Tracey Meares is an expert on policing and public safety in urban communities who has made fundamental contributions to both scholarship and practice in the criminal legal system. Using a procedural justice framework, she critically examines how citizens and communities view their relationships to the police. Meares works closely with policymakers and practitioners, advancing reforms to policing and the criminal justice system that aim to enhance public safety and improve trust and legitimacy between police and members of the public, particularly communities of color.
Professional positions
- 2007–present: Professor of Law (2007) and Walton Hale Hamilton Professor (2007–present), Yale Law School
- 1994–2006: Assistant professor (1994–1999), full professor (1999–2004), and Max Pam Professor (2004–2006) of Law, University of Chicago Law School
Notable publications
- Meares, Tracey L. 2015. “Broken Windows, Neighborhoods, and the Legitimacy of Law Enforcement, or Why I Fell In and Out of Love with Zimbardo.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 52(4): 609–625.
- Justice, Benjamin, and Tracey L. Meares. 2014. “How the Criminal Justice System Educates Citizens.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political Science 651: 159–177.
- Meares, Tracey L. 2014. “The Law and Social Science of Stop and Frisk.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 10(1): 335–352.
- Meares, Tracey L. 2002. “Praying for Community Policing.” California Law Review 90: 1593–1634.
Degrees
- JD, University of Chicago Law School
- BS, general engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
