Read our 2024 end-of-year newsletter, with updates from each team!

The Policing Project applauds this important policy change, which comes months after we called on DOJ and the DEA to end Operation Jetway, citing the long-documented history of racial profiling associated with it. 

Read the amicus brief we filed in Supreme Court case Barnes v. Felix urging the Court to reject the Fifth Circuit’s “moment of the threat” doctrine and instead use a “totality of the circumstances” approach to evaluate claims of excessive force under the Fourth Amendment. 

The Policing Project has released a report finding that Chicago lacks a strong community policing program and expects police officers to perform too many duties that take them away from their mission of addressing serious crime.

Reporting by Oregon's Rogue Valley Times took a close look at two lawsuits challenging domestic surveillance by law enforcement in the state, including our case on behalf of social justice, indigenous rights, and environmental advocates.

This summer, we’re reflecting on a year in which – despite challenging political environments across the country – we were able to make real strides in legislatures across the country and build off last year’s successes.

The profoundly disturbing police killing of Sonya Massey in her own home is a complete failure of policing and of humanity. 

Just the latest incident of a police officer killing an unarmed Black person, it is rightly raising fundamental questions about policing in America. It’s also, however, raising questions about whether Sean Grayson – the sheriff’s deputy who killed Massey – should have even been allowed to serve as a police officer in the first place. 

The Policing Project at New York University School of Law has published an in-depth study on community safety and non-police alternative first response in San Francisco, the third report in a series on public safety innovations across the country.

Last month, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a landmark policy putting in place long-overdue requirements on how federal agencies can – and cannot – use artificial intelligence. 

Here are our main takeaways on what it means for law enforcement.

Earlier this month, we appeared before the US Commission on Civil Rights – alongside experts from government, law enforcement, and other advocacy groups – to discuss the civil rights implications of federal law enforcement’s unregulated use of facial recognition technology (FRT).

Last month, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced his support for removing police officers from the city’s public schools. His administration should approach this change as an opportunity to invest in a proven strategy for supporting students: trained mental health professionals.

The Policing Project at NYU School of Law, the global law firm Jones Day, the law firm Lawrence & Bundy, and Canfield Law LLC have filed an appeal to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the dismissal of a civil rights lawsuit against Clayton County police. A range of groups and individuals, including law enforcement officials; Tyler Perry, Jamie Foxx, and other prominent Black actors; empirical scholars; Cato Institute; NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Institute for Justice; ACLU of Georgia, have filed amicus briefs in support of the appeal.

The Policing Project at NYU School of Law has published an in-depth study on community safety and alternative first response in Tucson, the second report in a series on public safety innovations across the country.

This week, we’re highlighting testimony we provided to the New York City Council on how the NYPD has skirted democratic accountability in deploying intrusive policing technologies.

The city of Las Vegas Department of Public Safety today announced that it – in partnership with the Center for Crime and Justice Policy at University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Policing Project at NYU School of Law – has received an $800,000 federal grant to be evaluated by the Policing Project’s new Sound, Accountable, Just, and Effective (SAJE) Policing Assessment tool.

How much does police misconduct and abuse cost each year? How much has your local police department paid out in settlements?

Odds are, it’s all but impossible to find out. Basic questions such as how much is being paid, by whom, and for what kind of misconduct are virtually unanswerable in most places.

This week, we highlight a process undertaken by the New York State Education Department to evaluate the use of facial recognition technology in schools that could serve as a model of democratic accountability for policing agencies.

The Policing Project at NYU School of Law today released a first-of-its-kind report on community safety and non-police alternative first response in Denver. The report, Transforming Denver’s First Response Model, found that there is broad agreement – among community members, police leaders, and alternative first responders – that “sending police to deal with every social problem simply isn’t working.” The report also found that, among people from communities most affected by policing, there is broad agreement that transforming first response is a high priority issue.

During this year’s legislative session, we provided input and drafting support on 36 pieces of legislation or regulations across 12 states. Notably, 22 of these engagements came at the express invitation of state or local partners, including both advocates and lawmakers. The most popular topics were use of force, officer decertification, and data collection and transparency, but legislators also sought to address a wide range of others, from warrant reform to police use of robots, and more.

Actors and comedians Eric André and Clayton English filed a lawsuit today against Clayton County for its police department’s program of racial profiling and coercive stops in jet bridges at the Atlanta airport.

The collaboration advances President Bident’s executive order, which calls for strengthening of federal law enforcement recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention practices.

“Our pledge reflects the U.S. Marshals Service’s commitment to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce,” said Ronald L. Davis, Director of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Nine members of the Axon AI Ethics Board resigned following the company’s announcement that it would develop Taser-equipped drones with real-time streaming surveillance cameras to respond to mass shootings.

More than 150 police agencies from across the U.S. and Canada have committed through a signed pledge to a series of no- and low-cost interventions that ensure department policies and culture intentionally support the success of qualified women officers throughout their careers.

In the wake of the death of Amir Locke, banning no-knock warrants—or at the very least severely restricting them—is a first step. But states need to think even bigger than the latest tragedy.

Our new report finds that police militarization is more complex than we thought — but meaningful reform is possible by strengthening democratic accountability.