Episode 26

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Published on:

25th Sep 2025

America’s Crime Crisis: Politics & Fallout (Part 2)

In Part 2 of this series, we move beyond the statistics to reveal the real-world consequences of America’s crime crisis. From Baltimore’s violent crime surge to the collapse of proactive policing, we uncover how political decisions, media narratives, and staffing shortages affect both law enforcement officers and communities.

Discover what it means when National Guard troops patrol U.S. streets, why “soft on crime” policies are failing, and the human cost behind manipulated crime statistics.

👉 Share this episode to start the conversation about America’s future of public safety.

👉 Subscribe to Heroes Behind the Badge for more real stories from America’s law enforcement professionals.

Transcript
Paul Boomer:

Welcome back to Heroes Behind the Badge.

Paul Boomer:

This is part two of our conversation with crime data expert Len Sipes

Paul Boomer:

about the hidden reality behind America's crime statistics.

Paul Boomer:

In part one, we learned about the shocking 44% increase in violent

Paul Boomer:

crime revealed by the National Crime Victimization Survey data that

Paul Boomer:

most Americans never heard about.

Paul Boomer:

Today we're exploring the real world consequences of this statistical

Paul Boomer:

manipulation from Baltimore's crime crisis to the debate over federal

Paul Boomer:

intervention in high crime cities.

Paul Boomer:

We're examining how incomplete data leads to dangerous policy decisions.

Paul Boomer:

We'll also discuss why the media isn't reporting the complete picture,

Paul Boomer:

the role of politics in crime reporting, and what this means for

Paul Boomer:

the safety of American families.

Paul Boomer:

This isn't just about numbers.

Paul Boomer:

It's about a human cost of misleading statistics and the brave law enforcement

Paul Boomer:

officers trying to protect communities with their hands tied behind their backs.

Paul Boomer:

Let's continue our conversation with Len.

Craig Floyd:

So, so here's a great example of what we're talking about.

Craig Floyd:

So, president Trump has threatened to send in the, the feds to

Craig Floyd:

Baltimore, Maryland, right?

Craig Floyd:

Mm-hmm.

Craig Floyd:

Um.

Craig Floyd:

The governor of Maryland, the mayor of Baltimore, uh, so many of the liberals are

Craig Floyd:

saying, well, that, that's unnecessary.

Craig Floyd:

Baltimore is, is the rate of crime in Baltimore is going down.

Craig Floyd:

It's safe.

Craig Floyd:

It's a safe city.

Craig Floyd:

We don't need your help.

Craig Floyd:

I look at the top 10 US cities by homicide rate that, that you sent me.

Craig Floyd:

Baltimore fourth in the country.

Craig Floyd:

Yeah.

Craig Floyd:

Uh, the highest rate of homicides of any city Right.

Craig Floyd:

In America, top US cities, uh, by violent crime rate.

Craig Floyd:

Okay.

Craig Floyd:

Not just homicides, but violent crime, Baltimore moves up to number three.

Craig Floyd:

Mm-hmm.

Craig Floyd:

The third highest crime rate, violent crime rate in the country.

Craig Floyd:

Yeah.

Craig Floyd:

So for, for Maryland's governor, for, uh, Baltimore's mayor to say

Craig Floyd:

that Baltimore is a safe city.

Craig Floyd:

Uh, they, they really don't understand, uh, what they're talking about.

Craig Floyd:

Is that fair to say?

Craig Floyd:

Um,

Len Sipes:

I look, when we are talking about sending the National

Len Sipes:

Guard into a city, um, you know, my 50 years in the criminal justice

Len Sipes:

system basically says we've never done that before except for riots.

Len Sipes:

Um, using them in terms of day-to-day crime is something that is a radical move

Len Sipes:

that makes people feel uncomfortable.

Len Sipes:

I mean, I, I, I, look, one of the things that I do in terms of my writing

Len Sipes:

is that I understand, and I think you all understand too, there are more

Len Sipes:

independents in this country than there are Republicans or Democrats individually.

Len Sipes:

Okay, so I am in my writings, I'm trying to be fair.

Len Sipes:

I'm trying to, uh, get people to wanna be, because if reporters who see my stuff

Len Sipes:

and read my stuff and are influenced by my stuff, if I just come out and say,

Len Sipes:

president Trump, is a is right, and, and, um, you know, we should be going in with

Len Sipes:

the National Guard, with every city, they would not pay attention to what I write.

Len Sipes:

So this is a radical development on the part of the president.

Len Sipes:

Will it work?

Len Sipes:

Only the courts are going to be able to tell us, and, and, and time will be able

Len Sipes:

to tell us if this is going to work.

Len Sipes:

The early findings on the part of Washington D.C. um, is that it is working.

Len Sipes:

It is dramatically reducing crime.

Len Sipes:

Should we do it in other cities?

Len Sipes:

Well, I can guarantee you that there are advisors to President Trump based.

Len Sipes:

Basically begging him not to send the National Guard into other cities.

Len Sipes:

Washington D.C. is a unique city.

Len Sipes:

It's the nation's capital.

Len Sipes:

Um, but do you really want to have these huge protests, um, in these other cities?

Len Sipes:

Are there different ways of doing it?

Len Sipes:

And I think President Trump is basically sending a message to the rest of the

Len Sipes:

country, basically saying, you better get your act together in terms of violent

Len Sipes:

crime in your city, or I'm gonna come in with a National Guard and I'm gonna

Len Sipes:

come in with additional federal agents.

Len Sipes:

I think he's using this as a warning to other cities.

Len Sipes:

Uh, will he do it in other cities?

Len Sipes:

I don't know.

Len Sipes:

Um, I don't have a clue as to what's going happen in terms of other

Len Sipes:

cities, but I think the president is basically warning other people and

Len Sipes:

through media reports, other cities are beginning to take this seriously.

Len Sipes:

Other cities are beginning to say, Hey, you know what?

Len Sipes:

Maybe they should come to my city, maybe.

Bill Erfurth:

Well, you know, it's the, it's in our city.

Bill Erfurth:

It's the omnipresence of the police, right?

Bill Erfurth:

I mean, we've heard that term used forever.

Bill Erfurth:

If the police are out there, you see 'em, you're less inclined to commit a crime.

Bill Erfurth:

I'm sure that's what's happening there in Washington D.C. Yeah, and

Bill Erfurth:

probably with the National Guard and the Feds that have come in there,

Bill Erfurth:

they're augmenting the locals, they're probably put together a task force.

Bill Erfurth:

They're doubling up in cars or tripling up in cars, whatever they're

Bill Erfurth:

doing, and they're able to go out there and  proactively arrest people

Bill Erfurth:

on warrants and go after the drug dealers and all the other lowlifes

Bill Erfurth:

that are committing the crimes.

Bill Erfurth:

You know, the thing of it is though, is you're talking about

Bill Erfurth:

politics and it's, and it's crazy.

Bill Erfurth:

And, and you know, during my career when, when, when I was working and

Bill Erfurth:

we, I, I, I ran a unit, we made six to 8,000 arrests per year.

Bill Erfurth:

Very mm-hmm.

Bill Erfurth:

Very proactive unit.

Bill Erfurth:

Uh, Craig knows about it.

Bill Erfurth:

I mean, the unit was even recognized in Washington, D.C. as one of the

Bill Erfurth:

most proactive police units in the country and being proactive

Bill Erfurth:

makes a massive difference.

Bill Erfurth:

Well, once that unit I had left and once that unit kind of got disbanded and

Bill Erfurth:

reorganized, the amount of violent crime and homicides went up exponentially.

Bill Erfurth:

Mm-hmm.

Bill Erfurth:

And you know, when you make those kind of political decisions, who's

Bill Erfurth:

talking about the fact that this mayor, or this governor, or whoever

Bill Erfurth:

it may be that's made those decisions just cost somebody their life.

Bill Erfurth:

How many people are dead now because of making those decisions?

Bill Erfurth:

So the whole National Guard thing for me is like, look at Chicago.

Bill Erfurth:

I, I saw these people interviewed in Chicago.

Bill Erfurth:

They're begging for the National Guard.

Bill Erfurth:

They can't even go and sit in their driveway, in their car and not worried

Bill Erfurth:

about getting jacked or, or, or shot.

Bill Erfurth:

So why not put 'em in there?

Bill Erfurth:

I, I think it's just a liberal democratic fighting point.

Bill Erfurth:

You know, if Trump were to cure cancer.

Bill Erfurth:

He'll be an idiot, you know?

Bill Erfurth:

Yeah.

Bill Erfurth:

And so they're, they're trying to fight him tooth and nail to the

Bill Erfurth:

extent that that ultimately could cost a lot of people's lives.

Len Sipes:

You go through Washington, D.C. uh, and there are sections

Len Sipes:

of Washington D.C. where there are bars on every door and every window.

Len Sipes:

Um, I've been throughout the country, courtesy of the federal government into

Len Sipes:

high crime areas, and I've never been in a high crime area in my entire life

Len Sipes:

where somebody said, you know what?

Len Sipes:

This is fine.

Len Sipes:

We're cool with this, right?

Len Sipes:

Uh, you know, um, you know, I, I've never encountered anybody, whether it be

Len Sipes:

law enforcement or average citizens or community leaders, say, yeah, we're in a

Len Sipes:

high crime area, but we really don't care.

Len Sipes:

Um, so you know what we're trying, I look at this as a human rights issue.

Len Sipes:

I look at this as a human rights issue and you know, we talk about colleges

Len Sipes:

being liberal, places with liberal faults.

Len Sipes:

When I went to college, um, I was taught that this is a human rights issue.

Len Sipes:

That crime affects school scores, economies, jobs, um, the psychological

Len Sipes:

development of younger people.

Len Sipes:

That crime is insidious.

Len Sipes:

It affects every part of every city in the United States in a very detrimental way.

Len Sipes:

So if you want Baltimore to prosper, if you want D.C. to prosper, if you want

Len Sipes:

any other city to prosper, you have to be able to control crime and, and, and, and

Len Sipes:

unless you're willing to control crime, you were throwing everybody in that area

Len Sipes:

under the bus, economically, socially, um, from a jobs point of view, from school

Len Sipes:

scores to the psychological development of children, it affects everything.

Len Sipes:

So, you know, from my studies, um, before going to the, uh, Department of Justice,

Len Sipes:

um, it was, you know, really profound that this is a, this is something that, that

Len Sipes:

we all need to work on together to make sure that the average person living in

Len Sipes:

the average city in the United States has the right to feel safe in their own homes.

Len Sipes:

Go to D.C., look at all the bars.

Len Sipes:

On the doors and windows, don't they have a right to feel safe?

Bill Erfurth:

So having said that, and based on your research, why is it the

Bill Erfurth:

Democrats are always fighting and so opposed to law enforcement and forcing

Bill Erfurth:

the law, putting people in jail, and making people safe in this country.

Len Sipes:

I'm gonna try to stay away from politics, um, because

Len Sipes:

again, I've worked with progressives all throughout my career.

Len Sipes:

Um, I have the independence in mind.

Len Sipes:

Whatever it is that I say or write, I'm not quite sure it's Democrats.

Len Sipes:

But at the same time, if you take a look at the data in terms of democratic

Len Sipes:

opinion versus Republican opinion versus white, black, income, you know, you're

Len Sipes:

gonna find variances, um, uh, in, in every survey, depending upon the group.

Len Sipes:

Um, so yes, Republicans are probably much harder, uh, and, and much more

Len Sipes:

supportive of law enforcement and proactive policing than Democrats.

Len Sipes:

Uh, but to say that all Democrats are against proactive policing and all

Len Sipes:

Democrats are not supportive of, of making sure that criminals are held accountable,

Len Sipes:

i, I, I just feel uncomfortable with that.

Len Sipes:

I,

Bill Erfurth:

yeah, fair, fair enough.

Bill Erfurth:

And I'm not saying all of them, it just seems like it's quite a few of them.

Len Sipes:

Yeah.

Len Sipes:

There, I mean.

Len Sipes:

I've worked with them over the course of years, and I've been in heated arguments

Len Sipes:

with them throughout the course of years.

Len Sipes:

Um, I just did an article about, there was a, um, survey warning Democrats

Len Sipes:

to stop being stupid on crime.

Len Sipes:

Um, it's on my website, CrimeInAmerica.net, it's, uh, I

Len Sipes:

think it's, uh, last week's article.

Len Sipes:

Basically, you have think tank, a democratic think tank that

Len Sipes:

is coming along and saying to progressives, you know, you've gotta

Len Sipes:

stop saying what you're saying.

Len Sipes:

The, you know, you know, criminals aren't clients, they're criminals.

Len Sipes:

Um, people returning from prison or inmates coming out of prison,

Len Sipes:

they're not returning citizens.

Len Sipes:

Um, you know, that you're shooting yourself in the foot, um, by

Len Sipes:

the words that you're using.

Len Sipes:

Um, so, you know, there are conservative democrats, uh, who probably believe in

Len Sipes:

everything that we're talking about now.

Len Sipes:

Um, but, uh, progressives, uh, you know, I even the Democratic party

Len Sipes:

is taking them to the woodshed.

Len Sipes:

There were huge fights during the Biden administration of the really

Len Sipes:

far left Progressives trying to change his, um, policies in terms of crime

Len Sipes:

and Biden's advisors were furious with these people for trying to

Len Sipes:

push um, Joe Biden far to the left.

Len Sipes:

Um, Joe Biden, when he was running um, did say per the American Civil Liberties

Len Sipes:

Union, uh, that he wanted to release 50% of the prison population, uh.

Len Sipes:

Now this is Joe Biden has a long history of being tough on crime.

Len Sipes:

So now we have Joe Biden, candidate Biden saying he wants to release

Len Sipes:

50% of the prison population.

Len Sipes:

Well, 66% of males in the United States in prison are there for violent crimes.

Len Sipes:

If you take a look at their criminal history, it's probably closer to 80%.

Len Sipes:

If you take a look at, um, federal data on terms of recidivism, violent offenders

Len Sipes:

have the highest rate of recidivism.

Len Sipes:

So, you know, Biden was actively trying to state as part of a campaign promise

Len Sipes:

that he was willing to release hundreds of thousands of violent criminals.

Len Sipes:

Now, that to me is absolutely insane.

Len Sipes:

But you, you have, um.

Len Sipes:

Well, the raging Cajun, who's, what's his name, um, slips my mind at the moment.

Len Sipes:

Who was the advisor to Clinton, basically saying defund the police was.

Dennis Collins:

Talking about James, James CarVal.

Len Sipes:

James CarVal.

Len Sipes:

Thank you.

Len Sipes:

Yeah, CarVal.

Len Sipes:

Thank you.

Len Sipes:

Yeah.

Len Sipes:

Then the three stupidest words in English language were defund the

Len Sipes:

police fund the police, and they did so much damage to Democrats.

Len Sipes:

They said, we can never get rid of the stench of it.

Len Sipes:

Right.

Len Sipes:

So within the Democratic party, you, there is a war, literally a war going on

Len Sipes:

internally, basically telling progressives you, you really do need to rethink what it

Len Sipes:

is you're saying and how you're saying it.

Dennis Collins:

Yeah.

Dennis Collins:

You know, I wanna track back to something you said, uh, Len,

Dennis Collins:

I thought was very important.

Dennis Collins:

You, you made a very interesting statement.

Dennis Collins:

People have the right to feel safe.

Dennis Collins:

People have the right to feel safe.

Dennis Collins:

But here, let me try to blend that into something else you've already said too,

Dennis Collins:

that because of the un the incorrect or incomplete reporting of crime statistics,

Dennis Collins:

there is the, the, some government officials are trying to make us feel safe

Dennis Collins:

by pointing to the erroneous figures.

Dennis Collins:

So until we actually get the media and you're a media relations expert, okay,

Dennis Collins:

I'd love your opinion on how do we get the media to start covering the whole picture?

Len Sipes:

The, the well, the media.

Len Sipes:

How do I, how do I say this?

Len Sipes:

Throughout my career, uh, I've done thousands and thousands of interviews at

Len Sipes:

the national level, at the regional level, at the local level, and you had crime

Len Sipes:

reporters who made my life miserable, uh, but they knew the criminal justice system.

Len Sipes:

They knew crime statistics.

Len Sipes:

They knew crime statistics better than I knew crime statistics.

Len Sipes:

They invested a lot of their time and a lot of their energy.

Len Sipes:

And even though they made my life very difficult at times, um, they

Len Sipes:

were fair and they were the ones who stopped papers or, or television

Len Sipes:

networks from reporting stupid stuff.

Len Sipes:

They're no longer with us.

Len Sipes:

The number of reporters who have vanished, um, over the course of the last 10

Len Sipes:

years runs into the tons of thousands.

Len Sipes:

The really good crime reporters who kept their own network and kept their own

Len Sipes:

newspaper in check are no longer there.

Len Sipes:

So, you know, the person talking about crime today, will

Len Sipes:

tomorrow talk about a fire?

Len Sipes:

The, the next day they'll talk about traffic problems.

Len Sipes:

Uh, they don't have the background within the criminal justice system.

Len Sipes:

So again, I. If I had the response, what the hell is the National

Len Sipes:

Crime Victimization Survey?

Len Sipes:

If I had a dollar for every time, so a reporter said that to me, um, I wouldn't,

Len Sipes:

you know, I could buy another truck.

Len Sipes:

I could buy a new truck.

Len Sipes:

I mean, it, it's, it's just ridiculous as to how few people know what's going on

Len Sipes:

in terms of crime in this country from a statistical and a research point of view.

Craig Floyd:

I have two last questions.

Craig Floyd:

Um, one is, and it shifts gears a bit, but how does the U.S. uh, crime

Craig Floyd:

rate compare to other countries?

Craig Floyd:

I'd like to think that we have the best law enforcement

Craig Floyd:

force anywhere in the world.

Craig Floyd:

Um, I have faith in our criminal justice system to an extent, um,

Craig Floyd:

comparing it to other countries.

Craig Floyd:

But what are the, what does the data tell us?

Craig Floyd:

Uh, is the US safer than other countries or are we one of the worst?

Len Sipes:

Okay.

Len Sipes:

No, we have Gallup, um, and Gallup basically measures, um, fear of crime,

Len Sipes:

perceptions of crime throughout the world.

Len Sipes:

And we are not even close to being one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

Len Sipes:

Not even close.

Len Sipes:

I mean, we've got Central America.

Len Sipes:

Um.

Len Sipes:

South America, um, South Africa, um, you know, they're

Len Sipes:

blowing up in terms of crime.

Len Sipes:

Uh, the situation in terms of Mexico and, and the other countries that

Len Sipes:

I just mentioned, uh, far outstrip what's going on in the United States.

Len Sipes:

Now when it comes down to trust in law enforcement.

Len Sipes:

Let me be clear, um, they, they said North American law

Len Sipes:

enforcement, which includes Canada.

Len Sipes:

That the highest rated, most trusted law enforcement agencies in the country

Len Sipes:

are from North America and being we far outstrip in terms of population,

Len Sipes:

um, uh, compared to Canada, that means they're talking about the United States.

Len Sipes:

The research in terms of the support of law enforcement, it doesn't, regardless

Len Sipes:

of your demographics, the vast majority of Americans support law enforcement.

Len Sipes:

The vast majority of Americans support law enforcement and one law

Len Sipes:

enforcement in their communities.

Len Sipes:

There are differences based upon race, income, where you live, blah, blah, blah.

Len Sipes:

Um, so law enforcement receives a lot of support from the United States.

Len Sipes:

And so summarize, you know, we are the highest rated, uh, law enforcement

Len Sipes:

in, in the world as far as I'm concerned, and we're certainly don't

Len Sipes:

even, we don't even come close to being the most dangerous country.

Craig Floyd:

That reinforces my view of law enforcement in America.

Craig Floyd:

The, the best in the world, the best historically in the world.

Craig Floyd:

Mm-hmm.

Craig Floyd:

And, um, you know, if we had more cops and if we give them the resources they

Craig Floyd:

need to do their job, uh, I, I think this country's gonna be in really good shape.

Craig Floyd:

And that's what we're striving for at Citizens Behind the Badge.

Craig Floyd:

Give our law enforcement officers the resources they need to

Craig Floyd:

keep America safe and give them the respect that they deserve.

Craig Floyd:

The appreciation, the thanks so that they continue to wanna go out and

Craig Floyd:

risk their lives for our safety.

Craig Floyd:

Last question I had, um, I, I've been reading this from

Craig Floyd:

you for a couple years now.

Craig Floyd:

I think you've reported that there are 120 million porch

Craig Floyd:

package thefts in this country.

Craig Floyd:

And, and I know all of us are getting deliveries every day from

Craig Floyd:

Amazon and, uh, UPS, et cetera.

Craig Floyd:

Um, that's a staggering statistic.

Craig Floyd:

Sure is.

Craig Floyd:

Do I have that right?

Craig Floyd:

120 million packages stolen every.

Len Sipes:

Well, yeah, but it gets, again, it gets down to crime

Len Sipes:

statistics and it would take hours to to, to fully address everything.

Len Sipes:

But if you take a look at porch Pirates, if you take a look at the

Len Sipes:

FBI's latest data in terms of losses, um, from, um, identity theft, which

Len Sipes:

are up 33%, the, the losses are up 33%.

Len Sipes:

Uh, if you take a look at a variety of indices um, cargo theft comes

Len Sipes:

to mind, shoplifting comes to mind retail theft comes to mind.

Len Sipes:

They're all up dramatically yet you take a look at the FBI's violent

Len Sipes:

crime report, they're all down.

Len Sipes:

So, so, so, again, you, you, you, there's, there's, you know, I could

Len Sipes:

go on endlessly about this stuff.

Len Sipes:

Um, my, my concern is, is that we have politicians who are using the crime drop.

Len Sipes:

And, and by the way, this is something that I've been saying to my friends in,

Len Sipes:

in law enforcement and law enforcement organizations, uh, there are people

Len Sipes:

out there who are trying to make the case, look you're way down in law

Len Sipes:

enforcement, yet crimes are plummeting.

Len Sipes:

So cops don't mean anything.

Len Sipes:

Um, cops are irrelevant.

Len Sipes:

And I've been trying to say we need to be very proactive on the part of

Len Sipes:

the organizations that represent law enforcement to make sure that they

Len Sipes:

understand the statistics, uh, the point that you're trying to make it's

Len Sipes:

completely irrelevant um, based upon a wide variety of data, but yet that's

Len Sipes:

the point that they're trying to make.

Len Sipes:

So not only is this an attack on crime statistics, it's it's an attack

Len Sipes:

on law enforcement across the board.

Len Sipes:

That's why I go back constantly to the National Academy of Sciences report.

Len Sipes:

Um, basically saying it's the only modality we have, um, in terms of

Len Sipes:

reducing crime in the United States.

Len Sipes:

And so the data is with me, but nobody seems to understand the data.

Dennis Collins:

The data's got to be out there for it to

Dennis Collins:

have an effect, doesn't it?

Dennis Collins:

You, you had some, uh, in closing, I wanna ask you a couple questions.

Dennis Collins:

Uh, uh, number one, CrimeInAmerica.net, that is how we find you, right, Len?

Len Sipes:

Yes.

Len Sipes:

Crime in america.net.

Dennis Collins:

And if somebody wants to reach out and get in touch with you Uh,

Dennis Collins:

they can get it through that website.

Len Sipes:

They can get My email address is on the, the about page on my website.

Dennis Collins:

Okay.

Dennis Collins:

So the about page will bring you to Len.

Dennis Collins:

Right.

Dennis Collins:

I wanna ask you about, you said there are some very clear statistics about

Dennis Collins:

uh, what is it when crime goes down?

Dennis Collins:

It's pro the proactivity of the police.

Dennis Collins:

Did I hear you say that right?

Len Sipes:

Yeah.

Len Sipes:

I mean, you know, so, so you have the mayors of Chicago and

Len Sipes:

Baltimore basically, uh, dismissing the law enforcement activities.

Len Sipes:

They're basically saying social programs and violence interrupters.

Len Sipes:

There's no data whatsoever to support that.

Len Sipes:

Now that's, I'm not saying don't do violence interrupters, of course, I'm

Len Sipes:

not saying don't do social programs.

Len Sipes:

There's no data on it.

Len Sipes:

I'm simply saying that at the moment, in terms of good, solid research, it's been

Len Sipes:

replicated, um, and put into other cities, um, to prove it, that doesn't exist.

Dennis Collins:

And so, but there are stats on the other side

Dennis Collins:

saying that proactive police is the reason when crime is reduced,

Dennis Collins:

there are stats for that, correct?

Len Sipes:

Yes.

Len Sipes:

Um, but you know, now the authors will basically say that it, it, it reduces

Len Sipes:

crime we're not quite sure how much by how much that becomes the caveat.

Dennis Collins:

But big picture, it reduces crime.

Len Sipes:

Yeah.

Len Sipes:

And, and it's the only modality that we have at the moment.

Len Sipes:

That says it reduces crime.

Len Sipes:

That's.

Bill Erfurth:

Well, it isn't it almost common sense, like if you're a toddler, if

Bill Erfurth:

you're a child and you know that if you do something, you're going to get disciplined

Bill Erfurth:

for it, eventually you stop doing it.

Bill Erfurth:

Yes.

Bill Erfurth:

I mean, normally, uh, if you don't get caught, you just keep doing it.

Bill Erfurth:

It's kind of like you're empowered to continue to do that, that

Bill Erfurth:

that starts from childhood.

Bill Erfurth:

If you're a criminal, if you're some low life scumbag and you're out

Bill Erfurth:

there doing your thing and nobody's ever arresting you, or there's no

Bill Erfurth:

proactive activity and you're not getting locked up, you're empowered.

Bill Erfurth:

You just keep doing it and doing it and doing it.

Len Sipes:

It, it's, it's, you take it a look at recidivism,

Len Sipes:

statistics, they're through the roof.

Len Sipes:

Over the course of a 10 year period, I'm, I'm now going to guess it's

Len Sipes:

about 85% coming back to the criminal justice system through an arrest

Len Sipes:

and it's about 60% re-incarcerated.

Len Sipes:

Um, these are people coming out of the prison system.

Len Sipes:

The parole and probation statistics are rather old, but it's still

Len Sipes:

around 40% for in terms of parole and probation, higher, depending upon

Len Sipes:

the other things that you look at.

Len Sipes:

We have a problem of non accountability.

Len Sipes:

Um, you know, the, the, the Department of Justice documents all this stuff

Len Sipes:

about millions of crimes being committed by people who have gone

Len Sipes:

to prison, millions of crimes.

Len Sipes:

Um, this stuff is well documented again by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Len Sipes:

Um, so we have a problem.

Len Sipes:

We have a problem in terms of making sure that people are held uh, accountable.

Len Sipes:

Yes.

Len Sipes:

Uh, in terms of the tragic stabbing of, of the, a lady, a young lady from

Len Sipes:

Ukraine, that's just another example, um, of, of the system out of hand.

Len Sipes:

Where there are 15 arrests and I, and I think it was, uh, Paul, who, uh,

Len Sipes:

suggested that, uh, you know, it's not 15, it's just the 15 he's been called for.

Dennis Collins:

That's right.

Dennis Collins:

Yeah.

Dennis Collins:

Len Sipes, you have been very, very generous, uh, with your time and

Dennis Collins:

most importantly, your expertise.

Dennis Collins:

Uh, we have not had a guest like you on this podcast.

Dennis Collins:

We should do this more often.

Len Sipes:

Oh, I, I'd love to do it.

Dennis Collins:

This is really at the heart of the problem.

Dennis Collins:

I think it, it's the way the information is being uh, managed the way it's being

Dennis Collins:

disseminated and unfortunately, just like we do in Heroes Behind the Badge and

Dennis Collins:

Citizens Behind the Badge, it's incorrect and we're here to help correct that.

Dennis Collins:

And you are a big part of that today.

Dennis Collins:

Thank you.

Len Sipes:

We need to support law enforcement.

Len Sipes:

We need to understand that the overwhelming majority of the men

Len Sipes:

and the women in law enforcement are decent human beings who just want to

Len Sipes:

go home at the end of their shift.

Len Sipes:

Absolutely.

Len Sipes:

And, and, and until we come to that conclusion, until we understand that our

Len Sipes:

support of law enforcement is absolutely crucial, and I would not be saying this

Len Sipes:

if I didn't believe it, um, it, it's the average American agrees with me in terms

Len Sipes:

of how they feel about law enforcement.

Len Sipes:

Law enforcement themselves, the individual police officers need to

Len Sipes:

understand that the average person in this country is staunchly behind them.

Len Sipes:

Yeah, so there are detractors.

Len Sipes:

The detractors will always be there always, but law enforcement

Len Sipes:

is supported and it's, they're supported for a good reason.

Dennis Collins:

Which is a good segue to our audience,

Dennis Collins:

to our listeners and viewers.

Dennis Collins:

A reminder that the Heroes Behind the Badge podcast that you just

Dennis Collins:

listened to with Len Sipes is brought to you by Citizens Behind the Badge.

Dennis Collins:

Dot org.

Dennis Collins:

Dot org.

Dennis Collins:

You can reach us at CitizensBehindTheBadge.org.

Dennis Collins:

If you like this podcast, can I ask you a favor?

Dennis Collins:

If you like something that Len said, and boy he gave us a lot to

Dennis Collins:

like hit subscribe, hit follow, hit like, and then you'll be part of the

Dennis Collins:

family and you'll get to know first when new episodes release, and we

Dennis Collins:

already are planning new episodes.

Dennis Collins:

Even, I know as good as this is, we're gonna try to get somebody as good

Dennis Collins:

or better than Len on here for you.

Dennis Collins:

So again, we're signing off for this edition of Heroes Behind the Badge on

Dennis Collins:

behalf of uh, Billy Erfurth and Craig Floyd, this is Dennis Collins saying

Dennis Collins:

we'll see you next time and thanks, Len.

Len Sipes:

My pleasure.

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About the Podcast

Heroes Behind the Badge
We tell REAL stories about REAL cops.  And we expose the fake news about police and give you the REAL truth.
From the front lines to the final call, Heroes Behind the Badge brings you the untold stories of America's law enforcement community. Led by Craig Floyd, who spent 34 years working alongside police officers across the nation, alongside veteran facilitator Dennis Collins and law enforcement expert Bill Erfurth, this podcast cuts through misconceptions to reveal the true nature of modern policing.

Our dynamic trio brings unique perspectives to each episode: Craig shares deep insights from his decades of experience and relationships within law enforcement, Dennis guides conversations with meticulous research and natural flow, and Bill adds engaging commentary that makes complex law enforcement topics accessible to all listeners.

Each episode features in-depth conversations with law enforcement professionals, sharing their firsthand experiences, challenges, and triumphs. Drawing from extensive research and real-world experience, we explore the realities faced by the over 800,000 officers who serve and protect our communities every day.

From dramatic accounts of crisis response to quiet moments of everyday heroism, our show illuminates the human stories behind the badge. We dive deep into the statistics, policies, and practices that shape modern law enforcement, offering listeners a comprehensive understanding of what it truly means to serve in law enforcement today.

Whether you're a law enforcement professional, a concerned citizen, or someone seeking to understand the complexities of modern policing, Heroes Behind the Badge provides the context, insights, and authentic perspectives you won't find anywhere else. Join us weekly as we honor those who dedicate their lives to keeping our communities safe, one story at a time.

Presented by Citizens Behind the Badge, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advocating for law enforcement professionals across the United States. Join over 126,000 Americans who have already signed our Declaration of Support for law enforcement at behindbadge.org.