Geoffrey P. Alpert
Geoffrey P. Alpert

Geoffrey P. Alpert is a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina. His research focuses on high-risk police activities and has taught at the FBI National Academy, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and The Senior Management Institute for Police. He has testified to Congress, several state legislatures, and the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and was a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Research Advisory Committee and Policy Advisory Group.

Columns by Geoffrey P. Alpert
What Federal Immigration Enforcement Is Doing Isn’t Policing—and It Isn’t Normal

This opinion piece by policing experts Seth W. Stoughton, Ian T. Adams, Geoffrey P. Alpert, Gil Kerlikowske, Maureen Q. McGough, and Jeffrey J. Noble addresses federal immigration enforcement tactics under the Trump administration. The authors argue that the conduct of agencies like ICE and CBP has departed from established norms in policing in a way that has undermined public safety, particularly through fatal shootings. They contend that these actions—marked by poor planning, aggressive field tactics, and a disregard for accountability—are not just unprofessional but dangerously authoritarian, threatening public safety and the legitimacy of policing itself.