Film

This galvanizing documentary goes behind the scenes and undercover to expose racism, corruption, and intimidation within the New York Police Department. Shot between 2014 and 2017, Crime + Punishment chronicles the efforts of the NYPD 12, a band of minority officers who speak out against the continued use of arrest and summons quotas—an officially illegally practice that overwhelmingly targets young black and Hispanic men. Putting their careers on the line, the officers mount a David vs. Goliath legal challenge—only to find themselves weathering harassment and retaliation from within their own departments. In a literary style, the film radiates out of this central conflict to follow Manuel Gomez, an ex-cop turned private investigator, who collects testimony from young minorities who have been affected by these policies and targeted by officers in the name of fighting crime. With remarkable, fly-on-the-wall access, director Stephen Maing crafts a jolting 21st-century Serpico that unfolds with the verve and style of a highly cinematic policier.

Q&A with Stephen Maing