Profs on Cops

Bill Gormley
  • 4.8 (4)
  • SOCIAL SCIENCES
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Interviews with social scientists and criminologists who are doing cutting-edge research on police practices and behavior and how they affect the community.

  1. JAN 13

    Clearance Rates for Violent Crimes

    Homicide clearance rates, at 61 percent nationwide, are disappointing, and clearance rates for nonfatal gun shootings are even lower. Phillip Cook, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy and Economics at Duke University, offers explanations for relatively low clearance rates, including changes in arrest requirements and the mix of cases being investigated. For example, as drug and gang cases have proliferated, clearance rates have declined. On the positive side, Cook discusses promising efforts by Denver, Indianapolis, and other cities to boost clearance rates.

    32 min

  2. 12/01/2025

    Policing in Colonial America

    What did law enforcement look like in the days before the American Revolution? In Boston and other cities, "night watchmen" provided protection and useful information to citizens while others slept. Law enforcement became far less routine when 1,300 British soldiers arrived in Boston in 1768. Nicole Breault, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Texas-El Paso, discusses how competing police forces complicated law enforcement during the American Revolution. Learn what Ken Burns didn't tell you!

    40 min

  3. 10/07/2025

    Yellowstone's Zone of Death

    Due to some legislative drafting quirks, our nation’s oldestnational park features a 50-square-mile corridor where it is theoretically possible to commit a serious crime without being punished. This legal loophole played a role in C.J. Box’s heart-pounding murder mystery, Free-Fire, featuringWyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett. Brian Kalt, Professor of Law at Michigan State University, generated lots of interest but alas no reform when he wrote about this loophole in a Georgetown Law Review article. Hear him explain how animprobable series of uncoordinated legal decisions made it possible to get away with murder in Yellowstone’s Zone of Death!

    35 min

  4. 09/22/2025

    False Confessions and How to End Them

    False confessions are not just an interesting plot twist in police dramas; they are fairly common in real life. Teenagers are especially likely to make a false confession when interrogated by the police. Hayley Cleary, Professor of Criminology at Virginia Commonwealth University, explains the psychology of police interrogations and the greater risks for young defendants. She also discusses potential remedies adopted by some states, including video-taped interrogations and mandatory access to an attorney.

    30 min

  5. 07/06/2025

    Cybercrime and its Discontents

    If your credit card or banking account has ever been compromised by cybercrime, you know that cybercrime is no laughing matter. What exactly is cybercrime? Who are the victims? The perpetrators? Most of us never report cybercrime to local law enforcement authorities. Is that a mistake? What is the F.B.I.'s role in combating cybercrime? How is A.I. making matters worse? And how can we protect ourselves from multiple cyber threats? Jin Lee, Assistant Professor of Criminology at George Mason University and the author of multiple articles on cybercrime, helps us to understand a complex but important subject.

    38 min

  6. 06/16/2025

    Do Police Demographics Matter?

    Does the nature of a citizen’s encounter with a policeofficer depend on whether that officer is Black or white, male or female, a Democrat or a Republican, experienced or inexperienced? Roman Rivera, an economist and criminologist at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, offers evidence that race and gender are good predictors of whether an officer will use force and/or make an arrest. Demographics matter most whenless serious crimes are committed.

    31 min

  7. 06/01/2025

    The Arc of Violence: From Anger to Homicide

    Professor Jens Ludwig of the University of Chicago has been studying gun violence for much of his adult life.  He offers fresh insights into the subject in his new book, Unforgiving Places (University of Chicago Press, 2025). In a wide-ranging conversation, Ludwig argues that we need neighborhoods with “more eyes on the street” to prevent verbal altercationsfrom escalating and multiple programs that teach young people to be less impulsive and more deliberate in situations where pride and anger can easily explode.

    36 min

  8. 05/17/2025

    Ghost Guns

    What are “ghost guns” and why do law enforcement officials worry so much about these easily-assembled firearms?  Dr. Garen Wintemute, Distinguished Professor of Emergency Medicine at University of California-Davis, offers a primer on the subject, which he has studied in depth. He distinguishes between ghost guns and other firearms, explains the BATF’s 2022 ghost gun rule, and discusses the Supreme Court’s 2025 ruling on ghost guns in Bondi v Vanderstok.  As a coda, Dr. Wintemute, an emergency department physician, vividly describes what he sees when a gunshot victim is treated at the UC-Davis Level 1 trauma center.

    30 min
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4.8
out of 5
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About

Interviews with social scientists and criminologists who are doing cutting-edge research on police practices and behavior and how they affect the community.

Information

  • Creator
    Bill Gormley
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Bill Gormley
  • Show Website
    Profs on Cops