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Policing Matters

Policing Matters

Policing New York at the brink

Feb 4, 2026 · 32m

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On this episode

About this episode

In 1990, New York City was a place many Americans were afraid to enter, let alone police. More than 2,600 homicides in a single year, open-air drug markets, violent subway platforms and neighborhoods ruled by fear defined daily life. What followed would become one of the most debated eras in modern policing — aggressive enforcement strategies, the expansion of stop, question and frisk, and a leadership-driven push to reclaim the streets. Decades later, those years are still argued in classrooms, courtrooms and police roll calls across the country. On this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley is joined by NYPD Detective Tom Smith, who lived that history from the inside.…