Vincent Schiraldi is a Senior Research Fellow directing the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management (PCJ) at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Schiraldi has extensive experience in public life, first coming to prominence as founder of the policy think tank, the Justice Policy Institute, then moving to government as director of the juvenile corrections in Washington, DC, and then as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation. Most recently Schiraldi served as Senior Advisor to the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. In Washington and New York, Schiraldi gained a national reputation as a fearless reformer who emphasized the humane and decent treatment of the men, women, and children under his correctional supervision. For Schiraldi, making communities safer and reducing crime necessarily means improving fairness in the system and developing opportunities in the poor communities where the crime problem is most serious.

He pioneered efforts at community-based alternatives to incarceration with the YouthLink initiative in Washington DC, in New York City with the NeON network and the Close to Home program. Schiraldi received a MSW from New York University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Binghamton University.