Policing And Policing

In this article, written by D.M Soulliere, a professor at the University of Windsor, research is carried out to figure out how policing in television shows compares to policing in real life.

a) Citation

Soulliere, D. M. (2004). Policing on Prime-Time: A Comparison of Television and Real-World Policing. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 28(2), 215-233. doi:10.1007/bf02885873

b) This article asked the questions

How are police and policing activities depicted on prime time television? How do these presentations compare to how policing and policing activities really are? How are these portrayals distorted? What is the effect of any possible distortions?

c) To answer these questions, the researcher

Chose three popular television series

Gender and Race of Officers

- In all three shows, policing was shown as being a predominately white male occupation. This is in line with how the occupation really is. As such, this depiction should not distort a person’s idea of who they expect officers to be.

b. Organization and Specialization

- In the two entertainment based shows, viewers were shown that police do not work alone, that there are others involved in investigations (detectives, paramedics and so on and so forth). Viewers of these shows are given a fairly realistic portrayal of the environment of policing. - In the reality based show, COPS, viewers were only shown the initial patrol stages, so there are few portrayals of support personnel. Viewers of these shows are less likely to fully understand the nature of real life policing.

c. Police Response to Crime and Overall Role

- Both shows portray policing as having more of a reactive approach to crime (not unlike the real world). However, In Law and Order and NYPD Blue, offenders always left the scene before the police arrived- leading police on a wild goose chase to identify and find the offender. The researcher stated that, although this added to the dramatic effect of the show, it is not far off from what really does happen in policing. COPS, on the other hand showed that offenders were always found near or at the scene- something that rarely, if ever,

Huey, L. (2010). 'I 've seen this on CSI ': Criminal investigators ' perceptions about the management of public expectations in the field. Crime Media Culture, 6(49), 49-68. doi:10.1177/1741659010363045

b) The research question asked in this article.

What is the influence of CSI and other forensic/police procedural shows on public perception of the investigative process? How do police investigative personnel view media representations of their work?

i. Do they believe they have a negative or positive influence?

Is there a sense of role strain on these officers because of these shows?

c) To find the answers, the researchers

a. Interviewed thirty-one Canadian police investigators

i. Contacted personnel in British Columbia and Ontario

1. Seven municipal/regional police units representing two major Canadian cities (and several medium-sized communities) participated in the study.

b. The interviewees were split into two groups for the study: Police investigators and Forensic Identification officers.

i. These groups consisted of

1. Major Crimes Investigators

2. Homicide Investigators

3. Sex Crimes Investigators

4. Property Crimes Investigators

5. Forensic Identification Officers ii. Interviews lasted anywhere between 1-2 hours (average was 1.5