Benedict Alper

Benedict Solomon Alper (1905 to 1994) was an American criminologist and the first chief of the United Nations Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention Unit. Born in Revere, Massachusetts, he attended Harvard College and the Harvard Institute of Criminal Law, then worked for the Massachusetts Juvenile Court, Charlestown State Prison and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and served as research director for several state bodies. He joined the U.S. Army in 1943 and served in North Africa and Italy. At the United Nations he was a founding member and first president of the Staff Association until his dismissal in 1951 after objecting to racial segregation in a blood drive. He taught at The New School and at Boston College from 1966 to 1993, and was regarded as a pioneer in advocating alternatives to traditional punishment for juvenile offenders.