MICHAEL HAMES-GARCÍA
Author and Educator
Michael Roy Hames-García studies and teaches about inequalities of race, class, gender, sexuality and disability in the criminal legal system from policing and criminal courts to incarceration and reentry. He is Professor of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies and Interim Director of the Latino Research Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. He previously served on the civilian review board and police commission for the city of Eugene, Oregon.
CURRENT RESEARCH
Community Oversight Lab (COL)
COL studies the attitudes, motivations, and experiences of people engaged with overseeing local law enforcement either formally or informally. The research draws from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with officials (independent auditors, internal affairs investigators, city bureaucrats, and local politicians), volunteers (police commissioners and review board members), and other members of the community (activists, attorneys, and journalists) who participate in community oversight of police and sheriff’s departments. Data so far has been collected in three states (California, Oregon, and Texas).