Infotainment/Reality-based Programs.

Introduction

Casual survey of leading television programs has shown not only the current popularity of shows that feature criminal justice institutions and issues from investigation to judicial rulings . This has been in response to the public 's growing interest in criminal justice system particularly the process of investigation and forensic science (McKay One of the shows considered described as seminal to the genre is COPS which in November 2007 marked its 20th year of production (COPS . More than just a successful television program often referred to and parodied in other programs

, the show has become an American cultural icon . The show was developed by John Langley and Malcolm Barbour after the former documented police narcotic operations in Florida . Debuting in March 1989 , the show featured police officers conducting patrols investigation and arrests . The original format for the show was t feature the lives of police officers off the field but later Langley would opt for three self contained raw , without narration , music or scripts , segments that remains to be the show 's format until today

Social Constructions

By adopting its style of filming , the producers of the show are trying to project the authenticity of the footage . In fact in many cases footages documented through the show 's production have been used in judicial processes (The Official COPS Website . In the show , there is a strong suggestion of police as enforcers of the law or a delineating of officers against offenders . The show also has focused significantly on the operations of the police , particularly arrest and communication procedures . Though the show at times may seem exhaustive , there is limited exposure on how the police communicates or interacts with other branches of the criminal justice system . However , this is not necessarily to diminish the role rest of the criminal justice system but is mainly to focus on the operational activities of police officers

In this model , the police are used to represent the criminal justice system as a whole and though there are often references to prosecution and corrections , the main characters in the sequences are only the police officers . This represents the perception of the police as the arm of the law , dealing directly with offenders before any other element of criminal justice programs . Another persona of police officers that the series emphasizes is the action-oriented and physicality of police work Finally , there is a decidedly confrontational relationship with suspected offenders and the police . This is reinforced by the pseudo-martial operations often featured in the series

Analysis

COPS has premise of being a reality show : the implication is that it is presenting itself as an actual representation or documentary of actual police activities . The characterization of the police in the series is a common perception by the public (Bureau of Justice Assistance 7-9 However , there is also a wide disparity in this perception that the show does not acknowledge : the settings of the series were chosen for the content they could provide for the series . At the same time , though...