New Podcast Episode - The Limit of American Criminal Justice Part 1: Police

On this season of our podcast Move It Forward we've been exploring violence in Philadelphia and similar cities across the US. What’s driving it? How are we experiencing it? And how can we transform conditions so we can stop the crisis? This hasn't been a true crime podcast but a deep dive into the real causes of gun violence in Philadelphia. We have looked at income inequality as a driver of violence, the drug economy and more as we try to understand why our city has been wracked with so many shootings and homicides. 

We’ve covered the grief of losing a loved one to violence, how exactly wealth inequality drives up homicides, the genre of true crime and how it obscures the everyday reality of violence and many other facets of this complex topic. Our most recent episode, 'The Limits of American Criminal Justice Part 1: Police' covers the official response of the State to the crisis; the structures of our criminal legal system and their history and how they fall short in keeping us safe or in many cases were never designed to do so in the first place.

We talked to journalist and professor Chenjerai Kumanyika, Aqeela Sherrills of the Newark Community Street Team (NCST), District Attorney Larry Krasner and Kendra Van de Water of the violence prevention project YEAH Philly.  

The American Criminal Justice system’s responses to gun violence is a huge topic so we split it into two parts. This first episode focuses on police, but keep your eyes peeled for part 2 where we take a close look at our system of prosecution and prisons. 

To heal our communities we must first understand what is at the root of what ails them. Check out this important episode to shine a light so we can find a path out of the darkness. 

Listen to the latest episode of Move It Forward on the player below or check us out on Spotify, Apple, Google or Stitcher.