Hosts Celeste Carey and Cecil Prescod speak with David A. Harris, professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgn about his book "Failed Evidence: Why Law Enforcement Resists Science."
With the popularity of crime dramas like CSI focusing on forensic science, and increasing numbers of police and prosecutors making wide-spread use of DNA, high-tech science seems to have become the handmaiden of law enforcement. But this is a myth,asserts law professor and nationally known expert on police profiling David A. Harris. In fact, most of law enforcement does not embrace science—it rejects it instead, resisting it vigorously. The question at the heart of this book is why.
David A. Harris is Distinguished Faculty Scholar and Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is also Associate Dean for Research, and teaches Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, Evidence, and courses on criminal justice policy and homeland security issues. Harris studies and writes about the criminal justice system and police behavior, particularly racial profiling, search and seizure, police accountability, and the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. He is the leading national authority on racial profiling; his 2002 book, Profiles in Injustice: Why Racial Profiling Cannot Work (New Press), and his many published scholarly articles on profiling, jump started the national debate on the issue. His 2005 book, Good Cops: The Case for Preventive Policing (New Press), showcased police work around the U.S. that relies on prevention to control crime and protect citizens' civil rights. He has testified on racial profiling, immigration enforcement, and other criminal justice issues numerous times in Congress, most recently on April 17, 2012, before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
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