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For more news from the Policing Project, follow us on Twitter @PolicingProject
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.
Criminal accountability, essential as it is, is only a very small part of the equation. The problems we face are systemic and structural in nature. The work is not done, and if anything is only just beginning.
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.
Ring, one of the nation’s largest home security companies, engaged the Policing Project at New York University School of Law in civil rights and civil liberties audit, leading to substantial changes.
The Oregon TITAN Fusion Center is a covert domestic spying program run by the Oregon Department of Justice that targets the people of Oregon with aggressive and illegal surveillance. Our lawsuit, Farrell-Smith v. Oregon, is brought by environmental, indigenous rights, and social justice advocates who peacefully protested a $10 billion fossil fuel pipeline and were targeted by TITAN.
The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability needs experts from a variety of fields, including law, organizing and public safety. We must demand that the mayor and council members find the best residents, as there may be no more important issue facing the city than the safety of our residents.
Philadelphia’s just became the first major city to ban traffic stops for minor violations. The “driving equality” law presents a real opportunity to improve police-community relations and reduce dangerous encounters between officers and motorists. While the city’s decision to decrease these types of stops should be applauded, real change must happen at the state level.
Last week, in two unsigned opinions, the Supreme Court showed its disdain for police reform. Taken together, they create an almost insurmountable barrier to holding police officers responsible for violating people’s constitutional rights. With this latest move, the Supreme Court has abdicated its responsibility to regulate police behavior. Now legislators must step up and do what the justices won’t.
Last week, Chicago City Council Members voted to pass legislation that will create a “Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability.” This is a significant victory for Empowering Communities for Public Safety – a coalition of community organizers in Chicago, who collectively have worked on this issue for decades. The Policing Project was privileged to work with the organizers, lending drafting and strategic assistance.
Criminal accountability, essential as it is, is only a very small part of the equation. The problems we face are systemic and structural in nature. The work is not done, and if anything is only just beginning.
Social science research strongly suggests the advancement of women officers is associated with improved outcomes for both policing agencies and the communities they serve. Yet women make up only 12% of sworn police officers and less than 3% of police leadership in the U.S., numbers that have remained stagnant for decades. We want to change this.
Last year saw a renewed focus on policing reform and the widespread deployment of new technologies, such as aerial surveillance and facial recognition. Amidst these changes, the work of the Axon AI Ethics Board was as vital as ever. Today, the Board releases its end of year report detailing its work over calendar year 2020.
One of the big campaign promises Joe Biden made last summer as Americans took to the streets to demand racial justice was policing reform. He had to walk a careful line between activists who wanted to defund the police and many others who wanted to make more modest adjustments to police policies. Now, caught in the middle, the risk is the new administration might end up accomplishing far less than it should.
The Policing Project and the Center for Criminal Justice at the University of Virginia School of Law have released clear and actionable recommendations the new Administration can pursue as part of a national commitment to sound policing, largely by taking a regulatory approach to national policing policy.