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Other Democratic candidates have also released robust positions on criminal justice, including two recent offers by Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, the race’s other major black candidate, championed the First Step Act, which was signed into law last year, and Julián Castro, the former housing secretary, has won plaudits for his early focus on policing. Mr. Biden and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., have also offered proposals.

Mr. Biden helped write, and Mr. Sanders voted for, the 1994 crime bill that has been widely criticized by civil rights experts for contributing to the rising prison population. Mr. Buttigieg has had strained relations with black residents in South Bend, and Mr. Booker has faced scrutiny for “stop and frisk” tactics used by the police when he was mayor of Newark. Still, Ms. Harris has faced some of the fiercest attacks over her criminal justice record.

“The people who suffered under your reign as prosecutor — you owe them an apology,” Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii told Ms. Harris at a debate in July.

Ms. Harris has become familiar with this line of criticism, including the internet memes that have labeled her a “cop” and, sometimes, a turncoat to minority communities that are historically distrustful of the police and the legal system.

She has defended her record on the debate stage, but she admitted in the interview that the attacks had stung, particularly when levied by black activists. “It feels awful,” she said.

“I understand it intellectually. Emotionally, it’s hurtful,” Ms. Harris added. “I know what motivated me to become a prosecutor, I know what motivated me to do the kind of work we did, and I know that it was groundbreaking work.”