Features
Featured Films
54m
54m
1h 54m
54m
54m
20m
59m
54m
54m
1h 54m
Related
What Jeff Sessions' Police Review Means for Federal Reform
The attorney general's review takes a step toward abandoning the only tool that exists to compel troubled departments to reform.
April 4, 2017
With Program in Peril, DOJ Evaluates Police Reform
The Obama Justice Department aggressively pursued reform agreements with police departments. What will come next?
January 4, 2017
How Baltimore’s Police Policy Led to Freddie Gray
Baltimore police routinely target blacks for improper stops, searches and excessive force, the Justice Department said, and must undergo reforms.
August 10, 2016
Is Civilian Oversight the Answer to Distrust of Police?
Civilian oversight boards have been offered as one way to rebuild trust between police and the communities they serve. But do they work?
July 13, 2016
Ras Baraka: "We Need Police ... We Just Don't Want Them To Shoot Us"
The community wants police to aggressively respond to crime, Newark's mayor told FRONTLINE. “We need police in our neighborhood,” he said. “We just don’t want them to shoot us in the back while we’re running away in a traffic stop, or choke people for selling cigarettes.”
June 28, 2016
The Problem with "Broken Windows" Policing
In cities where Broken Windows has taken root, there’s little evidence that it's worked as intended. Newark, N.J. is one example.
June 28, 2016
Vanita Gupta: "No Such Thing as a Perfect Police Department"
As head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, Vanita Gupta is the federal official in charge of investigating police departments for civil rights violations.
June 28, 2016
WATCH: Good Stop, Bad Stop?
On a ridealong with the Newark Police Department's Gang Unit, FRONTLINE filmed officers stopping an unarmed black man on the street and forcing him to the ground.
June 28, 2016
Quiz: Spot the Illegal Police Stop
The stakes in a police stop can be high. What an officer discovers during a stop -- and how -- helps determine whether someone is allowed to carry on with their day, whether they’ll go to jail and even what type of evidence is used at trial.
June 28, 2016
Policing In America: 10 Questions With Jelani Cobb
He's one of the nation's foremost journalists on race and politics, but Jelani Cobb says he was surprised by what he saw while riding along with a police unit in Newark.
June 28, 2016
How States Are Moving to Police Bad Cops
With police departments under scrutiny in the wake of high-profile shootings, some states are tightening laws to keep problem officers off the streets.
April 8, 2016
In order to foster a civil and literate discussion that respects all participants, FRONTLINE has the following guidelines for commentary. By submitting comments here, you are consenting to these rules:
Readers' comments that include profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, harassment, or are defamatory, sexist, racist, violate a third party's right to privacy, or are otherwise inappropriate, will be removed. Entries that are unsigned or are "signed" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. We reserve the right to not post comments that are more than 400 words. We will take steps to block users who repeatedly violate our commenting rules, terms of use, or privacy policies. You are fully responsible for your comments.
Next on Frontline
The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden
Home Video DVDs of Policing the Police are available from ShopPBS.
Educational DVDs of Policing the Police are available from PBS Educational Media.
Get Our Newsletter
Follow Frontline