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- Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy Video Library Welcome to the CEBCP Video Library, which houses all of our videos throughout our website in one convenient location. This free video library, most of which is also available on our You Tube Channel serves our community as a free information and training resource
Featured Films
- Durkheim and the Functions of Crime (streaming, Academic Video Online) It seems obvious to most people that crime and social order are opposites. But more than a century ago French sociologist, Emile Durkheim, suggested that it wasn't that simple. 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
- History of World Criminal Justice (streaming, Academic Video Online) ANCIENT WESTERN LAWS & JUSTICE: Egypt - Customs, Taboos and Superstition; Sumeria - Cuneiform and Written Laws; Codex Hammurabi - Retributive Justice, Lex talionis; Mosaic Law - Torah, Ten Commandments; Sparta - Social Class, Helots; Athenian Law - Draconian Punishment; Roman Law -Caesar Augustus and First Police; Constantine and Edict of Milan.
- History of American Criminal Justice (streaming, Academic Video Online) ACJ: BASIS IN LAW: Three Branches: Law Enforcement, Courts, Corrections; Ancient Origins of Criminal Justice; English Common Law and Colonial America ; Independence, Revolution and Bill of Rights;Due Process under 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 14th Amendments. U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT: Police, U. S. Marshalls, Texas Rangers; August Vollmer and Police Professionalism; Detention, Arrest, Evidence; Federal Law Enforcement; Probable Cause, Miranda Warning. U.S. COURT SYSTEM: Local, State and Federal Courts; Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys; Hearings, Plea Bargaining and Trial; Punishment and Sentencing; Capital Punishment.
- Explaining crime. [Part 1], Social theory and crime : strain theory (streaming, Academic Video Online) Merton was one of the first sociologists to look at the relationship between culture and crime. This video provides a clear introduction to Merton’s strain theory, looks at it's application to contemporary consumer societies and its continuing influence on modern theories of crime.
- Explaining crime. [Part 2], Social theory and crime : labelling theory (streaming, Academic Video Online) Traditionally criminology focused on criminal action and its control. Labelling theory widened the focus to include the social reaction to crime and its consequences. This video documents the rise and fall of labelling theory and illustrates how aspects of it continue to influence contemporary criminology and criminal justice.
- Explaining crime. [Part 3], Social theory and crime : space, place and windows (streaming, Academic Video Online) Spatial criminology asks whether it’s possible to reduce crime by changing social spaces. This video begins with Zimbardo’s influential abandoned cars experiment and the development of Wilson and Kelling’s broken windows theory. It looks at the impact of broken windows policy on crime in New York in the 1990s and concludes by looking at recent experiments in the Netherlands by Keizer that demonstrate the effect of environmental change on crime.
- Untouchable (streaming, Kanopy) "When the most powerful lobbyist in Florida discovers that the nanny has sexually abused his daughter, he harnesses his extraordinary political power to pass the toughest sex offender laws in the nation. Untouchable chronicles his crusade, and its impact on the lives of several of the 800,000 people forced to live under the kinds of laws he has championed. The film interweaves intimate portraits of men and women who have been branded sex offenders with the heartbreaking stories of those
- Framing an Execution: The Media & Mumia Abu-Jamal (streaming, Kanopy) The case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist on Pennsylvania's death row in connection with the death of a police officer, had become by the late 1990s a global symbol of inequities in the U.S. judicial system. The mainstream media could no longer ignore it, but how would they cover such a hotly disputed case and the questions of judicial bias that it raises?
- Computers V. Crime (streaming, Academic Video Online) In police departments and courts across the country, artificial intelligence is being used to help decide who is policed, who gets bail, how offenders should be sentenced, and who gets parole. But is it actually making our law enforcement and court systems fairer and more just? This timely investigation digs into the hidden biases, privacy risks, and design flaws of this controversial technology.
- Peace Officer (streaming, Academic Video Online) SF State M.F.A. Alums Scott Christpherson (Co-Director) and Reny McCauley (Editor) visit the School of Cinema and share their film Peace Officer with a public screening. Co-Director, Brad Barber retired LAPD Station Commander John Mutz and Activist Barbara Attard joined them for a discussion led by School of Cinema Chair Britta Sjogren. The hour long discussion explored issues of police tactics in a modern age, and the consequences police militarization.
- Holy Man (streaming, Academic Video Online) Holy Man: The USA vs. Douglas White is the story of Douglas White, an 89 year old Lakota Sioux medicine man from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, who spent 17 years in federal prison for a crime he did not commit. During the making of this film, filmmakers uncovered new evidence of White's "actual innocence" and brought the case back to federal court. Holy Man offers a rare glimpse into the mysterious world of Lakota religion, their intimate connection to the land, and a provocative expose of the systemic injustice that Native Americans face in the criminal justice system.
- Mi vida dentro = My life inside (streaming, Academic Video Online) 17-year-old Rosa Jiménez came to the USA to help provide a better life for her family back in Mexico. She found work in Texas, got married and had her first baby. But several years later the dream turned to a nightmare when the two year-old boy in her care died tragically. Accused with his murder by the state of Texas and following an unfair trial, Rosa is sentenced to life in prison. She came to America for freedom, and now she's lost it forever.
- P.S. I Can't Breathe (streaming, Kanopy) On December 13th 2014, tens of thousands of New Yorkers took to the streets to call attention to the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of the police and to urge lawmakers to take action. P.S. I Can't Breathe Documentary is a raw, uncensored glimpse into the Millions March NYC AFTER a NYC grand jury deliberated to not indict the officer who killed Eric Garner by placing him in a choke hold.
- Frontline: Prison State (streaming, PBS) Prison State takes an intimate look at the cycle of mass incarceration in America and a statewide effort to reverse the trend, following four residents of a housing project in Louisville, KY. as they cycle in and out of jail and prison.
Podcasts
- Criminalized Created by a BU student, Criminalized is a podcast that examines issues in the American criminal justice system through the narratives of formerly incarcerated people. This podcast brings together the perspectives of court-involved people, community organizers, policy experts, and academics to explain the drivers of mass incarceration in the United States. Criminalized is based in Boston, MA and focuses on the experiences of people in the Massachusetts criminal legal system.
- The Appeal: Justice in America Justice In America is hosted by Josie Duffy Rice, president of The Appeal, along with guest hosts Darnell Moore, Donovan X. Ramsey, Derecka Purnell, and Zak Cheney Rice. Each episode explains a new criminal justice issue and features conversations with experts and advocates.
- Ear Hustle The Ear Hustle team works in the San Francisco Bay Area, both in San Quentin State Prison’s media lab and from offices on the outside, to produce stories that are sometimes difficult, often funny and always honest. Episodes offer a nuanced view of people involved with the American prison system and those reintegrating into society after serving time.
- Caught Mass incarceration starts young. These kids say the system changes them forever.
- Broken Doors (Washington Post) With a typical search warrant, police are supposed to knock and announce themselves. But with no-knock warrants, police can force their way into people’s homes without warning. This six-part investigative podcast from The Washington Post sheds light on how easy it is to plan, obtain and execute no-knock warrants — one of the most intrusive and dangerous police tactics. We explore the consequences when these warrants become the rule, rather than the
- Violation (WBUR and The Marshall Project) A podcast examining an unthinkable crime, second chances and who pulls the levers of power in the justice system.
