Upstate New York Policing Research Consortium (UNY-PRC)
Research | Collaboration | Advocacy
Our Mission
Founded in 2023, UNY-PRC is a network of interdisciplinary scholars, political activists, and community members impacted by the criminal legal system across Upstate New York. We believe in the radical power of collaborative documentation and research to critically examine the carceral state. Our mission is twofold: to curate, archive, publish, and share research that identifies and addresses the root causes of injustice and inequity, while simultaneously increasing public access to research tools and skills in order to democratize knowledge production. Our consortium is committed to informing policy, empowering affected communities, increasing police accountability, and promoting transformative justice for a more equitable and humane society.
UNY-PRC Digital Archive
The Upstate New York Policing Research Consortium Digital Archive curates, digitizes, and shares research materials pertaining to the carceral state with the lives and stories of impacted people at the center. By making the archive available online, UNY-PRC strives for a more accurate archival record of policing and carceral systems available to anyone who needs it: researchers, policy advocates, elected officials, community organizers, students, and most importantly, the people most directly impacted by these systems and their loved ones.
Liberating the Archive
Too often, public narratives rely on state actors and mainstream media which tell limited stories from narrow source bases. Procurement of additional materials requires extensive resources. UNYPRC affiliates collaborate to “liberate” archival materials from behind closed doors, lengthy FOIL/FOIA processes, and other time and resource barriers.
Collaboration
At the heart of UNY-PRC is the belief that ideas and information are best shared, and that the difficult work of liberation is balanced by joy and community.
UNYPRC members gather over meals, for writing retreats, in Zoom spaces, at conferences, and in our respective community organizations. We cook meals together and co-author scholarship.
We bring knowledge and skills from our experience and backgrounds, and we share what we know for the greater good.
Mentorship
UNY-PRC trains cohorts of interns each summer and fall from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds. Institutional affiliation is not required.
Interns work with a range of archival sources including body-worn video footage, jail intake forms, oral histories, digital newspaper databases, memoirs, collective bargaining agreements, and more.
New York State
UNYPRC connects people across New York State to expedite the research process, facilitate comparative and longitudinal studies across NYS cities, and attend to the unique contexts of each location.
Research tends to focus on New York City (NYC) and the NYPD. By expanding our scope, a diverse landscape becomes visible to include midsize cities, rural areas, indigenous territories, and small towns.
Carceral systems operate differently in each of these areas, so it makes sense to address them distinctly from New York City and on their own terms.
