Bylines

Matthew Guariglia

Emily Brooks.

When NYC Invented Modern Policing: On WWII–Era Surveillance and Discrimination

From the 1880s to the 1940s, New York City was transformed—and so too was the New York City Police Department.
Italian Americans watch a policeman arrest a man
partner

The Surveillance of Immigrants Remade American Policing

Modern surveillance policing is rooted in approaches adopted a century ago.
Photo of a crowded street in NYC with carts and vendors blocking the roads

How the NYPD Attempted to Navigate Cultural and Linguistic Barriers in the Early 20th Century

One of the biggest challenges for the NYPD, especially in the years following the turn of the twentieth century, was policing the newcomer immigrants.
Police car.
partner

What the Loss of the New York Police Museum Means for Criminal-Justice Reform

Without historical records, we lose key insights into how law enforcement works — and how it fails.
Mounted NYPD officers parade down Broadway.

World War I Preparedness and the Militarization of the NYPD

From food rationing to drafting soldiers, preparedness and all it involved included a full-scale reorganization of American society, including the NYPD.
Vegetable stand at the Mulberry St. bend, photograph by Jacob Riis.

Policing Unpolicable Space: The Mulberry Bend

Sanitation reformers confront a neighborhood seemingly immune to state intervention.