This academic year, New York University School of Law launched a new seminar and externship program designed to assist in the implementation of principles of democratic governance in policing. Under the leadership of ALI Member Barry Friedman of NYU School of Law, students have the opportunity to participate in the Policing Project, a non-profit organization founded by Professor Friedman, designed to facilitate democratic standards in policing.
In his interview with NYU Law Magazine, Professor Friedman notes that “[p]olicing simply will not be on a firm footing until it has more of a democratic pedigree. … Our goal is to collaborate with a variety of partners including, importantly, the police themselves to help make this a reality.”
The mission of the Policing Project, a non-profit organization founded by Professor Friedman, is to facilitate the democratic accountability of policing. The Project presents four methods of implementing this accountability: (1) drafting model rules through participation in ALI’s Principles of Law: Police Investigations project; (2) litigating to solidify the application of democratic policing principles; (3) conducting a cost-benefit analysis of police rules with the help of social scientists; and (4) implementing strategies that educate and promote community involvement in police governance.
In addition to the Policing Project, students can participate in the Democratic Policing Seminar, which not only addresses a wide range of legal topics governing policing, such as issues in constitutional law and criminal procedure, but exposes students to the practical skills necessary for a career in social change organizations. Practical skills tackled in the seminar include identifying the mission of an organization, recruiting coalition partners, having a communications strategy, and litigating the appropriate cases.
Professor Friedman is the Reporter for the Principles of Law: Police Investigations project, which commenced early this year.
To view the course memo for the Democratic Policing and the Policing Project, click here.
To read an interview with Professor Freidman regarding the Policing Project, turn to Page 5 of NYU Law Magazine 2015.