David Thacher
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David E. Thacher

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Urban Planning
(734) 615-4074 dthacher@umich.edu

David Thacher is an associate professor of public policy and urban planning. His research draws from philosophy, history, and the interpretive social sciences to develop and apply a humanistic approach to policy research. He is particularly interested in the use of case study and narrative analysis to clarify the ethical foundations of public policy. Most of his work has focused on criminal justice policy, where he has undertaken studies of order maintenance policing, the local police role in homeland security, community policing reform, the distribution of safety and security, prisoner re-entry, and the control of criminal justice discretion. He is currently studying the rise of American drug laws in the late 19th century and the transformation of police authority in the 1960s. David received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Learn more on Thacher's personal site.

Educational Background

  • PhD in public policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1999)
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