A special episode from our friends at Code Switch:In the wake of violence and tragedies, people are often left in search of ways to feel safe again. That almost inevitably to conversations about the role of police. On today's episode, we're talking to the author and sociologist Alex Vitale, who argues that many spaces in U.S. society over-rely on the police to prevent problems that are better addressed through other means. Doing so, he says, can prevent us from properly investing in resources and programs that could make the country safer in the long run.Subscribe: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitchThis episode was fact-checked by Alyssa Jeong Perry and Christina Cala. Summer Thomad, Alyssa Jeong Perry, Diba Mohtasham and Christina Cala contributed to the production.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Anatol Lieven, Eurasia director at the Quincy Institute, and Alex Vitale, Professor of Sociology at Brooklyn College, dive into the unpredictable world of Trump's potential policies. They analyze the challenges of his foreign appointments and the implications for U.S.-China relations and military strategy. Vitale discusses how Trump's stance could influence crime rates and policing, pointing to historical trends and the role of organized retail theft. The conversation highlights the urgent need for community-based approaches amid rising tensions.

Five ex-police officers have been charged with second-degree murder after beating Tyre Nichols, 29, who was black, during a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee. He died three days later.Nichols’ death has sparked protests and fresh calls for reform of the police in Memphis and nationwide. Over the past years, the US has been in the spotlight for police brutality. Public outcry against the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks - to name a few - at the hands of the police led to Black Lives Matter protests across the globe. It's not just the US grappling with the problem of police brutality. We take a global look at the problem. Which countries are getting it right? Can policing ever be effective without violence? And is reform or a more radical rethink needed?Ritula Shah is joined by: Dr DeLacy Davis is the founder of Black Cops Against Police Brutality and the author of Black Cops Against Police Brutality: A Crisis Action Plan. He is a retired New Jersey police sergeant who served for 20 years in the East Orange police department and commanded the Community Services Unit. Alex Vitale is a Professor of Sociology at Brooklyn College - part of the City University of New York. He is also the coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College and the author of a number of books including The End of Policing Zoha Waseem is Assistant Professor in Criminology at the Department of Sociology, University of Warwick and author of Insecure Guardians: Enforcement, Encounters and Everyday Policing in Postcolonial KarachiAlso featuring:Rune Glomseth, Associate Professor at Norway’s Police University College in Oslo