Brett C. Burkhardt is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the School of Public Policy at Oregon State University. His research examines the exercise of coercive power by legal and quasi-legal authorities. He is currently involved in four projects: (1) prison privatization, (2) race and punishment, (3) policing mental illness, and (4) police militarization. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.