The question has been asked at least since Roman times: "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Who guards the guardians? During the 1970s, the answer in New York City was, apparently, "no one." Many of its members took bribes, ran protection rackets, and consorted with criminals. That changed when cops like Frank Serpico and a panel called the Knapp Commission exposed the wrongdoing and ushered in new measures to keep cops from sullying their badges. Amid today's era of protests about policing, what should we know about the cop scandals of the 70s and the way New York City responded?

To help us answer that question, we have Bernard Whalen, an active NYPD lieutenant as a private citizen and the author of a history of the early NYPD, Professor Eli Silverman, an expert on policing policy at John Jay College, and Leonard Levitt, veteran cops reporter who runs the NYPD Confidential site.

bjwhalen.com
johnjay.jjay.cuny.edu
nypdconfidential.com
@LenLevitt
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