(2008). An overview of the basis of law in American Criminal Justice.
(2020). More than a century ago French sociologist, Emile Durkheim, suggested that crime and social order are not necessarily opposites. This film looks at the introduction of Zero Tolerance Policing in New York, the imprisonment of Dr Jack Kevorkian for assisting terminally-ill patients to die and the tragic murder in the UK of Jamie Bulger, to illustrate Durkheim’s three key functions of crime. It concludes by looking at how the legacy of these ideas has been so influential in the development of criminology.
(2006). Guest Charles Sevilla, Attorney-at-Law, discusses mental health and the criminal justice system in context of the 1984 Insanity Defense Reform Act, 18 U.S.C. 17, the prison system's involvement, legal tests for criminal responsibility (M'Naughten rule 8 Eng. Rep. 718 (1843), and the difference between people who are insane, and those who are simply criminals. California law regarding diminished capacity is also discussed.
(2023). In the early 20th century, researchers made a thrilling new claim: they could tell whether someone was lying by using a machine. Popularly known as the “lie detector,” the device was extolled as an infallible crime-fighting tool. Instead, the lie detector became an apparatus of fear and intimidation. The Lie Detector is a tale of good intentions, twisted morals and unintended consequences.
(2022). An unsolved 1960s murder reveals an untold story of the civil rights movement and Black resistance. With Retro Report, the film draws on rarely seen footage filmed more than 50 years ago in Natchez, MS, and follows one family's search for justice.
(2020). In 2020 the murder rate in the US rose by nearly 30%—the country’s largest-ever recorded annual increase. It has not fallen significantly since. What is it about America that led to this jump, and what can be done to reduce the violence?
(1990). Discusses government & private studies regarding the predictability of criminal behavior, especially the repeat offender.
(2010). Looks at the association of modern psychological theory with criminality and incarceration in the U.S., including prison problems, psychological explanations for criminality, and criminal justice reform.
(2020). Due to popular television shows and films, criminal profiling has captured the public imagination. But what’s the reality behind the hype? What is criminal profiling? What do profilers do? Does profiling work? This film addresses these questions through interviews with contemporary UK profilers and psychologists, a look at some famous case studies, and an examination of different approaches to criminal offender profiling.
(2001). This 6 part series explores the world of forensic and clinical psychology. By examining the processes undertaken by police, criminal specialists and psychologists, the in an attempt to understand the workings of the criminal mind. Each episode focuses on an area related to criminality, including hostage taking and false confessions. The genetic research that attempts to predict future criminals from birth is also examined.
(2024). Investigating deaths after police used tactics like prone restraint and other “less lethal” force. With The Associated Press, drawing on police records, autopsy reports and body cam footage, the most expansive tally of such deaths nationwide.
(2023). The use of police body cameras has become much more widespread in recent years with the hope that they will curb police violence and improve accountability. But a new investigation by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine found it can often take months or years before the video is released, if at all. William Brangham discussed more with Eric Umansky of ProPublica.
(2022). Investigating the Minneapolis police in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. With Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters from the Star Tribune--from the killing and protests to the trial of Derek Chauvin to the struggle for accountability.
