Black Lives Matter and Copcasts: Have You Listened?

In the wake of Black Lives Matter and increased calls for criminal justice reform, a number of true crime podcasts and TV series began taking sharp aim at police misconduct and overzealous prosecutors. In their Peabody-winning second season, the podcast “In the Dark” focused on Curtis Flowers, a man accused of committing a quadruple homicide in Mississippi in 1996; the podcast uncovered evidence of witness coercion and racial bias in jury selection. The true crime craze, despite reservations about voyeurism, was on its way to becoming a major source of critical conversations about the American criminal justice system.

But a new trend, “copcasts,” threatens that trajectory.

Police departments across the country have started releasing their own true crime podcasts (known as “copcasts”) that some say are being used to whitewash the sullied reputation of law enforcement. Last year, the NYPD launched “Break in the Case,” a podcast series that delves into old investigations like the “Baby Hope” case involving a 4-year-old girl whose body was found in a cooler in the Hudson River. The series is the brainchild of Edward Conlon, a former detective turned best-selling author who was brought on as a communications specialist in what appears to be the latest of the NYPD’s broader efforts to improve public relations. (In 2018, it was revealed the NYPD was also paying filmmaker Spike Lee to produce ads aimed at improving the image of police among minority communities in the city.)

Police departments in Newport Beach, California, and Mountain View (hometown of Google) have launched their own “copcasts.” Law enforcement in the former launched “Countdown to Capture,” about their search for a fugitive millionaire suspected of killing his wife. Detectives hoped the podcast would lead to a break as it did in the case of “Up and Vanished,” a popular podcast that spawned a legion of armchair detectives. Newport Beach did eventually track down the suspect, and they credited “Countdown to Capture.”

In addition to the public safety risks posed by amateur detectives and vigilante justice, these “copcasts” raise serious concerns about impartiality. For instance, NYPD’s “Break in the Case” remains firm that Baby Hope’s cousin, a man named Conrado Juarez, was rightfully arrested and sentenced for her murder, but Juarez insisted his confession was coerced (a claim mocked by the podcast). He died in jail of pancreatic cancer in 2018 still awaiting trial.

Whereas podcasts and TV shows like “Serial,” “Ear Hustle” and “Making a Murderer” brought attention to organizations like the Innocence Project and inspired audiences to reflect critically on the criminal justice system, “copcasts” put the narrative back on the side of law enforcement. It’s a disturbing trend that raises serious questions about the true crime genre and the public’s lack of critical self-reflection about its popularity.