Monroe Hudson

Director, Center for Violent Crime Reduction

Monroe B. Hudson Jr. is the director of the Institute for Intergovernmental Research’s (IIR) Center for Violent Crime Reduction (CVCR), which supports several U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) initiatives, including the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Public Safety Partnership (PSP), the Correctional Officer and Staff Safety and Wellness (CorWellness) Program, and the National Prison Resource Clearinghouse (NPRC). Across all these programs, Mr. Hudson is responsible for providing strategic direction and fostering partnerships, maintaining client relations, overseeing collaboration and coordination with partners and service providers, and ensuring the development and delivery of high-quality, contemporary program support for the criminal justice community.

PSP provides a structured framework and infrastructure to enhance DOJ’s support for state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecution authorities in cities experiencing high rates of violent crime. PSP resources and services delivered by IIR include the PSP website, training and technical assistance (TTA) delivery, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, the PSP Virtual Academy, and the annual PSP Summit. CorWellness offers TTA to improve the safety and wellness of institutional and community corrections officers (COs) and staff, building on existing knowledge to develop and deliver training aimed at strengthening CO and staff safety, wellness, resilience, and retention and collaborating with institutional and community corrections agencies to test new strategies, policies, and protocols. CorWellness also serves as a repository for corrections policies, protocols, training, and innovations, identifying and prioritizing areas for improvement. NPRC functions as a centralized hub for BJA-funded programs that promote a safe and healthy correctional culture. This cultural transformation seeks to enhance CO and staff safety and wellness, improve conditions for incarcerated individuals, and ultimately increase community safety. The NPRC website provides corrections professionals with curated resources from BJA-supported projects, covering a broad range of topics, including officer and staff safety, wellness, resilience, and retention; data analysis; restrictive housing; and overall facility safety.

Mr. Hudson previously served as a senior research associate in IIR’s Center for Law Enforcement Safety and Wellness (LESW) and was the CorWellness project lead. He spearheaded the development of the Correctional Officer and Staff Safety and Wellness Center on BJA’s behalf, facilitated the delivery of critical resources, responded to field requests, and served as an informational clearinghouse to enhance correctional officer and staff safety and wellness.

Prior to joining IIR in July 2023, Mr. Hudson served as the 10th commissioner of the Delaware Department of Correction. In this role, he oversaw the Bureau of Prisons; the Bureau of Community Corrections; the Bureau of Administrative Services; and the Bureau of Healthcare, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health Services. The Department was the second-largest agency within the executive branch, employing over 2,600 staff members, managing an annual budget of nearly $400 million, and supervising approximately 5,000 inmates and 10,000 probationers.

Mr. Hudson began his law enforcement career in 1986 as a correctional officer with the Delaware Department of Correction before joining the Delaware State Police. He served with the Delaware State Police for 31 years, retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel and holding the position of deputy superintendent. In 2019, he returned to the Department of Correction as deputy commissioner, serving for 2 years before his appointment as commissioner.

In addition to his professional roles, Mr. Hudson teaches courses on crisis leadership and criminal justice ethics in the Administration of Justice/Homeland Security Graduate Program at Wilmington University. He holds a master’s degree in administration of justice/homeland security and a bachelor’s degree in human resources management, both from Wilmington University. He is a graduate of the 219th Session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy, the FBI Leadership in Counterterrorism Program, and the FBI National Executive Institute.