History Main / PerpWalk

Cue the [[HumiliationConga walk of shame]], i.e. the Perp Walk, to the police car, past a group of onlookers that may include family, friends, enemies, or [[MediaScrum the media]]. In Fiction Land, this is often done in SloMo, and poses a much more significant risk for a VigilanteExecution than in RealLife. In some places (like Japan, for instance), the suspect is often offered the "dignity" of a cloth covering their cuffed hands and underaged suspects' faces are blacked out; in America, only shows like ''Series/{{Cops}}'' will blur suspects' faces (to avoid any possible jury pool poisoning), but any objects covering hands and/or faces are generally self-provided.

* Let's not forget the one that backfired, of Domnique Strauss-Kahn. Thanks to ValuesDissonance, people in his native France were furious he was being paraded in front of the cameras before being proven guilty.

* In ''Film/{{SWAT}}'', the bad guy yells out a reward of one hundred million dollars to the person that frees him as he walks to the police station, setting up the story in the rest of the film.

* ''Literature/TheUntouchables'' by Creator/OscarFraley. When UsefulNotes/AlCapone is led off to prison, he's handcuffed to a small-time crook who tries to put on his coat only to be berated by Capone, who tells him to place the coat over the cuffs instead to hide them. Capone himself struts before the army of news photographers without trying to cover his face, noting proudly: "You'd think Mussolini was coming through!"

** The show and its spinoffs most often feature the "Up (or Down) the Courthouse Steps" version, and is the number one cause of KarmicDeath for a perp who has otherwise escaped the long arm of the law. If said PerpWalk occurs before the half-hour mark, a VigilanteExecution is ''guaranteed''. One exception occurs in a Season 14 episode. The perp doesn't get shot, but [[spoiler: one of the detectives does]].

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* An InvokedTrope in ''Film/TheBatman2022''. Batman arrests Carmine Falcone and walks him through his own nightclub to the army of Gotham police outside. Falcone is DefiantToTheEnd, mocking the idea that he might break down in fear and reveal secrets, [[spoiler:but it turns out the Riddler has been [[BatmanGambit anticipating this all along and is waiting to snipe Falcone once he's brought out into the open.]]

* ''Film/ThePaper'': Two black kids are arrested for the murders of two wealthy busienssmen, and all the media outlets in town are involved in a MediaScrum to try to get a photo or video of them during the perp walk. As a result of the scrum nobody can get a good shot.

* Let's not forget the one that backfired, of Domnique Strauss-Kahn. Thanks to ValuesDissonance, people in his native France were furious he was being paraded before the cameras before being proven guilty.

* ''The Untouchables'' by Oscar Fraley. When UsefulNotes/AlCapone is led off to prison, he's handcuffed to a small-time crook who tries to put on his coat only to be berated by Capone, who tells him to place the coat over the cuffs instead to hide them. Capone himself struts before the army of news photographers without trying to cover his face, noting proudly: "You'd think Mussolini was coming through!"

** At the end of "Everest Was Also Conquered", Bodie and Doyle make a point of dragging a CorruptCorporateExecutive in handcuffs through a party being held by his favourite granddaughter, despite him begging them not to. He'd hired a hitman who killed several people including a fellow [=CI5=] agent, so they were not inclined to be merciful.

-->'''Turvey:''' Handcuffs? What are you...there's no need for handcuffs! Oh for pity's sake, my family is out there! My granddaughter...all her friends...please, take them off, I'm begging you! ''What kind of man are you?!''
-->'''Doyle:''' The kind of men who catch your kind of man.

* ''The Untouchables'' by Oscar Fraley. When UsefulNotes/AlCapone is led off to prison, he's handcuffed to a small time crook who tries to put on an overcoat only to be berated by Capone, who tells him to place the coat over the cuffs instead. Capone himself struts before the army of news photographers without trying to hide his face, noting proudly: "You'd think Mussolini was coming through!"

* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. At the end of "Everest Was Also Conquered", Bodie and Doyle make a point of dragging a CorruptCorporateExecutive in handcuffs through a party being held by his favourite granddaughter, despite him begging them not to. He'd hired a hitman who killed several people including a fellow [=CI5=] agent, so they were not inclined to be merciful.

* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'' when dogs at the pound pause as [[UnusualEuphemism "poor Nutsy's taking the long walk"]] (i.e., being led away to be euthanized), with the oblivious Nutsy skipping all the way.

* Mexican Federal Police shows off any cartel member or other significant criminal they arrest like a prize, giving them body armor if they see the target a danger of assassination.

* And then there's the one of Jerry Sandusky being led to jail ''after'' he was found guilty, through a crowd cheering the verdict.