The Jeff-alytics Podcast

AH Datalytics
  • 4.7 (11)
  • DOCUMENTARY

Can data uncover the real story of crime and justice in America?  Jeff Asher—nationally recognized crime data analyst, co-founder of AH Datalytics, co-creator of the Real Time Crime Index, and author of the Jeff-alytics Substack—sits down with policymakers, academics, journalists, and everyday people to reveal what the numbers actually show. Each episode challenges the myths we believe, exposes the gap between headlines and reality, and asks: what happens when we finally see crime clearly?  New episodes drop every other week! Visit ahdatalytics.com to learn more.

  1. Turning Policing Research into Real-World Action With Carlee Ruiz

    3D AGO

    Turning Policing Research into Real-World Action With Carlee Ruiz

    I talk a lot about crime analysis and analyzing crime data, but I realized that I’ve never actually talked to a crime analyst yet. To correct this, I’m talking with Carlee Ruiz, a former crime analyst and policing researcher, discussing how she bridges the gap between academic research and real-world law enforcement through her platform, Police Research Hub. Carlee highlights how valuable evidence-based insights are often inaccessible or underused, and explores the growing role of data, AI, and technologies like real-time crime centers in policing. The conversation also examines the balance between anecdotal experience and empirical evidence, emphasizing that context and implementation matter. Ruiz further discusses recruitment and retention challenges, pointing to leadership and organizational culture as key drivers of officer turnover. Carlee Ruiz is a former crime and intelligence analyst with the Modesto Police Department and now works in research and technical assistance for law enforcement agencies at RTI International. She saw firsthand that much of the research useful to officers wasn’t easily accessible, which inspired her to create a website that translates peer-reviewed studies into practical, actionable insights for policing. Resources Police Research Hub Follow the Jeff-alytics Podcast: Instagram: @RealTimeCrimeIndexLinkedIn: Real-Time Crime IndexWebsite: The Jeff-alytics Podcast

    32 min
  2. Finding Common Ground To Advance Criminal Justice Policy With Adam Gelb

    APR 1

    Finding Common Ground To Advance Criminal Justice Policy With Adam Gelb

    Today I'm talking with Adam Gelb, President and CEO of the Council on Criminal Justice. Adam started CCJ in 2019 with a vision of bringing together as many different viewpoints as possible from across the political aisle to find common ground and make smart, evidence-backed policy recommendations. For this conversation, we talk about why murder has fallen so dramatically over the last few years, how you build a sustainable organization that spans the political spectrum, and how CCJ brings together experts on such a wide range of topics covering everything from crime trends to the future of AI in criminal justice.  Adam Gelb has been working for a more just and effective criminal justice system throughout a varied 40-year career. Before founding the Council on Criminal Justice in 2019, Gelb was an award-winning crime reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, staff to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, crime policy director for the lieutenant governor of Maryland, director of the Georgia Sentencing Commission, and led public safety initiatives at the Pew Charitable Trusts. Gelb speaks frequently with the media about national trends and state innovations and advises policy makers on strategies that are grounded in facts, evidence, and fundamental principles of justice.

    44 min
  3. A Blueprint for Reducing Gun Violence with Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott

    MAR 25

    A Blueprint for Reducing Gun Violence with Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott

    Baltimore is typically seen as the poster child for high crime with the city consistently having one of the nation’s highest murder rates. Things have been changing in Baltimore in the last few years though as the city has had a nearly 60 percent reduction in murder 3since 2022. It is a remarkable story of solving gun violence using every tool in the toolkit.  To understand this amazing turnaround , I talked to Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. Mayor Scott shares his journey, innovative strategies, and insights on reducing gun violence and transforming public safety in Baltimore. This is an episode about how data-driven approaches, community engagement, and leadership are shaping one city’s future. Brandon M. Scott is the 52nd Mayor of Baltimore, and the youngest person to hold the position in more than 100 years. Mayor Scott is committed to ending gun violence, restoring the public’s trust in government and creating a brighter, better and more equitable Baltimore for all. Resources: Learn More: Mayor Brandon ScottFollow the Jeff-alytics Podcast: Instagram: @RealTimeCrimeIndexLinkedIn: Real-Time Crime IndexWebsite: The Jeff-alytics Podcast

    35 min
  4. Talking Comedy And Tragedy with Ferne Pearlstein & Bob Edwards

    MAR 18

    Talking Comedy And Tragedy with Ferne Pearlstein & Bob Edwards

    I thought about doing this episode very soon after starting this podcast. Ferne Pearlstein and Bob Edwards made a documentary more than a decade ago called “The Last Laugh” which talked about how comedy can tackle a tragedy as immense as the Holocaust and what lessons that might suggest for effectively communicating about crime. They interviewed basically every comedy legend you could think of and it’s an incredible film that will make you laugh and cry.  Talking to them and trying to tease out what lessons it might have for understanding and communicating about crime was a conversation that I really wanted to have and one that I really enjoyed. I think you will too.  Ferne Pearlstein is an award-winning producer, director, cinematographer, and editor, based in New York. She is a winner of the Sundance Cinematography Prize, and a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences. In addition to her features SUMO EAST AND WEST and THE LAST LAUGH, which she produced, directed, shot, and edited, and both of which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and aired nationally on PBS”s Independent Lens series, she is currently producing JACK WHITTEN: A COSMIC SOUL, directed by Yoruba Richen. Robert Edwards is writer, filmmaker, and the author of Resisting the Right: How to Survive the Gathering Storm, published by OR Books, about how to resist right wing authoritarianism in the US. He wrote and directed the feature films LAND OF THE BLIND, starring Ralph Fiennes and Donald Sutherland, and WHEN I LIVE MY LIFE OVER AGAIN, (aka ONE MORE TIME) starring Christopher Walken and Amber Heard. Most recently he co-produced and co-directed the feature documentary DEATH & TAXES with Justin Schein, and writes The King’s Necktie, a weekly blog on politics. ASK E. JEAN, director Ivy Meeropol’s feature documentary about E. Jean Carroll, which premiered at the 2025 Telluride Film Festival, and on which Ferne a writer, editor, and supervising producer, will be in theaters this spring.

    30 min
  5. Policing in the Age of AI with Ian Adams

    MAR 11

    Policing in the Age of AI with Ian Adams

    Have you heard about the police department in Utah where report drafting AI interpreted footage from an officer’s body camera of The Princess and the Frog playing in the background of an incident to mean the officer had morphed into a frog?  AI has come a long way in the last few years but it still isn’t perfect. Within AI is the potential for revolutionary disruption of traditional processes, but there is also the danger of relying too heavily on a tool that is only right most of the time for efforts that require perfection or near perfection.  For this conversation, I turned to Ian Adams. Ian is an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of South Carolina. Before taking his PhD in political science at the University of Utah, he was a police officer and police labor executive. His research is focused on policing, broadly construed, with a focus on behavior and technology. Ian has also researched and written extensively about AI, and today’s conversation is all about the uses of AI in policing, the potential/actual pitfalls, and where this technology might be heading in the world of criminal justice.  If you’re interested in some extra credit work, two papers related to this topic you should check out are: Adams, I. T., Barter, M., McLean, K., Boehme, H. M., & Geary, I. A. (2024). No man’s hand: Artificial intelligence does not improve police report writing speed. Journal of Experimental Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-024-09644-7Adams, I. T., McLean, K., & Alpert, G. P. (2026). Improving police behavior through artificial intelligence: Pre-registered experimental results in two large US agencies. Criminology, 0(0), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.70028To get in touch or peruse peruse different papers/projects/dashboards, Ian’s website is ianadamsresearch.com.  And while you’re here, be sure to check out these other recent great episodes: Politics podcaster Galen Druke Arnold Ventures Executive Vice President Jennifer Doleac FBI Assistant Director Timothy Ferguson Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams Resources: Learn More: Ian Adam’s USC ProfileFollow the Jeff-alytics Podcast: Instagram: @RealTimeCrimeIndexLinkedIn: Real-Time Crime IndexWebsite: The Jeff-alytics Podcast

    45 min
  6. How Crime Data Shapes Political Narratives With Galen Druke

    MAR 4

    How Crime Data Shapes Political Narratives With Galen Druke

    Today’s guest is Galen Druke, host of the GD Politics podcast and one of the smartest voices out there talking about the intersection of politics and data. This episode’s mission was simple: do the most terrifying thing imaginable for your intrepid podcast host and try to talk about the role of politics on how we talk about and perceive crime.  There’s a national election coming up in November and we discuss whether the nation’s crime trends will play a role or if the fact that crime is dropping will make it a political non-issue for the midterms. I don’t delve into politics often so it was good to have a knowledgeable guide like Galen for this terrific conversation.  Galen Druke is the host of the GD POLITICS podcast, which aims to explain politics and the world with curiosity, rigor and a sense of humor. He previously covered elections for 10 years at FiveThirtyEight, where he hosted their popular politics podcast. While you're here, be sure to check out these other great recent episodes of the Jeff-alytics podcast! Arnold Ventures Executive Vice President Jennifer Doleac FBI Assistant Director Timothy Ferguson Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams Follow the Jeff-alytics Podcast: Instagram: @RealTimeCrimeIndexLinkedIn: Real-Time Crime IndexWebsite: The Jeff-alytics Podcast

    43 min
  7. How Research Is Reshaping Criminal Justice Policy With Jennifer Doleac

    FEB 25

    How Research Is Reshaping Criminal Justice Policy With Jennifer Doleac

    Today, I'm talking with my friend Jennifer Doleac about how research makes better choices in criminal justice policy possible. This is very evident in her new book (out this week!) called 'The Science of Second Chances' which I'd highly recommend as an engaging, approachable read on a critical topic.    We talk about her transition from academia to Arnold Ventures and the importance of evidence-based policy in criminal justice reform. We also discuss the need for leniency in handling first-time offenders, the significance of swift and certain consequences in deterring crime, and the role of DNA technology in solving crimes. It's a great conversation about following research to improve policy decisions.  Jennifer Doleac is an economist and the Executive Vice President of Criminal Justice at Arnold Ventures, a philanthropy focused on evidence-based policy in the US. She is the author of THE SCIENCE OF SECOND CHANCES, and the host of Probable Causation, a podcast about research related to crime and criminal justice policy. She is a leading expert on the economics of crime, and a vocal proponent of using rigorous research to inform policy. Resources: Learn More: Jen Doleac’s WebsiteFollow the Jeff-alytics Podcast: Instagram: @RealTimeCrimeIndexLinkedIn: Real-Time Crime IndexWebsite: The Jeff-alytics Podcast

    38 min
  8. Inside the FBI’s Crime Data Reporting With Assistant Director Tim Ferguson

    FEB 18

    Inside the FBI’s Crime Data Reporting With Assistant Director Tim Ferguson

    I started tracking national murder trends in 2015 with a spreadsheet and data from around 25 random agencies that published at different cadences. That spreadsheet became a Google Sheet which became a dashboard with around 100 agencies with murder data which became the Real-Time Crime Index with seven categories of crime data from around 550 agencies nationwide.  A sample of that size and quality is only possible because of massive advances in how the FBI collects and publishes crime data over the last few years and today I am talking with the man in charge of that operation: FBI Assistant Director Tim Ferguson.  Tim runs the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division which, among other things, produces the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. CJIS has made dramatic leaps in producing fast, accurate crime data that makes it possible to better understand our crime trends in near real-time.  Tim shares his unexpected journey from a small farming town in Illinois to a leadership role within the FBI, detailing his diverse experiences in law enforcement, including violent crime and narcotics investigations. He emphasizes the importance of stepping outside one’s comfort zone and embracing new challenges, which ultimately led him to his current position at CJIS, where he oversees a vast array of services and technologies that support law enforcement across the nation. This is a special, inside look at how the crime data sausage gets made. And be sure to check out these other recent great episodes of the Jeff-alytics podcast! Jason Williams Jens Ludwig Jerry Ratcliffe

    48 min
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4.7
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About

Can data uncover the real story of crime and justice in America?  Jeff Asher—nationally recognized crime data analyst, co-founder of AH Datalytics, co-creator of the Real Time Crime Index, and author of the Jeff-alytics Substack—sits down with policymakers, academics, journalists, and everyday people to reveal what the numbers actually show. Each episode challenges the myths we believe, exposes the gap between headlines and reality, and asks: what happens when we finally see crime clearly?  New episodes drop every other week! Visit ahdatalytics.com to learn more.

Information

  • Creator
    AH Datalytics
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    26
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Jeff-alytics Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Jeff-alytics Podcast

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