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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Do you know a student thinking about a PhD in Soc? @umnsociology.bsky.social is running a how to apply workshop in October and encourage all to join! More info at: cla.umn.edu/sociology/gr...

Event flyer for event on Oct. 21, 1-2:30pm featuring professors Mike Esposito and Michelle Phelps. Learn more about the Ph.D program at the University of Minnesota.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

And aww, what a lovely surprise to see this note at the end. For much more on probation from me than anyone asked for, see: www.michellesphelps.com/research/mas...

Acknowledgement: We credit sociology Professor Michelle Phelps for developing the concept of "mass probation," which informs much of our thinking about how these systems interrelate.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

New paper alert! Together with PhD candidate Hannah Schwendeman (UMN), we show the consequences of a "graying" probation population. The paper finds unique pains of supervision among older adults, especially related to chronic health conditions. doi.org/10.1177/1462...

"Forty-some years I’ve been on paper”: Navigating probation in later adulthood. Abstract: Older adults are a rapidly growing population within the criminal legal system, prompting new scholarship about the consequences of a “graying” prison population. Less studied, however, has been the impact of an aging population for the larger share of adults under community supervision. Drawing on interviews conducted in 2019 with 44 adults aged 50 years or older on probation in Minnesota, we explore how aging shapes the experiences and meaning of supervision. Our findings show that older adults on probation experienced chronic instability, significant health concerns, and often lengthy criminal legal entanglements. Building on the framework of hypermarginality, we argue that aging is an under-appreciated axis of vulnerability for people with criminal legal system involvement. By studying older adults’ distinct experiences, scholars can better locate the role of probation in contemporary poverty governance.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

I interrupt your doom scrolling with flowers courtesy of Philly. 💜

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

🎊The Minneapolis Reckoning has now won both the Minnesota Book Award for Minnesota Nonfiction and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Outstanding Book Award. I wrote it for Minneapolis, but also to bring more critical scholarship into criminology, and I am so grateful it's resonating.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

also of note -- crim/cj continues to dominate job ads (after open positions)

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Pls share w/ your students -- Univ. of Minnesota's Sociology department is hosting a "how to apply" event for PhD applicants. Visit cla.umn.edu/sociology/gr... for more info. The world of higher ed (and beyond) is in crisis, but sociology can help us better understand the problems + solutions.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

New paper out with @dacuetovilla.bsky.social today at @socprobsjournal.bsky.social -- in it we build a model for understanding how competing movement orgs make racial demands, using the debates in Minneapolis over public safety in 2021.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

This is not a drill, nerds. The google scholar recommended readings are back!! This is such a helpful tool to keep in touch w/ new lit in your area, esp. after the collapse of academic twitter.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

Someone needs to check in on Wendy. (Spotted on my way to work!)

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Spent some time today trying to summarize the main categories of mandated reforms for the MPD's agreement with the state (Minnesota Dept of Human Rights) or the [now withdrawn] federal (Dept of Justice) consent decree. Specific terms diverged but mostly an overlap in key areas for reform.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Why does this matter? Because when complaints take *years* to resolve, it fails to provide either justice for the victim or correction for the officer. Note though that these complaints still rarely lead to officer discipline even once resolved. ⬇️excerpt from The Minneapolis Reckoning on the OPCR

Excerpt from The Minneapolis Reckoning on delaying in police misconduct resolution.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

That first graph shows historical misconduct complaints processed by Internal Affairs. Here's the same graph for the complaints at Office of Police Conduct Review.

"Status of Historical OPCR Case Backlog as of March 31, 2025". See link in original post for full text.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

There's some casual language here... The MPD has at least started the investigation on all the backlogged misconduct cases, which is good. But many still await a decision. ele4a.org/wp-content/u...

Chart on "Status of Historical IA Case Backlog as of May 15, 2025." For full text, see link in original post.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

George Floyd Square, ready for Rise & Remember.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

I was listening to MPR the other day and they were doing a story with Jeanelle Austin, caretaker at GFS, and her siblings. One of the things she said that is so important is that "Black people... have different ideas of liberation and you have to be able to hold space for that.”

Picture of Brass Solidarity band and quote included above.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Thanks for these graphs -- I looked at the urban/rural divide with MPV data in 2023 or 2024 but it's helpful to see the new results. Interesting too how the trends look diff across zip codes vs. county-level.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Look what made it to the airport bookstore shelf... Thanks, MN Open Book! And while I hope people will shop local, reviews on that other site always appreciated if you found the book helpful!

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

I was delighted to win the Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction at the MN Book Awards last night. Being with book nerds for an evening was a balm. May all the nominated books bring us some truth and beauty.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Alright 10,000 word limit, I'm ready. 😂

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Things are terrible, but this was a bright spot. Delighted to be in such good company as a finalist for the Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction over at the Minnesota Book Awards: thefriends.org/minnesota-bo...

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Weekend book sighting. In good company, at the MIA. 💜

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Attaching the blurb screen shot here -- but you should go to Inquest and check out all of the other important new works.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

LGA airport has really had a glow up since I left NYC. No more birds in the Delta terminal and I get to eat this.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

The book version of this argument is much (MUCH) longer, as was even our 40 min conversation. But the quote they pulled sums it up pretty well. For more, see www.startribune.com/from-promise... & inquest.org/safety-witho...

Screen shot of article, reading: Michelle Phelps, an author and sociology professor at the University of Minnesota, says Minneapolis represents "both the promise of liberal police reform, but also its persistent failures." Still, she has also seen positive strides.

"There have been a number of innovations about, how do we think about reducing that contact between police and community members? And you're seeing other kinds of responders that can come into those situations that aren't armed with a gun and that aren't trained in how to deploy violence," Phelps said.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 22/10/2024

The last two days have felt like an entire year, but a bright spot has been seeing the first academic review of The Minneapolis Reckoning in Punishment & Society from Ryan Steel. He really beautifully captures the book. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 19/10/2024

Had a fun time at the Twin Cities Book Festival today on the non-fiction panel. Book nerds are the best!

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 11/10/2024

Sociologists & other legal scholars -- I'll be joining the Punishment & Society Reading Group on Oct. 25th on zoom to talk about The Minneapolis Reckoning. To attend, sign up for the group listserv here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 11/10/2024

Local Twin Cities folks: I'm delighted to be sharing the stage with other non-fiction writers SATURDAY OCT 19TH at Rain Taxi's Twin Cities Book Festival (TCBF). It's FREE & at the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. More info at: twincitiesbookfestival.com/schedule-of-...

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 03/10/2024

Hey sociology folks: I'm co-hosting a zoom event soon for potential PhD applicants to @UMNSociology on Oct. 23rd with my colleague Michael Walker. Pls forward to any students who want to learn more about the grad application process and/or life in the Twin Cities!

Event flyer listing event day/time (Oct. 23rd, 12:30-2pm CST). For more information, contact drasi001 AT umn.edu.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 24/09/2024

With the good news re: 2023 crime stats, I thought I'd look at the murder numbers in Minneapolis. And it is, as expected, not good. We've lost the drops in violence from 2022. We need holistic, coordinated violence reduction from the city and state now. (Graph from realtimecrimeindex.com)

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2024

Got to unexpectedly visit my book after stopping in at B&N with the kids over the weekend. Such good company on this wall!

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 19/09/2024

CHICAGO: Please join us on Oct. 8th @pilsencommbooks.bsky.social for a conversation about police violence and the path forward. I'll be in conversation about The Minneapolis Reckoning with @juliango.bsky.social. Please spread the word and join us! pilsencommunitybooks.com/events/20241...

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 16/09/2024

Speaking of the book, CHICAGO, I will be visiting soon! Happy to report I'll be in conversation about policing and the path forward with the brilliant Julian Go at @pilsencommbooks.bsky.social on OCT 8TH. Please spread the word and join us if you're local! pilsencommunitybooks.com/events/20241...

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 05/09/2024

Minneapolis folks, check out this talk tonight at Magers & Quinn on how the construction of "excited delirium" enables police violence and racial oppression. Featuring my colleague Michael Walker and book author Aisha Beliso-DeJesus. (Book here: www.dukeupress.edu/excited-deli...)

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 13/08/2024

Also, I largely agree with Council Member Ellison's comments here re: Walz. To the extent that the feds do matter, if Harris wins, she and Walz both are largely centrist democrats, for better or worse. Hopefully we'll see *some* CJ reform enabled but that's really not the crux of this election.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 29/07/2024

Happy to report a new paper out at Theoretical Criminology with co-author Eric Seligman. Drawing on interviews with adults on probation, we ask how people on supervision think about the threat of prob violation + what that means for visions of legal change. journals.sagepub.com/eprint/EJAMQ...

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 06/06/2024

North Minneapolis: I'll be headed to Get Down Coffee Co. on June 27th to talk The Minneapolis Reckoning, in conversation with Pillsbury United Communities' Cinnamon Pelly. Join us to imagine how to build better models of public safety for Northside. Website: getdowncoffee.com/pages/events

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 21/05/2024

Remember that @harpers.bsky.social issue on Crime and Punishment with Minneapolis PD Chief O'Hara and others? Well @alexvitale.bsky.social + I both have comments on it in this month's issue: harpers.org/archive/2024...

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 18/05/2024

I'm late on this one, but happy to report the book trailer / Q&A for The Minneapolis Reckoning is now up on the @princetonupress.bsky.social Ideas blog! press.princeton.edu/ideas/michel...

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 17/05/2024

My book tour has one last stop in May. Madison, WI, I'll see you Monday night at A Room of One's Own, 6pm, in conversation with Madion organizer Matthew Braunginn! Looking forward to this conversation. www.roomofonesown.com/event/minnea...

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 07/05/2024

My book with @princetonupress.bsky.social is officially out today! 🙏 The book traces how years (+ previous decades) of organizing pushed the city to the brink of ending its police department, why it didn't happen, and how public safety has changed after George Floyd's murder. hubs.ly/Q02tDsCx0

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 06/05/2024

First book review up at Pioneer Press. Hope this helps spread the word about Thursday's book launch at M&Q.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 02/05/2024

Book tour this month! Wish police violence wasn't always so timely. But we can and must build smarter public safety systems.

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 01/05/2024

As we relearn (maybe) the lessons of summer 2020, I hope some of you Twin Cities folks will join me at Magers & Quinn next week to talk about the politics of policing in Minneapolis. www.magersandquinn.com/event/Michel...

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Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 04/04/2024

I'm so grateful for this opportunity to be in conversation with the great Jelani Cobb about my new book, The Minneapolis Reckoning, at Greenlight Bookstore in NYC on May 16th. If you can join us, please register here: www.greenlightbookstore.com/event/michel...

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