The Chicago Justice Podcast takes apart the stories we’re told about crime and public safety. It doesn’t sanitize the truth about crime and justice—it interrogates it. We dig into the data, the policies, and the power structures that shape who gets punished, who gets protected, and who gets ignored. Some conversations are uncomfortable. Others are infuriating. All of them are necessary. Through data-driven analysis and hard, unfiltered conversations with researchers, reform advocates, and people…
Subscribe:.rss.atom.json.md.m3u.pls
Live Last read · last published · next check
Saves to your Listen queue, to pick up on another day or another device.
California’s public records law is designed to give residents access to government information, but proposed changes to Assembly Bill 1821 (AB 1821) could significantly reshape how that access works in practice. In this episode, we sit down with Sean McMorris , Transparency, Ethics & Accountability Program Manager at California Common Cause , to discuss the ongoing debate surrounding AB 1821 and…
What happens when a police unit operates outside traditional oversight and is staffed by officers with troubling disciplinary histories? In this episode, we take a deep dive into the New York Police Department’s Community Response Team (CRT), a controversial unit that has drawn scrutiny for its aggressive tactics, alleged constitutional violations, and lack of accountability. We examine reporting…
More than 100,000 Automated License Plate Reader cameras are now operating across the United States, feeding data into networks shared by thousands of police departments and federal agencies. But where are these cameras located, and who is most affected by this growing surveillance infrastructure? In this episode, we speak with Professor Steven Keener of Christopher Newport University, first…
In this episode, we begin a special series examining the rapid expansion of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology and the growing privacy and civil liberties concerns surrounding its use. Flock Security , one of the nation’s largest ALPR providers, reports that more than 100,000 cameras have been deployed across the United States. These cameras collect detailed information about…
What really happened on New Year’s Day 2019 when North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers shot and killed Brandon Webster? For years, the official account of the shooting was accepted by law enforcement leaders, government officials, and the media. But behind the scenes, an internal investigation uncovered evidence showing that the trooper’s version of events could not have happened as…
In this episode, we sit down with Joanna C. Schwartz , UCLA law professor and author of Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable , to unpack the hidden systems that protect police from consequences. We go beyond the headlines about qualified immunity to explore what really blocks accountability: Why most police misconduct lawsuits fail before trial How courts, police departments, and legal…
This week, we break down the controversial 2022 raid of Grammy-nominated rapper Afroman’s home by Adams County Sheriff’s deputies and the legal fallout that followed. Acting on claims from a confidential informant alleging kidnapped women, a “sex dungeon,” and large quantities of marijuana, officers executed a warrant that ultimately uncovered none of it. In fact, there wasn’t even a basement.…
How politics, media, and institutions distort crime narratives across America Fear has become the dominant framework for how Americans understand crime—and it is often deliberately manufactured. In this episode of the Chicago Justice Podcast , host Tracy Siska , Executive Director of the Chicago Justice Project, introduces a new national focus for the show. We examine how crime and violence are…
In a first-of-its-kind independent analysis of the effectiveness of ShotSpotter, the science says the technology does not lead to more arrests and convictions for gun crimes and does not reduce these crimes in the areas where it is deployed. The study examined the impact of ShotSpotter in Chicago and Kansas City. To understand the science more deeply, we sat down with the study’s first author, Dr.…
We open season four with a discussion of Karina’s bill, which hopes to formalize a process for the courts & police departments throughout Illinois to seize guns from individuals who have an order of protection entered against them. Our guest today is Danielle Parisi Ruffatto, Managing Director of the Family Law and Protective Orders Division at Ascend Justice . We discuss the horrific murder of…
