A sociology professor from Brooklyn College, who recently joined New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team, has stirred conversation with his bold ideas on policing. Alex Vitale, known for his provocative book “The End of Policing,” has been tasked with addressing community safety issues as part of the transition team.
Vitale’s announcement of his new role was made via X, where he expressed enthusiasm about contributing to the creation of “A New Era for NYC.” His 2017 publication challenges traditional policing methods, advocating for alternatives in handling certain crimes. According to Vitale, policing should not be the default response for issues such as narcotics use, prostitution, border patrol, and adolescent misbehavior. Furthermore, he argues against the involvement of police in combating street gangs.
His book opens with the assertion that the primary function of the police is not to protect citizens, a provocative stance that has sparked discussion across various circles. Vitale’s work delves into the role of police in society and suggests transformative changes to how communities manage safety and order.
During a panel discussion on school policing at the University of Southern Maine in March 2020, Vitale shared his insights alongside other experts, including Portland Police Chief Frank Clark and South Portland School Resource Officer Al Giusto. His perspectives are particularly critical of gang units, which he describes as tools for racially biased social control. He argues that Black and Latino youth are often unfairly labeled as gang members while their white counterparts face fewer consequences for similar behaviors.
Vitale’s ideas continue to challenge conventional views on law enforcement, sparking debate about the future of policing in diverse urban environments like New York City.
“In most cities, gang units function as a mechanism for racialized social control,” the book says in chapter five. “Black and Latino youth are labeled as gang members for hanging out together, while white youth groups are dismissed as harmless.”
Policing borders is also racist, according to the author.
“The expansion of Border Patrol powers has been justified through fear and racism. It legitimizes xenophobic narratives that define immigrants as threats rather than as fellow workers or neighbors,” the book says in chapter six.
Vitale also describes border policing as “inhumane.”
Chapter nine of the book argues against training police officers on implicit bias, claiming that police officers’ views on race do not matter because the whole system of policing is racist.
Zohran Mamdani delivers a victory speech at a mayoral election night watch party, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York City. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
“Racism in policing is structural, not simply a product of bad attitudes,” the book says. “Training officers to recognize implicit bias without changing what they are tasked with enforcing is like teaching a soldier to be sensitive while sending him to occupy a foreign country.”
The professor’s faculty profile on Brooklyn College’s website says Vitale has spent 30 years writing about policing, and that he consults with law enforcement entities and international human rights organizations.
He teaches courses about African Americans in the criminal justice system, according to his university profile.
Vitale has often called to abolish police on his X account, including bicycle police, police helicopters and police in schools. He has also called to abolish joint terrorism task forces, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Border Patrol and even the presidency of the United States.
NYPD officers respond to a shooting. (John Nacion/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
He has also called for the NYPD to abolish its gang database.
Neither Vitale nor Brooklyn College returned requests for comment.
Mamdani has hired others who harbor anti-police sentiments.
Earlier this month, he announced that campaign advisor Elle Bisgaard-Church would join his staff. She has been dubbed the “chief architect” of Mamdani’s campaign proposal to have social workers respond to certain non-violent 911 calls, and is affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America.
Mamdani officials did not return a request for comment.
