Quality Policing Podcast and Blog

QPP 7: Radiolab Got It Wrong

Earlier this year, Radiolab produced a two-part examination of police shootings in Florida, Shots Fired. They got it wrong. Episode: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13383199 I’m a real fan of the WNYC show, Radiolab – have been for years. So I was really excited that Radiolab took on police shootings. I was excited because I really thought they would…
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St. Louis and the acquital of Officer Stockley

So somehow perhaps I thought doing a podcast would be less time consuming or easier than writing a blog post? No. Hell, no. Do you know what editing entails? Even light audio editing? But it’s different. Kind of fun. What the hell. I hope it’s educational (and hopefully also entertaining). Anyway, here’s Nick Selby and…
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QPP 6: St. Louis & Stockley acquittal

Nick and Peter discuss the acquittal of former St Louis police officer Stockley. The verdict led to violent protests. Peter thinks the preponderance of the evidence — and then some — suggests the officer was guilty as charged (though that isn’t the legal standard for conviction in a criminal case). Peter can’t get over the…
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QPP 5: Andrew Wittmer and police PTSD

On July 11, 2016, Decatur, Illinois, Police Officer Andrew Wittmer shot and wounded Lonnie Mitchell after a shirtless Mitchell reached for a black semi-automatic pistol in his waistband. Wittmer fired one shot. The podcast episode is here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13383204 In this honest interview, Andrew opens up about the trauma and stresses he went through during and…
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QPP 4: 9/19/17

We begin the podcast with a reference to – but not a discussion of – the trial in which St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson acquitted Officer Jason Stockley of premeditated murder this week in St. Louis. Peter and Nick have completed a separate podcast on that incident which will drop this week. Audio: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13383204…
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Quality Policing: Episode 2

Enjoy. You can add Quality Policing to your podcast subscription or download the MP3 audio file old-school style. Either way, head on over to the webpage for info and links.

QPP 3: September 11, 2017

Photographer shot by a deputy; Chief outrage reporter; London use of force statistics; Murder Accountability Project; Polk County Sheriff; Detroit Cops capture murderer. Audio: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13383206 This episode is dedicated to those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and to those who have since passed from injuries suffered as a result of those attacks.…
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Still trying to explain…

What’s wrong with the Brennan Center’s analysis? There are many problems. But here are a few: 1) They take a non-random sample (which isn’t bad in and of itself) and then A) don’t tell the reader in the text and B) state conclusions as if the sample were a random sample (every data point equal…
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Quality Policing Podcast: Interview With Jeff Asher

There’s another quality policing podcast in which I talk to data analyst Jeff Asher about the Brennan Center’s latest report on crime. Asher had posted this thread about methodological problems in their data and analysis. Brennan has a new report out showing murder down 2.5% nationally, but there are some major issues with that finding.…
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QPP 2: Jeff Asher: Are Murder Rates Rising?

Jeff Asher is a crime analyst and consultant based out of New Orleans. He previously worked as a crime analyst for the City of New Orleans. Jeff runs the NOLA Crime News blog and can be found on twitter @Crimealytics. Audio: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13383202 The genesis of this podcast interview was the release by the Brennan Center…
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