July 2020) -- What does changing the Minneapolis city charter mean for public safety?

Star Tribune (June 2020) -- Killing of George Floyd shows that years of police reform fall far short

LeMonde (June 2020) -- Mort de George Floyd : à Minneapolis, le démantèlement de la police s’annonce plus compliqué que prévu

WaPo (June 2020) -- Protests spread over police shootings. Police promised reforms. Every year, they still shoot and kill nearly 1,000 people

WaPo (May 2020) -- Minneapolis struggled with police violence and adopted reforms. ‘And yet, George Floyd is still dead.’

Philly Enquirer (Oct. 2019) -- The Probation Trap: Living in Fear

MN Daily (Oct. 2018) "Increase in reported sexual assaults, according to University safety report"

Star Tribune (Nov. 2018) “Latest numbers: Crime recedes in most parts of Minneapolis”

PolitiFact Wisconsin (Sept. 2018) “Tony Evers supports cutting prison population 50%, but releasing thousands of violent criminals?” 

Star Tribune (Aug. 2018) -- Release of Blevins Video Exposes Divide Between Police, Communities of Color

AP (Aug. 2018) -- FACT CHECK: Walker Right on Wisconsin Prison Population

MinnPost (Aug. 2018) -- Many Questions, Few Answers, As Minneapolis Council Takes Up Proposal To Change Police Oversight

USA Today (May 2018) -- At Santa Fe High School, Police Had an Active-Shooter Plan

MN Daily (March 2018) -- Stadium Village Rally Calls for UMPD to Disarm

Star Tribune (April 2018) -- With Few Women in Top Spots, Minneapolis Police Face a Challenge Diversifying Force

Star Tribune (Feb. 2018) -- Maplewood Police Says Study Shows They are Unbiased

TC Daily Planet (Jan. 2018) -- Principles of Less Eligibility: The Human Cost of Prison Labor 

Next City (Dec. 2017) -- Parole and Probation Reform Is Bigger Than Meek Mill

MN Daily (Oct. 2017) -- UMPD Expands Community Engagement Team

MN Daily (Oct. 2017) -- UMPD Joins Other Campus Police to Discuss College Free Speech Issues

Portland Tribune (July 2017) -- Probation Innovation Stymied by Lack of Data

MinnPost (June 2017) -- Why Tiny Polk County Sends So Many People to Prison

Star Tribune (April 2017) -- Female Police Officers' De-escalation Skills Changing Tone in Minneapolis

MN Daily (March 2017) -- Minneapolis Police Create New Division for Community Outreach

Yes! Magazine (March 2017) -- Defunding Police: How Antiracist Organizers Got Seattle to Listen

Star Tribune (Jan. 2017) -- Frustration Grows with Minneapolis Police Psychological Screening Process

MinnPost (Dec. 2016) -- Minneapolis is Hiring More Police Officers. Here's Why Some Advocates Argue That Won't Make the City Any Safer

MN Daily (Oct. 2016) -- Report: Total crimes Increased in Minneapolis Last Year

Chicago Reporter (Aug. 2016) -- Police Liability Insurance Measure Goes to Court in Minneapolis

FiveThirtyEight (July 2016) -- Why Are So Many Black Americans Killed By Police?

Pioneer Press (July 2016) -- St. Anthony Police Data Shows Disproportionate Arrests of Blacks

MN Daily (July 2016) -- Police Accountability Petition Advances

MN Daily (July 2016) -- Philando Castile Shooting Shows Reality of Racial Bias in Law Enforcement Says Obama, Gov. Dayton

MN Daily (June 2016) -- Dayton Backs Revised Police Body Cam Bill

MN Daily (February 2015) -- Mpls. Unveils Group for Police Conduct Oversight

Star Tribune (Dec. 2014) -- Twin Cities Forum Explore Racial Bias, Police Tactics

Star Tribune (Nov. 2014) -- Small-Time Arrests Down as Mpls. Police Shift Focus

Wake Mag (Nov 2014) -- Minneapolis Police Department Testing Officer Body Cameras

Wake Mag (Nov 2013) -- Alert: This is a Desensitizing, Vague Message about Crime