Join us for a conversation on the benefits — and costs— of policing

What: The Benefits — And Costs —  Of Policing: A meeting of stakeholders to discuss the potentially transformative power of cost-benefit analysis

When: Friday, September 21, 9 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

Where: Lipton Hall
New York University School of Law
110 West Third Street, New York, NY 10012

Are you thinking about the impacts of policing? So are we. And we want to talk about it with you. 

The Policing Project at New York University School of Law invites you to join us and our partners on Friday, September 21, from 9 a.m.-12:45 p.m., for a discussion of how communities experience being policed and the potentially transformative power cost-benefit analysis could have on policing.

What is cost-benefit analysis? 

Like everything else government does, when the police take action, there are costs and benefits. The benefits often are believed to be clear, like reducing crime or suppressing violence (though that doesn't mean these goals actually are achieved). And the costs are yet more complicated, and often overlooked. 

Take stop-and-frisk, or drones, or facial recognition.  Besides the cost of the equipment, or the officers’ time, how should we value privacy or address concerns about possible racial profiling? What precisely do we accomplish by using these technologies? CBA is a comprehensive approach for identifying and weighing these types of questions and the full range of possible costs and benefits produced by policies or programs.

Why CBA?

This approach has led to great successes in both the public and private sectors, including very real advances in areas like environmental protection and public health. And yet, CBA has rarely been applied to policing. We, along with the Police Foundation, are working to change that. 
 

Want to learn more?

With the support of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, we’ve brought together a wide range of stakeholders in this space —  heads of major policing departments, civil rights and advocacy leaders, prominent social scientists, current and former government officials, foundation representatives, and policing technology innovators, including:

  • Ralph Clark, President and CEO, Shot Spotter Inc.

  • Ron Davis, Principal Consultant, 21st Century Policing Solutions; former Director, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the U.S. Department of Justice

  • Liz Glazer, Director, New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice

  • Vanita Gupta, President and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

  • Cathy Lanier, Senior Vice President, Chief Security Office, National Football League; former Chief of Police, Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

  • Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor, Slate

  • Wesley Lowery, National Correspondent, The Washington Post

  • Jens Ludwig, Director, University of Chicago Crime Lab

  • Sam Sinyangwe, Police Analyst and Data Scientist, Campaign Zero

  • Harlan Yu, President and Executive Director, Upturn

They’ll be joining us for a series of public panels on the NYU campus  — and we want you there too!

Interested? 

We hope so – the strength of what we accomplish will be directly tied to the people in the room!  Check back for the full schedule and make sure to RSVP — tickets are free but required. 

Can't make it in person? We'd love for you to join us anyway! We'll be live streaming the event, so look for more details soon!