June 27, 2022
The NYU Policing Project’s Dirty Money Dilemma
By Lisa Herforth-Hebbert
A coalition of law students at New York University has condemned the nonprofit for partnering with various police technology, surveillance, and weaponry companies.
The New York University Policing Project, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to partner with communities to promote public safety through democratic engagement, is facing a dilemma.
Founded in 2015 by Barry Friedman, a professor at the NYU School of Law, the project’s purported aim is to reimagine the dynamics of public safety while collaborating closely with so-called “stakeholders” who normally find themselves at odds.
The Policing Project considers itself as being grounded in democratic values, aspiring for racial justice and equality. Friedman is described as one of the country’s principal authorities on constitutional law, policing, criminal procedure, and the federal courts, previously serving as vice dean for NYU’s School of Law. Yet the nonprofit has garnered widespread criticism from the student body.
In April, a coalition of law students at New York University, with support from the community group Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, shared a lengthy statement accusing the nonprofit’s funders and research of harming marginalized communities after NYU students discovered various police technology, surveillance, and weaponry companies were among the nonprofit’s partners and funders. These companies include ShotSpotter, Axon, Mark43, and more.
