Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office releases ‘The 902 Podcast’

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The popularity of podcasts has exploded, with topics ranging from true crime to pop culture.

In Lincoln, one law enforcement agency has kicked off its own in an effort to be more transparent.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office launched ‘The 902 Podcast’ last week. It’s produced out of LSO headquarters at the City County building.

Sheriff Terry Wagner and Captain John Vik are two of the voices you’ll hear on ‘The 902 Podcast,’ giving a glimpse of what exactly LSO does in keeping the public safe.

“A lot of the things that we do in law enforcement aren’t necessarily a a straightforward issue,” Captain Vik said. “There’s a lot of complexities. And so to fill in some of that gray area sometimes we need a format where we can talk about those in a longer format.”

The podcast is hosted by Sheriff Wagner who will be joined by command staff and special guests. It’s named after LSO’s radio call sign, which is 902, used as a part of a statewide radio system for law enforcement.

In the first episode, titled ‘Episode Zero,’ Vik, Wagner, and Chief Deputy Ben Houchin discussed how they ended up at LSO and what the sheriff’s office does.

“Part of this initial podcast was to just say, here’s where we’re at - similar to other law enforcement agencies, and here’s where we are distinctly different,” Sheriff Wagner said.

Capt. Vik said he got the idea to bring a podcast to LSO after attending the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.

“I’ve listened to podcasts before,” Capt. Vik said. “Never produced one or been a part of one. So this was something a little bit new for me.”

Going forward, Vik and Wagner said the podcast could cover topics like cases they’ve worked on, highlight specialized units, and tell the stories of those that work for LSO.

Capt. Vik said they plan to release episodes at least once a month. You can tune in anywhere you listen to podcasts.

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