CBS Television Studios Teams with 21CP Solutions to Advise Its Police and Legal Dramas

CBS Television Studios has signed an exclusive agreement with 21CP Solutions, the country’s preeminent law enforcement and public safety advisory group, to consult with the writing teams on their police, crime, and legal drama series. The group of advisers will be comprised of former senior law enforcement officials, civil rights scholars, lawyers, academics, and community thought leaders in police reform and public safety.

21CP Solutions is a diverse and seasoned group of professionals who have worked with local, state, and federal jurisdictions and communities to advance 21st century policing and lead some of the most significant police reform efforts in the country.

“Police and legal series have been a mainstay of the Studio’s roster and the Network’s schedule for decades,” said David Stapf, President, CBS Television Studios. “We have an opportunity to build on that successful foundation going forward, and having the insightful and highly respected advisors from 21CP Solutions at our disposal is a valuable resource to our creative process.”

“Providing our writing staffs with the best and most knowledgeable technical advisers offers more inclusivity and perspective,” said Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i, Executive Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion, ViacomCBS. “With deeper and richer narratives, our shows can convey experiences that are more authentic to the communities they depict.”

“I applaud CBS Studios for recognizing the impact its police and legal series have on the relationship between police and the communities they serve and on public perceptions on law enforcement, crime and race,” said Ronald Davis, Partner, 21CP Solutions, LLC. “The CBS and 21CP Solutions partnership is a first-of-its kind effort that will provide CBS and its writers with technical advice, based on the historical and current truths and realities of policing, as well as contemporary efforts to transform policing and reimagine public safety.”

“We are very excited that CBS Studios has formed an alliance with 21CP Solutions in order to provide our shows with access to their wealth of experience and resources,” said R. Scott Gemmill, showrunner and executive producer of NCIS: LOS ANGELES. “Having an audience of millions of viewers each week comes with a great deal of responsibility. This new partnership will help us ensure that our storytelling continues to produce accurate portrayals of law enforcement, and will hopefully allow us to play a small part in the ongoing reform moving forward.”

The team working with CBS is headed by Mr. Davis, who served in the Obama administration as the director of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) from 2013 to 2017. Under him, the COPS Office was responsible for advancing community policing nationwide and managing over $1.2 billion in federal grants to support community policing activities for approximately 16,000 local, state and tribal law enforcement agencies. In December 2014, President Obama appointed Director Davis to serve as the executive director of the president’s task force on 21st century policing. Prior to serving as COPS director, Davis had a distinguished career in law enforcement serving over eight years as chief of police of East Palo Alto (Calif.) and 20 years with the Oakland (Calif.) Police Department.

In addition to Mr. Davis, the 21CP team working with CBS includes:

· Laurie Robinson, the Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University. Professor Robinson served in both the Clinton and Obama administrations as assistant attorney general for the United States Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.

· Matthew Barge, a legal scholar specializing in police practices and civil rights and who has served as a federal court monitor overseeing police reform consent decrees across the country.

· Roberto Villaseñor, who served for 35 years with the Tucson Police Department, including six years as chief of the department from 2009 until his retirement in 2015. Chief Villasenor was appointed by President Obama to serve as a member of the President’s task force on 21st century policing.

· Annette Sikka, who was previously responsible for police monitoring, training and assisting with the operational policy development in Kosovo for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the United Nations. While there, she developed a policy around first response and coordination for gender-based violence incidents.

· Brian Maxey, an attorney with extensive experience in police management, and the former COO of the Seattle Police Department.

The 21CP Solutions partnership marks CBS’ latest effort to bring more inclusive voices to the creative process. It joins CBS Studios’ recently announced partnership with the NAACP to develop and produce scripted, unscripted and documentary content for linear television networks and streaming platforms, and CBS Entertainment’s public commitments to increase BIPOC representation in its writers’ rooms to a minimum of 40% in the 2021-2022 season, as well as immediately allocating at least 25% of the program development budget for creators/producers who are people of color.