Policing Project at NYU School of Law

The Policing Project is dedicated to strengthening policing through democratic governance.

Policing agencies play a vital role in ensuring a safe and secure society. To see that they function effectively, we must, and do, grant them vast powers. We allow police to restrict people’s freedom of movement, take them into custody, search their person and their property, and engage in surveillance. But these powers are not granted lightly: it is widely recognized that if used wrongly they can imperil the very society that policing officials are pledged to protect.

We believe it is essential to maximize the effectiveness of policing, and minimize the risks, by applying time-honored techniques of democratic governance.

For more information, check out our website at policingproject.org