Watching episodes of the reality TV show COPS would help viewers are interested in learning about the criminal justice system, people who might think about being a police officer in the near future, and those that just want something interesting to watch on a Friday night. You’ll be amazed by some of the events that average U.S citizens take part in everyday. For example drug possession, local fights, disturbing the peace, running away from the law, and many more thrill rising activities. The past few times that I personally viewed the show, it never crossed my mind on how they were always able to find the exact location of where the illegal activity was being conducted. Police scanners and radios can’t be the only things helping these police officers in their course of work.
This just shows all of us how much our technology has advanced since the 1900’s. The average viewer of the show COPS would say that it resembles some detective type traits. They might also include that the show is an example of what Steven Johnson was trying to address in his passage “watching TV makes you smarter” (found on page 227-294). First, the show usually begins with a police officer driving in the cop car, while taking a small interview with the person filming the camera. Then they respond to a call from their radio scanner, and rush there as fast as possible.
When the officer reaches their destination, they thoroughly search the area while being filmed on camera. More tension and excitement gets added when they find a possible suspect within the area. Normally the suspect might get nervous when confronted by the cop so they choose to do two things. The first option is to stand there scared, tell a story to the cop, and then possibly get detained for a couple of minutes, so that they can ask you further questions. Reactions from somebody who isn’t thinking straight that day will most likely include a lot of running from the police officer, resisting arrest, or trying to get away in a car.
But like stated before, those who are interested in the criminal justice system should consider watching COPS once in awhile. No one should think that the work an officer does wasn’t taught to them through a higher power of justice. When you watch this show, something you’ll definitely observe is the way they search any suspect that might be thought of as “dangerous”. They do this in a manner to look and get rid of any material that will be harmful to them. The reciting of a person’s rights if they get detained and put into custody was also something that the officers learned from the law of justice.
The art of what these police officers do can draw attention from the minds of young viewers. Sometimes, the impact of the show is so big they consider being a cop in the near future. They’ve probably already wondered what they do for their profession, so filming them 24/7 while they arrest people is the best way to show them. Slowly the viewer will understand things on how to properly detain a suspect, read them their rights, properly and carefully search the area, and many more things that come in the job description of a cop.
Lastly, someone who just came from a long day of work and wants to watch something interesting should change the channel to this station. Who wouldn’t want to watch everyday citizens like us, make stupid decisions, get chased down by the police, and put in handcuffs? Some would probably say “better them than me” and that’s one of the reasons why people are attracted to COPS so much. There’s nothing boring about the show, you’ll always find a twist in the case they were called to, and you get to watch car chases from the dashboard or the person filming the camera. The show COPS should definitely be a favorite for every viewer of TV.
WORKS CITED
Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.
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