Reducing Crime

Commander Alex Murray is the London Metropolitan Police lead for trafficking, online child abuse, the flying squad, cyber crime, and major crime. He is a firearms, counter-terrorism and public order commander, and has previously work in local policing, CID and counter-terrorism. Prior to joining the Met in 2020, he was temporary assistant chief constable for crime with West Midlands police. In 2017 he was awarded an OBE in part for his contributions to evidence-based policing and founding the Society of Evidence-Based Policing. We discuss offender management opportunities during COVID-19, what to look for in an academic that can support policing advancement, and the important evidence-based policing lessons for police leadership.

Rod Brunson, a criminology expert at Northeastern University, discusses the critical balance between under-policing and over-policing in high-crime areas. He shares insights from his Washington Post op-ed, highlighting the dangers of neglecting communities. Brunson emphasizes the need for honest dialogue and transforming grief into constructive discussions post-George Floyd. He advocates for collaborative approaches in policing, aiming to build trust and improve safety in underfunded neighborhoods. Personal narratives and community engagement play a crucial role in his vision for effective crime reduction.

Bill Walsh is a lieutenant with the Voorhees police department in New Jersey. We chat about his work as their Health and Wellness Coordinator integrating a board-certified policy psychologist and police families into a comprehensive program geared towards officer wellness and resiliency.

Debra Piehl has been an innovator and leader in the development of crime analysis for over 20 years. We chat about the value of crime analysis to police leaders, the importance of data quality, crime analysis in Compstat and DDACTS, and the emerging role of analysts in evidence-based policing.

Rachel Tuffin in the Director of Knowledge and Innovation at the College of Policing for England and Wales. We discuss the unique national role that the college has across law enforcement policy and training.

Hans Menos leads Philadelphia's Police Advisory Commission, the civilian oversight agency for the Philadelphia Police Department. They provide recommendations on how to improve policing in the city, by analyzing the policies, practices, and customs of the Philadelphia Police Department. In a wide-ranging discussion, we talk about the challenges of police oversight, black lives matter, use of force, and different ways to move police accountability forward. Note that since this episode was recorded, the Philadelphia Police Department’s use of force policy has been amended and now includes documenting the unholstering or pointing of a service weapon.

Danny Murphy is the Deputy Commissioner over the Compliance Bureau at the Baltimore Police Department in Maryland, where he leads the implementation of Baltimore’s extensive consent decree which mandates comprehensive reforms to improve operations and build public trust in the wake of civic unrest and fractured police-community relations. We talk about what consent decrees are, how police departments get into them, get out of them, and the pros and cons of being in a consent decree.

Kevin Bethel is a retired Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner and now Chief of School Safety for the Philadelphia School District. We chat about the school-to-prison pipeline and his work rethinking the role of police in schools. His diversion program has reduced school arrests by 71 percent.

Jerry Ratcliffe interviews Mo McGough, Chief of Staff at The Policing Project at NYU Law, about the role, representation, and experiences of women in policing. They discuss the need for greater gender parity in law enforcement, the challenges faced by women officers, and the importance of changing the culture within police departments to support women. They also touch on the intersectionality of gender with other issues such as race and the need for men in leadership positions to advocate for gender equality. The episode highlights the progress that has been made in recent decades, but also acknowledges the work that still needs to be done to achieve greater representation of women in policing.

Jerry Ratcliffe interviews Dr. Robert Schug, a neuro criminologist and clinical psychologist, about the real science behind serial killer research. They discuss the misconceptions surrounding serial killers, the difference between serial, spree, and mass killers, and the need for more scientific research in this field. Dr. Schug also talks about his work interviewing serial killers and the importance of approaching them as humans rather than monsters. He emphasizes the potential for identifying and intervening with individuals who exhibit patterns of risk factors before they become violent.