The Briefing Room

In our season finale: When children are the victims of abuse, they need someone in their corner to make sure that seeking justice is a caring process. Sarah Stewart is the executive director of Kids First, a child advocacy center that helps kids who are victims get access to services like therapy and medical care, while making sure their stories are heard so a case can be built against their abusers. That’s where Nichole’s work comes in: She is the forensic interviewer and helps children feel safe enough to share what happened to them. She also works to build trust between kids and the juries who hear their stories. Today, Detective Dave - who has worked closely with Kids First as a sex crimes detective - sits down with Nichole and Sarah to talk about how trust is built, how kids navigate trauma, and why it’s better to be a conduit than a vessel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Digital devices - phones, computers, tablets - have become integral to our daily lives. And they have become tools for criminals. What’s found on a suspect's digital device could make or break a case. Ask Detective Robert Weaver, who specializes in digital forensics. He has uncovered troves of damning evidence by sifting through digital data while working at the department that once employed our twin detectives, Dan and Dave. Today, Detective Robert talks about how your phone knows more than you think, when and how police can seize devices, and how digital detectives have cracked cases wide open. Oh, and they talk about Artificial Intelligence, too! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2014, social media strategist Yael Bar tur took on one of the most significant projects in her career, when she was hired to revamp the public image of the New York Police Department. A year before, a federal judge had ruled the department’s controversial stop-and-frisk program was unconstitutional. For six years, Yael worked with the NYPD, weathering PR crises, building trust between civilians and law enforcement, and helping each city precinct develop its unique voice. Today, she sits down with Dan and Dave to talk about why every police department in the country should have a social media strategy and know how to respond when violence goes viral. How did she convince curmudgeonly cops to log into Twitter? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the course of his long career in law enforcement, Matt Pitcher has put his personal life on hold to go deep undercover to catch the bad guys. Matt did short stints pretending to be someone else when he worked street crimes trying to take down drug dealers. Then came two separate deep cover investigations that required Matt to live for months apart from his wife and newborn son. Matt sits down with our twin detectives to talk about the real world impact of assuming someone else’s identity, the dangerous close calls when he was almost discovered, and why he thinks deep-cover assignments are becoming a thing of the past. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when a child goes missing? Every second counts and law enforcement needs to know exactly what to do to improve the chances the victim will be found alive. Enter Lindsey Wade, a veteran detective from Tacoma, Washington. Lindsey travels the country training officers on child abduction response and what to do in those crucial seconds, minutes, and hours after a child goes missing. Today, she joins Detectives Dan and Dave to talk about what she teaches, the critical information parents need to know, and her work as a cold case detective. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Detectives Dan and Dave have long said that victims and their families are at the mercy of the quality of detective assigned to their case. It turns out that detectives and other law enforcement officials will sometimes find themselves beholden to someone else’s work: that of the medical examiner. What a medical examiner finds at a crime scene can make or break a case. So what does it take to do that job well? And what could MEs learn from a veteran in the field? Today, our twin detectives talk with Dr. Mark Super, who has spent decades as a medical examiner in California, about a typical day on the job, his most memorable cases, and what lessons he wants to impart from his storied career. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we explores the investigative mind of the legendary CSI Paul Holes. In a one-on-one with Detective Dave, we journey back over a career that started in a forensic toxicology lab and led to his groundbreaking cold-case work hunting serial murders like the Golden State Killer. Along the way, Paul reveals how he deals with death, what he means when he says "real crime" instead of true crime, and the impact years of working grisly crime scenes has had on his mental health. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Undercover Underage" host Roo Powell sits down with Detective Dave and Detective Dan to talk about her work to keep children safe from online sexual predators. Powell is the founder of Safe from Online Sex Abuse, or SOSA, which conducts online stings to lure would-be abusers out into the open and into the hands of law enforcement. In today’s episode, you’ll hear how she got into this unusual line of work, how she and her team set up their stings, and what parents can do to try to keep their own kids safe online. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Detectives Dave and Dan sit down with forensic investigator Paul Holes to share personal stories of the traumatic events they experienced on the job that left them struggling with post-traumatic stress. Joined by guest host Yeardley Smith, they discuss why there needs to be a renewed focus on mental health treatment for all first responders, and the urgent need to redefine when and how police officers are able to seek help when they inevitably experience tragic events that leave a lasting impact. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You have children. Your children have access to iPads and smart phones. So, how do you keep them safe from online predators? Well, our very own Detective Dave digs into his years of experience to talk about just that and offers pointers for concerned parents. If you want to understand this brave new world of apps and platforms where some children are at risk of abuse, then click play. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who sets the rules for when police can use force? It's an important question. And, in many ways, the limits are set by case law. In today's briefing, we bring back a discussion about two U.S. Supreme Court cases that define what police can and cannot do when they need to bring force to bear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Forensic specialist Paul Holes and former Sacramento County DA Anne Marie Schubert talk about the new forensic techniques they're using to solve cold cases - including the use of familial DNA to track down people like the Golden State Killer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wonder whether you'd be able to hold up to the pressure of a police interrogation? Well, in today's Detectives Dan and Dave talk about their preferred strategies. If you've got a suspect in the interview room, do you want to break them down? Or build them up? Do you want a confession? Or to catch them in a lie? The detective also respond to your feedback from the series Classroom Safety Check. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Defense Attorney Lissa returns for another civilized, yet provocative discussion about the inner workings of the justice system. How does a defense attorney prepare the jury? What does she tell her client when the prosecutor offers a deal? And why does it take 'people of conscience' to make the wheels of justice turn? Detective Dave, Detective Dan, and guest host Yeardley Smith invite you into The Briefing Room for another insightful conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cops and defense attorneys sit on opposite sides in the courtroom. So, what happens when you put them at the same table? In today's briefing, you find out as Detective Dave welcomes Public Defender Lissa to talk about why she left the prosecutor's office to become a defender of the accused, how she does her job, and what she feels is the common ground in the fight for justice - hint, it's spelled r-e-s-p-e-c-t. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's briefing unpacks the important case, Terry v. Ohio. The 1968 U.S. Supreme Court case that set the standards for when a police officer has reasonable suspicion to stop and frisk someone. Our detectives talk about the arrests that led to the court case, what it decided is and is not permissible, and the differences between detaining and arresting someone. Detectives Dan and Dave offer real world examples of how this works, too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second installment of our conversation with two Texas elementary school teachers about classroom safety in the wake of the deadly shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, TX, along with advice from a veteran school resource officer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Briefing Room, a spinoff of Small Town Dicks. In our first episode, Detectives Dan and Dave talk with two public school teachers about 'active shooter' training in the wake of the deadly shooting at a Uvalde, TX elementary school. Guest host Yeardley Smith is also on-hand to ask the guys why they started this podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.