How Criminal Justice Policy Gets Made In The White House With Rachel Harmon

What happens when the people shaping national crime policy don’t actually have the data they need?

In this episode, I sit down with Rachel Harmon, law professor at the University of Virginia who previously served as a senior policy adviser for criminal justice for the White House Domestic Policy Council. 

Rachel provides a rare inside look at how crime policy really gets made, breaking down  what it’s like working inside the White House -- where decisions move fast, data moves slow, and the pressure to respond to public fear doesn’t wait for evidence to catch up. She explains why even basic questions, like how big a problem carjacking actually is, can be nearly impossible to answer in real time, and how that gap shapes policy decisions.

The conversation dives into the messy reality behind “data-driven policy,” including:

• Why crime data often arrives too late to guide decisions
• How political pressure competes with long-term strategy
• What it takes to actually implement policy after it’s announced
• And why the U.S. still lacks basic data on policing, charges, and outcomes

Tune in for a fun, informative conversation on the messy business of making Federal criminal justice policy. 

Rachel Harmon is the Harrison Robertson Professor of Law and directs the Center for Criminal Justice at the University of Virginia School of Law. She is one of the nation’s leading scholars on policing and the law.