Joseph D. McNamara

About the author: Joseph D. McNamara is a retired police officer who started his career as a beat patrolman in New York City. He was also chief of police for Kansas City, Missouri, and San Jose, California, before retiring after thirty-five years of serving in law enforcement. He is also a fellow of criminal justice at Harvard Law School and an outspoken critic of the War on Drugs.

The War on Drugs has a powerful corrupting influence on police forces across the country because police officers know that they can rob drug dealers with impunity. No dealers or buyers are going to report a police officer stealing from them because they know that they themselves will be arrested. The corruption of police officers begins gradually, with the...