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CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (ISLG): Overview

ISLG is an institute within the City University of New York (CUNY). The Institute’s mission is to help improve the financing, delivery, and measurement of critical public services by assisting current and future leaders in government, non-profit organizations, and the private sector, in the U.S. and internationally, by offering research, technical assistance, and education and training. The Institute’s director, Michael Jacobson, previously served as New York City’s Probation and Correction Commissioner and president of the Vera Institute of Justice.

Project Description

The Institute is hiring a Senior Research Associate (SRA) to provide management for a research project on police practices in New York City. Specifically, the project involves conducting systematic social observations (SSOs) of New York Police Department (NYPD) shifts and police-citizen encounters; coding body worn camera (BWC) footage of a subset of these shifts/encounters; and analyzing these and other sources of data. It will be carried out in close collaboration with the NYPD, a larger evaluation team, and other city stakeholders, and is expected to run approximately two years. The successful applicant may be able to transition to another project after the conclusion of this project.

The SRA will be responsible for developing and managing the research components of this project, including the development of research tools and protocols, the recruitment and training of CUNY students to conduct SSOs and code data, and day-to-day management of research staff and tasks. The SRA will also work closely with a project director who is responsible for the broader oversight and strategy for the project, including managing relationships with the various stakeholders involved; and will liaise with the NYPD, the CUNY Graduate Center, the evaluation team, and other city stakeholders. The SRA may also be asked to contribute to other projects at ISLG.

The position is full-time. For more information about ISLG, please visit www.islg.cuny.edu.

 
Position Description

Reporting to the Research Director and working closely with project staff, the SRA will be responsible for the following:

• Developing, field testing, and refining research instruments, including observation and coding protocols, for SSOs and BWC footage;
• Drafting IRB proposals covering the research activities of the project;
• Working with the NYPD to develop a sampling approach for ride-along observations;
• Working closely with the NYPD, the evaluation team, and other city stakeholders to develop, set up, and refine the project approach and processes;
• Working with the CUNY Graduate Center to recruit students to carry out the data collection and coding work;
• Developing and delivering comprehensive, hands-on trainings to students who will be working on the project;
• Supervising project staff in the day-to-day research activities;
• Establishing an internal data management and quality control plan;
• Working closely with data and technical staff responsible for developing the technical infrastructure for the project and cleaning, matching, and merging multiple data sources; and
• Analyzing and synthesizing these data into a final report and memoranda for the project stakeholders.

This is an exceptional opportunity to contribute to a unique and important project with clear policy implications for law enforcement in New York City and across the country. The project is situated within ISLG’s larger portfolio of criminal justice work, which aims to improve efficiency and fairness in criminal justice policies and practices.