The Manhattan Institute Launches Initiative on Policing and Public Safety

NEW YORK, NY — National and local debates over policing reform and public safety increasingly pit these two imperatives against each other. Outrage over controversial uses of force and perceived racism on the part of law enforcement officers has spurred proposals to defund the police and enact various reforms, just as many major cities—including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and St. Louis—are seeing elevated rates of murder and shootings. Some—like Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland—are also seeing troubling deteriorations in public order. But this violence is hitting poor and minority neighborhoods the hardest, as policy overreach and anti-cop sentiment threaten police ability to protect and serve the most vulnerable. This is a precarious moment for all who care about both justice in policing and law and order.

For 30 years, the Manhattan Institute (MI) has pioneered policing innovations—most notably the theory of "broken windows" as an element of a community policing strategy—that have improved both safety and quality of life across American cities. MI’s work on proactive policing has been widely credited as a driver of New York City’s dramatic crime reduction through the 1990s. Heather Mac Donald’s seminal and prescient book The War on Cops, her frequent congressional testimony, City Journal writing, and fearless, data-driven thinking have made her a go-to expert on the policing debate. The work of MI fellows such as Mac Donald, Rafael Mangual, and the late George Kelling has championed order, police proactivity, and close partnerships between police and the communities they serve, and has provided public officials across the country with a blueprint for improving public safety. Now, the Manhattan Institute will expand upon this work with the launch of a new initiative on policing and public safety. The initiative will focus on pressing criminal justice issues—such as police use-of-force, incarceration, bail reform, and more—all with an eye toward the preservation, development, and application of ideas to improve urban safety and order.

Encompassing data-driven research, essays, and event programming, the initiative will be led by former NYPD senior intelligence analyst Hannah Meyers, with MI fellows Heather Mac Donald and Rafael Mangual taking leading roles in the endeavor through their ongoing research and writing, and as event moderators.

The Manhattan Institute will kick off this initiative in October with exciting virtual events anchored by its first annual “George L. Kelling Lecture,” honoring the work and legacy of the late criminologist and MI senior fellow. The inaugural lecture will be delivered by former NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton. Additional events in the series will focus on topics such as recent federal policing reform efforts, the role of police unions, police training and culture, and the intersection of policing and race.

For more information and updates on the Manhattan Institute’s work in the policing and public safety space, please visit us here.