From 9/11 to the POST Act: democratic oversight of police surveillance technologies in New York City

September 11, 2001 resulted in the drastic expansion of intelligence and surveillance capacities in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the NYPD has continued to adopt emergent surveillance technologies. These tools have investigative applications beyond counterterrorism and many worry their use is outpacing oversight and regulation. The transformations of the NYPD in the early 2000s were followed by major – if lagged – changes to the external oversight of police and surveillance tools, including the 2013 establishment of an Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD and the Public Oversight of Technology (POST) Act in 2020. This article tracks these developments and their capacity to mitigate information asymmetries, enhance transparency, and ultimately influence the use of police surveillance technologies in New York City.