Every day across the United States, hundreds of thousands of people call 911 for help, with issues ranging from the aftermath of a violent crime, to a loved one suffering a mental health crisis, to a lost pet.
In most communities, no matter the reason for the call, we send the police to address these problems.
But a badge and a gun don’t—and can’t—resolve many of these needs and, too often, make things worse.
In short, there is a monumental mismatch between community problems and how the government responds to them. This mismatch disproportionately harms Black and other communities of color.
There is another way.
Though we are told this country is more polarized than ever, many police and communities agree that police are asked to do too much, and that real community needs are going unmet.
The Policing Project at New York University School of Law is partnering with experts of all kinds — from those with lived community experience to those who have worked in municipal government for a generation — in Minneapolis, San Francisco, Tucson, Denver and Chicago, to reimagine how government responds to community needs, ending policing as a one-size-fits-all answer to all problems and fostering real community health and safety.
We are working in these jurisdictions to engage with and learn from communities, conduct much-needed research on dispatch and response, and design a community-centered, data-driven framework to create response systems that work.
Sign up to join our Community of Practice and get exclusive access to our growing suite of resources as they are released.
Join us!
We have a diverse, multi-disciplinary team of local and national experts to conduct this work with us. We are guided by a robust advisory board of some of the country’s greatest thought leaders on sustainably meeting community needs. And we are funded by a broad range of private and philanthropic donors.
Our Team
Most importantly, we hope to work with and learn from you. This website will serve as a dynamic repository of what we are learning. We plan to share our progress and findings as we go. We are hosting a regular webinar series to engage with people well-positioned to affect positive change. And we are listening to the lived experience of communities and practitioners across the country.
Sign up to join our Community of Practice and get exclusive access to our growing suite of resources as they are released.
Join us!
