The below post is our 2024 end-of-year newsletter. Sign up for our newsletter here!
Dear friends and supporters,
2024 was another whirlwind year for the Policing Project — probably the year we’ve fostered the most positive change. With your support, we’ve become a respected and oft-consulted authority on regulating AI in public safety, partnered successfully with dozens of state lawmakers, continued bolstering the growing field of alternative first response, and garnered support from advocates around the country.
We recognize that this has been a difficult and divisive time for the country. But we are steadfast in our mission and our work. The goal of the Policing Project has always been to bring the tools of democratic governance to policing, to make sure it is just, effective, and equitable. This will not change.
As we look ahead to a new year, we are as committed as ever to that vision. We are fully prepared to continue the hard work of mobilizing the tools of legislation, technical assistance, research, and litigation to ensure that communities don’t have to choose between their rights and their safety.
For now, we invite you to reflect on some of our highlights from the past year. This list is by no means comprehensive, but includes just a quick recap of some of our proudest achievements.
Finally, if you haven’t yet, please consider making a donation this Giving Tuesday to ensure our coming year will be even more impactful.
With wishes for a restful new year,
Accelerating our work to rein in unregulated policing technology
This year, we launched our new Public Safety AI Hub, a first-of-its-kind resource center for insights, analysis, and policy guidance related to the use of AI in the public safety domain. The Hub serves as a central forum for policymakers and stakeholders interested in the sound governance of AI. It is also the precursor to the Legislative Framework for Public Safety AI that we are drafting and vetting now. Look for more content in 2025!
Our advocacy yielded real impact in federal policymaking and oversight this year. Not only did the US Commission on Civil Rights adopt several of our recommendations in its report on government use of facial recognition technology, but the White House Office of Management and Budget included our proposed transparency requirements in its AI guidance to federal agencies.
We released brand new regulatory frameworks – with input from a diverse range of stakeholders – to help lawmakers govern police use of robots, drones, and other AI tools in their jurisdictions.
And, there’s still time to join our (CLE-approved!) webinar on legal and ethical issues around vehicle surveillance systems on December 4 at 2 pm EST. Register here!
Partnerships with lawmakers and advocates across the country
In Minnesota, we worked with lawmakers to pass a bill to ensure that every critical use of force is investigated by an uninvolved agency and advised lawmakers directly on a successful bill establishing that the odor of cannabis is not, on its own, a legitimate reason for police to search a vehicle. Lawmakers in the state also relied on our research and recommendations to pass a bill requiring officers to tell drivers why they have been stopped, rather than asking why they think they have been stopped.
In Hawai’i, we worked with lawmakers on a bill passed by the state legislature to require more robust background checks of new hires and direct the state licensing board to report relevant disciplinary actions to a national database. We also sounded the alarm about a dangerous provision added to a bill on law enforcement standards, training, and certification that would have severely limited officer accountability.
This year, we saw seven bills introduced in four different states based on our model statutes, and testified 16 times on over a dozen bills in six states. In total, we partnered with more than 80 different state lawmakers or advocacy organizations from across the political spectrum.
We launched brand new model statutes on removing barriers to police accountability and restricting dangerous police vehicle pursuits. We kicked off the former with a webinar attended by more than 200 advocates, experts, and policymakers.
Pushing for front-end accountability through litigation
Following our targeted advocacy, including a letter and memorandum to the Department of Justice and a series of Freedom of Information requests, DOJ suspended the DEA’s Operation Jetway program in which officers stop, search, and seize cash from passengers in airports without suspicion of criminal activity, and train federal, state, and local law enforcement to do the same.
We filed an amicus brief in the 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.
We received broad amicus support for our appeal on behalf of Eric Andre and Clayton English in our case alleging racial profiling and coercive stops by Clayton County police at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. We’re grateful for briefs from a diverse range of advocates – from law enforcement officials, civil liberties and racial justice advocates from the left and right sides of the ideological spectrum, and even Hollywood actors and directors (including Tyler Perry, who also penned an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
South Carolina’s Post and Courier revealed that our ongoing lawsuit, SCPIF v. SLED, has stopped the state from placing new automated license plate readers on its roads.
Look for new litigation in the coming year challenging unauthorized mass surveillance and the use of untested AI.
Providing critical transparency and oversight to police departments
We conducted our third and fourth SAJE assessments – to measure how sound, accountable, just, and effective a law enforcement agency is – on the police departments of Washington, D.C. and Tampa.
Strengthening non-police public safety systems
Our Reimagining Public Safety team published a series of original research reports on non-police alternative response and public safety systems in Tucson, San Francisco, and Chicago. Our researchers identified a number of key findings in each, from challenges with dispatch in San Francisco, to programmatic shortcomings in Tucson, to a troubling lack of municipal planning and strategy in Chicago. Each report also contains its own set of recommendations.
We’re wrapping up the first of our two-year partnership with the City of Minneapolis to provide technical assistance to the municipality on strengthening its non-police public safety systems.. Relying on our analysis, the City announced a goal of diverting 20 percent of 911 calls from police to an alternative responder, becoming the first municipality in the country to commit to a specific, measurable goal for growing their alternate response system.
Supporting women in law enforcement
Our 30x30 Initiative welcomed more than 70 new policing agencies, bringing the total to more than 400 agencies that have committed to improving the representation and experiences of women in their departments.
In July, Hawaii’s governor signed HB 2231 into law, endorsing the 30x30 Initiative’s recruitment goals as official state policy.
Building community policing in Chicago
This year, we were honored to join the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability (GAPA), a coalition of community organizations committed to equitable and just policing practices and community-led oversight and accountability of law enforcement in Chicago.
With our GAPA partners and staff from the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, we organized events for Chicago’s elected District Councilors (part of the CCPSA) to improve community engagement, including media training sessions, an action planning training, and introductions to community organizing and the Chicago Violence Reduction Dashboard. In total, more than 40 District Councilors have participated.
Organizational growth and leadership update
This summer, we were thrilled to welcome Max Markham as our new Executive Director. Max has hit the ground running. Meanwhile, Freya Rigterink, our former Executive Director, is continuing to provide senior leadership on our Reimagining Public Safety work, for which we are deeply grateful.
We’re also over the moon to welcome Vanita Gupta, former U.S. Associate Attorney General, who serves as Senior Advisor on Government Use of AI.