8 Things They Almost Always Get Wrong in Police TV Shows

three police cars following a suspect car

 

Police TV shows are full of wild high-speed pursuits, tense hostage situations and dramatic last-minute courtroom twists. While these exciting made-for-TV moments might have you reaching for the popcorn, they’re often at odds with the day-to-day work of police officers.

Though it’s understandable that liberties are taken to keep things compelling on-screen, it’s good to separate fact from fiction. We asked criminal justice pros to weigh in and help identify the things that police TV shows regularly get wrong. Join us as we set the record straight.

8 Myths about the job you’ll find in police TV shows

Television is chock-full of fantastically entertaining but wildly inaccurate portrayals of police work. Here are a few of our favorite police show inaccuracies and what makes them stand out as wrong.

1. Police work is all action, all the time

When watching serialized TV shows, it’s easy to get the impression that a police officer’s life is a steady stream of tense standoffs, rushing to crime scenes and making investigative breakthroughs. But the reality is that the vast majority of police work would lead to some pretty lousy ratings.

“They make it seem like police officers are regularly getting into shootouts with bad guys, but in my 33 years of police work that never once happened,” says Brian McKenna, retired lieutenant and tactical instructor. 

Obviously, police work has its exciting moments, but those are typically few and far between. While things can vary depending on the unit an officer works on, most in law enforcement spend much more time completing paperwork, making routine traffic stops and assisting the public.

2. There are arguments over whose case it is

You see it all the time in police TV shows—detectives hot on the trail of a suspect only to get tangled up in a dispute with a “rival” law enforcement agency. Sparks fly and tension rises as both sides jockey for the chance to bust the bad guy. 

In reality, this situation almost never happens. Law enforcement agencies generally work very well together, and the idea of officers getting into a heated dispute is laughable, according to McKenna. Any major incident or arrest comes with not only the potential for danger, but a sizable amount of documentation and follow-up work.

“I always get a kick out of that—it’s like watching people fight over who wants to spend all night doing paperwork,” McKenna says.

3. “Commando cops” exist

Most viewers rarely bat an eye at it, but often TV police officers are portrayed as incredible action heroes. They’re regularly bursting into full-speed sprints where they easily catch up with suspects, effortlessly hopping five fences in a row and shooting out the tires of a speeding vehicle.

“I don’t think even a Navy SEAL or other Special Forces member could do all of these things, and they spend a lot more of their time training for it,” McKenna says. “The public tends to forget we’re human, too.”

The list of seemingly superhuman abilities goes on and on for TV police officers, but obviously this doesn’t really square with reality. Officers clearly have more training and expertise for handling these situations than most, but they’re still regular people with regular limitations.

“We can’t shoot a gun out of people’s hands or hit people in the leg to stop them—our equipment and training isn’t designed for that,” McKenna explains.

4. “The lab” will always figure it out

On television, you’ll often see our intrepid detective heroes round up a collection of evidence to be sent to “the lab.” In these scenes, they’ll (easily) find a few stray hairs, a smattering of blood and a spent ammunition casing that will all be analyzed—with a lot of unseen science—and quickly returned to the detectives for immediate leads to follow.

Much like the aforementioned commando cops, the people collecting evidence and working in forensics labs tend to suffer from superhero expectations. But these labs often don’t have a Bruce Wayne budget, and departments with strained resources have to prioritize their work. 

“They make it look like these labs can take on every case,” McKenna says. “But the truth is that unless you have a pretty serious crime, a lot of departments aren’t going to be able to do much processing.”

Another issue with popular depictions of forensic lab work is the amount of time it takes to actually get things done. McKenna says that until very recently, processing DNA evidence would take a matter of weeks or even months—a far cry from TV turnaround times that seem like a matter of hours.

5. Intense action can be quickly brushed off

You’ve already heard how TV shows wildly embellish how often law enforcement officers get into shootouts or other dangerous situations. But it’s not just that—these shows also often do a poor job of showing how those experiences affect officers. After a shootout or fight, often these shows make it seem like officers are just hopping back into their patrol cars and going back to their regular work—and that’s definitely not the case. Life and death situations are as serious as it gets and can take a toll on officers, no matter the outcome.

“They never really show how these situations affect officers,” McKenna says. “Most officers involved in a shooting experience severe mental trauma from the event and they don’t often show them being scared or rattled.”

Depending on the scenario, departments may require an officer to take leave or undergo counseling to help with processing what happened.

6. Crime scene processing is unregulated

Depictions of crime scenes in police TV shows tend to have substantial issues. One common issue is the sheer number of people shown in and around a crime scene. 

“Often on TV they’ve got detectives and uniformed officers wandering all over,” McKenna says. “The truth of the matter is that once a crime scene is secured nobody should be out walking through it—even a detective shouldn’t be in there if they’re not there to process the scene.”

McKenna says that while there may be multiple detectives processing a crime scene, they do everything they can to stay out of each other’s work space to avoid contamination issues.

7. Detectives can lead the SWAT team

This oddity of TV police work has been played out 100 times. Hot on the trail of a case, detectives learn their prime suspect is holed up in an old warehouse. They rush to the scene, strap on a bulletproof vest and come storming in directly behind the SWAT team who’ve broken down a door. After all, the detective character is the hero—why wouldn’t they be front and center at all times?

McKenna says that this depiction is just plain false. SWAT teams undergo a lot of specialized training, and when entering a building their movements are practically choreographed. Throwing an untrained detective into this intricately rehearsed operation would just make an already dangerous situation far worse.

8. Resolutions are tidy

“Far more crimes go unpunished than are cleared,” McKenna admits. “And even if you’re able to make an arrest, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get a conviction.”

In a show like “Law & Order,” viewers tend to see criminal investigations run their course and find relatively clean resolutions—an eyewitness saw the event, conclusive DNA evidence is found or, even better, the accused breaks down and confesses in a dramatic courtroom scene. While these shows do sometimes show the accused winning in trial, the fact that they even get to trial alone is a big step. The reality is that a large portion of crimes committed are essentially unsolvable as leads dry up.

Are you cut out for the real thing?

We all know movies and TV are meant to entertain, and police TV shows are no different. While many of these inaccuracies come from the understandable place of keeping a story moving along and focused on central characters, they can also lead to some strange expectations of what police work is really like. Though the work might not live up to the expectations some might have from watching TV, McKenna says that shouldn’t deter people from a job he’s found to be extremely rewarding.

“If there’s one thing I miss about being a cop, it’s that feeling of being needed—and the ability to be someone’s hero in those moments,” McKenna shares.

If this sentiment appeals to you, you may be considering a career in law enforcement yourself. For a better understanding of whether you have what it takes to serve, check out our article, “The No-Nonsense Guide to What Makes a Good Police Officer.”

About the author

Will Erstad

Will is a Sr. Content Specialist at Collegis Education. He researches and writes student-focused articles on a variety of topics for Rasmussen University. He is passionate about learning and enjoys writing engaging content to help current and future students on their path to a rewarding education.

writer

Related Content

Related Content

This piece of ad content was created by Rasmussen University to support its educational programs. Rasmussen University may not prepare students for all positions featured within this content. Please visit www.rasmussen.edu/degrees for a list of programs offered. External links provided on rasmussen.edu are for reference only. Rasmussen University does not guarantee, approve, control, or specifically endorse the information or products available on websites linked to, and is not endorsed by website owners, authors and/or organizations referenced. Rasmussen University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

logo-accreditation-acen logo-accreditation-ccne chart-credential-laddering-associates-bachelors-masters 0 Credits 90 Credits 180 Credits 48 Credits Start Here HIGH SCHOOL GRADS Start Here TRANSFER STUDENTS Start Here SECOND DEGREE PURSUERS End Here ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE Start Here MASTER'S DEGREE PURSUERS End Here BACHELOR'S DEGREE End Here MASTER'S DEGREE chart-credential-laddering-associates-bachelors 0 Credits Start Here HIGH SCHOOL GRADS Start Here TRANSFER STUDENTS 90 Credits Start Here SECOND DEGREE PURSUERS End Here ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE 180 Credits End Here BACHELOR'S DEGREE chart-credential-laddering-msn chart-credential-laddering-nursing-programs chart-credential-laddering-post-grad-np chart-credential-laddering-nursing DNP MSN RN to BSN LPN to RN Bridge Accelerated BSN Professional Nursing ADN Practical Nursing Diploma Pre-Licensure Post-Licensure icon-colored-outline-bank icon-colored-outline-certificate icon-colored-outline-circle-dollar-sign icon-colored-outline-folder-search icon-colored-outline-hand-heart icon-colored-outline-head-blocks icon-colored-outline-head-cog icon-colored-outline-head-heart icon-colored-outline-health-plus-leaves icon-colored-outline-hospital icon-colored-outline-lifelong-learning icon-colored-outline-light-bulb-analytics icon-colored-outline-location-pin icon-colored-outline-magnifying-glass icon-colored-outline-monitor-healthcare icon-colored-outline-monitor-paper-search icon-colored-outline-nurse-rays icon-colored-outline-padlock-shield icon-colored-outline-person-presenter-screen icon-colored-outline-scales ras-logo-flame ras-logo-horizontal ras-logo-stacked icon-colored-advance icon-colored-arrows-cross-curve icon-colored-briefcase-star icon-colored-build icon-colored-bulb-analytics icon-colored-certificate icon-colored-continual-development icon-colored-duo-chatbox icon-colored-folder-mortarboard icon-colored-forward-ribbon icon-colored-gears-clock icon-colored-globe-pen icon-colored-growth icon-colored-hand-bubble icon-colored-hand-stars icon-colored-hands-gear icon-colored-head-blocks icon-colored-head-cog icon-colored-health-plus-leaves icon-colored-hospital-building icon-colored-laptop-cbe-skyscraper icon-colored-laptop-checkmark icon-colored-laptop-webpage icon-colored-location-map icon-colored-location-pin icon-colored-monitor-paper-scan icon-colored-mortarboard-dollar icon-colored-national icon-colored-people-chat-bubbles icon-colored-person-cheer-star icon-colored-person-laptop-checkboxes icon-colored-person-screen-instructor icon-colored-person-whiteboard icon-colored-phone-chatbox icon-colored-police-light icon-colored-prep icon-colored-presenter icon-colored-regional icon-colored-save-time icon-colored-shirt-hat icon-colored-skyscraper icon-colored-state icon-colored-student-centered icon-colored-support icon-colored-world-experience icon-triangle-arrow-up-plant icon-triangle-calendar-pencil icon-triangle-clock-rotating-arrows icon-triangle-display-gears icon-triangle-hand-right-speech-bubble icon-triangle-laptop-coding-brackets icon-triangle-mortarboard icon-triangle-paper-ribbon icon-triangle-person-cheer-star icon-triangle-person-juggle icon-triangle-triple-people-chat-bubble icon-modality-campus icon-modality-field icon-modality-online icon-modality-residential icon-arrow icon-bank icon-camera icon-filter icon-general-chart icon-general-connect icon-general-degree icon-general-discuss icon-general-email icon-general-find icon-general-hat icon-general-heart icon-general-laptop-building icon-general-laptop icon-general-leader icon-general-map icon-general-money icon-general-paperwork icon-general-people icon-general-phone icon-general-speak-out icon-head-heart icon-info-circle icon-mail-forward icon-mglass icon-play-solid icon-quote-mark-left icon-quote-mark-right icon-scales icon-share-square-o icon-simple-chat icon-simple-desktop icon-simple-find icon-simple-hamburger icon-simple-phone icon-spinner icon-tag icon-testimonial-quotes icon-util-checkbox-white icon-util-checkbox icon-util-checked-white icon-util-checked icon-util-chevron-down icon-util-chevron-left icon-util-chevron-right icon-util-chevron-up icon-util-circle-arrow-down icon-util-circle-dot icon-util-language-switch icon-util-loading icon-util-open-window-link icon-util-pdf-link icon-util-refresh icon-util-x rebrand-arrows icon-social-facebook-colored icon-social-facebook-square-colored icon-social-facebook-square icon-social-facebook icon-social-google-plus-square icon-social-google-plus icon-social-instagram-colored icon-social-instagram icon-social-linkedin-square-colored icon-social-linkedin-square icon-social-linkedin icon-social-pinterest-p-colored icon-social-pinterest-p icon-social-twitter-colored icon-social-twitter-square icon-social-twitter icon-social-youtube-play-colored icon-social-youtube-play graduate-cap-star-coin hand-coin hand-heart nurse-stethoscope-rays card-send-smile person-yoga-pose suitcase-star