Copaganda - How reality TV shows about police affect criminal justice reform

‘Copaganda’ is the name given to media that seeks to portray the police in a favourable, often distorted light. This includes fictional shows like Law and Order, CSI: Crime Scene Investigations, and Miami Vice, as well as reality-TV style shows that follow policy officers around as they go about their business. Emma Rackstraw’s research investigates how these shows affect the behaviour of the police, perceptions of the police among viewers, and attitudes towards the police in the communities where these shows take place. She joins regular ePODstemology host Dr Mark Fabian from the University of Warwick to discuss the implications of copaganda for criminal justice reform in the United States, the role that researchers play in skewing policy analysis for good or ill, and what changes are most urgently needed in US criminal justice policy.   

Emma’s website:

https://www.emmarackstraw.com/home

Emma’s job market paper: 

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4592803 

“The Work” documentary (typically available via Amazon Prime):

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5836866/ 

Public health approaches to policing: 

https://www.intensiveengagement.com/uploads/3/2/8/3/3283498/public_health_approaches.pdf