History Series / COPS

[[re direct:Series/Cops1989]]

[[redirect:Series/Cops1989]]

[[quoteright:228:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_cops_intertitle_2568.png]]
[[caption-width-right:228:"Cops is filmed on location with the men and women of law enforcement. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law."]]

->''"Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?"''
-->-- '''Inner Circle''', "Bad Boys" (the show's iconic theme song)

''COPS'' is a reality show that was "filmed on location with the men and women of law enforcement". It is arguably the most realistic RealityShow on television. There is absolutely no script and no narration outside of the opening credits; everything you see is real people in real situations.

''COPS'' was conceived when TV executive, Stephen Chao, having gotten a surprise hit on his hands by launching what would be the pilot of ''Series/AmericasMostWanted'', wanted to pitch another show about real crimes and law enforcement. He met with director and producer John Langley in 1987, who suggested an expansion on a concept he had already tested with his one-off special, ''American Vice: The Doping of a Nation'' in 1986, where he had convinced officials of the Broward County, Florida Sheriff's Department to allow cameras to accompany them on a previously-scheduled drug bust. The show eventually hit American TV screens in 1989, and much like ''Most Wanted'', it became an overnight sensation.

The basic premise is as follows: camera crews follow police officers in various cities as they go about their jobs. While your average police officer's job is generally mundane, ''COPS'' makes it look rather... well, not glamorous, but certainly more action-packed than usual. Chases, drug busts, a couple of prostitution busts, and the occasional WhatAnIdiot moment from several suspects.

''COPS'' deals with issues from basic domestic disturbances to neighborhood disputes and complaints; the camera crew, it should be noted, is wearing body armor, and in some cases, they're peace officers themselves. Occasionally, they get involved in the action -- one member of the camera crew in a particular episode was an off-duty sheriff's deputy, and had to drop the camera at one point to assist in subduing a rowdy suspect!.

The show's proven formula that remained popular for years, along with other elements and more, helped ''COPS'' stay on the air for a record of consistent viewership that many shows couldn't even dream of. ''COPS'' was the longest-running RealityShow on television: it ran from 1989 to 2020, giving it a run of more than three decades.

The show was also originally part of the longest unchanged nightly schedule in American television, Creator/{{Fox}}'s Saturday night schedule, alongside ''Series/AmericasMostWanted''. ''COPS'''s 25-year run on the Fox network ended in 2013, with the program moving to Creator/SpikeTV that fall. During its run on Spike, [[MilestoneCelebration the show had celebrated airing its 1,000th episode]] on August 21, 2017 as part of its 30th season overall. The show would continued to air as Spike was relaunched as Creator/ParamountNetwork in 2018.

Naturally, as a long-running reality show, ''COPS'' has had its share of controversies.

There had been disagreements between police departments and production companies, especially when it comes to the "right to privacy" provisions of US (and Canadian) law; film and television crews fight hard for the public's right to know and "freedom of information", but police agencies cooperating with ''COPS'' crews protested that the "right to know" did not trump the individual's right to privacy and security of person. Eventually, it was decided, in consultation with the producers of ''COPS'', that the individual's right to privacy should be respected, and that the faces, license-plates, and addresses of those featured on the show must be obscured in post production. People who signed waivers appear without {{pixellation}}, so it has often been assumed that every drunk, naked ranting guy being handcuffed said at some point (and after they sobered up), "Yes, I want to appear on TV like this." Ninety percent of arrested suspects opt to appear without blurring. But ultimately, it is worth noting it has often been seriously called into question how "voluntary" signing these waivers actually are, with several participants later claiming that they either had no recollection of signing them, were defintely not sober or in their right mind when signing them, or had signed under duress or false pretenses from the arresting officer(s) and/or producers. The show's co-creator and long-time executive producer, John Langley, even openly acknowledged the "color of authority" effect in an interview, explaining that that it was a common policy to have the officers if not outright ask, then at least encourage the arrestee to sign the waiver, as it would actively discourage them from refusing. In the end, it is ''very'' questionable if something really be considered an "voluntary" act when you had handcuffs on at the time. There is also the problem that ''COPS'' rarely, if ever, acknowledges when a person arrested on screen is later found to be innocent of any wrongdoing by the justice system. Several persons depicted on the show, who have had their names cleared in court afterwards, have often complained that ''COPS'' continued to feature the recordings of their arrest in reruns, without any clarification that they were later officially declared innocent, often tarnishing their reputation for years.

Suddenly, in the wake of protests against PoliceBrutality following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, major networks and their parent companies decided that airing reality programming centered around the police [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents seemed uncomfortable]]. Thus, ''COPS'' [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cops-canceled-at-paramount-network-1297778 would be cancelled on June 9, 2020]] with Paramount Network announcing that they had no intention of bringing it back, ending ''COPS''[='s=] run at 31 years. In addition, the reruns of the first 25 seasons, which Disney acquired when they bought [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios 20th Century Fox]] in March 2019[[note]]Creator/ViacomCBS handles ownership of Seasons 26 and beyond.[[/note]], were pulled as well, with Disney offering reruns of the final season of the syndicated version of ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire''. However, the show is still being produced for international syndication, and to fulfill overseas contracts that have not yet expired, with filming for new episodes having resumed on September 2020. COPS can still also be seen worldwide on [[Creator/PlutoTV Pluto TV]], which is owned by [[Creator/ViacomCBS ViacomCBS]].

Not be confused with the animated series ''WesternAnimation/COPSAnimatedSeries''.
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!!Tropes:

* AlcoholInducedIdiocy: A disproportionately large amount of the show's incidents involve alcohol. [[DrugsAreBad Or drugs]].
* BaldOfAwesome:
** What would appear to be a higher-than-average number of police officers appear to favor this or near-bald buzz cuts. Understandable since they don't want to give a suspect anything to grab onto in the event of an altercation.
** Often averted with undercover officers, since letting their hair grow out would help them blend in better and therefore not tip off suspects.
* BlatantLies:
** Yes, ''of course'' the police can't tell you're drunk.
** The opening of any sting [[MustStateIfYoureACop will begin with "Are you a cop?"]] followed by "No." There's an urban legend that a police officer is required to tell you they're a cop if you ask them to because not doing so is entrapment. This is patently untrue, given that undercover police work is a thing. Entrapment only applies if a cop forces you to commit a crime. But since this bit of misinformation helps with their job, the cops are in no hurry to correct criminals who think otherwise.
** People arrested for drug possession will nearly always try to lie about it. They can be caught driving a car full of drugs, wearing pants made of drugs while smoking drugs, and they'll still claim it's not their drugs. Bonus points when they claim it's not their drugs because it's not their car. Apparently car theft is better than drug possession.
*** At least one suspect claimed that he shouldn't be arrested for wearing pants full of drugs because "These aren't my pants." It did not work.
* TheBigEasy: Several episodes have taken place in New Orleans, [[ItsAlwaysMardiGrasInNewOrleans usually during Mardi Gras]], when there would naturally be more action.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: The show did try to maintain something of a journalistic or documentary feel (at least initially) and has a protocol of maintaining the fourth wall, but occasionally a judgement call will dictate breaking it, such as a cameraman helping an exhausted police officer perform CPR on a subject.
* ByTheBookCop: Almost everything shown by the police officers is by-the-book, even if some things are occasionally skipped over in the show itself for time, like the reading of a suspect's Miranda rights. Unsurprising, given that they were confident enough to have their activities filmed; you'd better be ''damn'' sure you're not involved in violating procedure if there's going to be a camera crew following you around.
* CrossOver: Yes, really- once with ''Series/TheXFiles'', where a normal episode gets interrupted by Mulder and Scully chasing a MonsterOfTheWeek; and twice with ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', where it's depicted as being set in Camden County and following their police force. The latter takes place in-universe before Earl discovered karma. (Both shows were also produced by Fox, though the latter aired on NBC.)
* DeepSouth: Averted. The show is somewhat famous for the shirtless, toothless morons, but they're seen all over the country. It isn't just hillbillies, folks; trailer trash is nationwide. When the show ''is'' in the Deep South, the officers shown are diverse in both gender and ethnicity, in fairly good shape, and well spoken (with perhaps a hint of a drawl to give away a locale). It's a far cry from most Hollywood portrayals of southern law enforcement.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first season included scenes of police officers off-duty, and/or at home with their families. Past the first season, this kind of footage almost never comes up.
* EatTheEvidence: People have tried this with their entire stash of crack cocaine at once. Not only does this not work -- the cops got it on-camera, after all -- but now the suspect will be going to the hospital to get their stomach pumped.
* EscapedAnimalRampage: One episode has the police dealing with a zebra escaped from a zoo. They rescue the zebra from drowning in a swimming pool.
* FairCop: Zigzagged. There's a lot of criteria for who gets filmed for this show, such as service record, camera presence, and yes, physical appearance. Most of the cops are at least average-looking, with a few particularly handsome/beautiful specimens.
* FanDisservice: For all the jokes about male suspects being shirtless, it's just as likely they're people you don't really want to see shirtless. Quite a few have been pretty beaten up by years of drug and alcohol abuse, and the types of people cops frequently deal with aren't usually the most fitness-minded.
* IdiotBall:
** Running from the police once they've cuffed your hands behind your back. One instance had a suspect run ''twice'' after being handcuffed, each time ending with predictable results.
** Another instance involved a man calling the cops because someone had stolen his marijuana. He was arrested.
* LighterAndSofter: Early episodes had cases often end without resolution, and sometimes would focus on more serious incidents, such as investigating a murder scene, or examining a discovered skeleton to determine who it was and how they died. As the show went on, less serious crimes such as domestic assault or resisting arrest took the spotlight.
* LongRunner: The show's first season was in 1989, and it lasted until 2020. It made a ChannelHop to Spike TV in fall 2013 and another one to Spike's successor Paramount Network in 2017. A 31-year run on TV is something that few programs have even come close to matching.
* LowerClassLout: Most of the criminals tend to be in a pretty poor state of physical health, lower-class income, and probably on some sort of drug. Several parodies make note of this.
* MultiNationalShows: Not shows per se, but episodes; the show has shot specials in UsefulNotes/HongKong, UsefulNotes/{{London}}, and [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia the former Soviet Union]].
* OncePerEpisode: Usually, segments will end in an arrest (even for ones where the segment was actually focusing on something small - usually, due to being overdue to a court hearing or a related crime on record, or because someone did something stupid like lie to a cop). If it doesn't end in an arrest, it's usually because someone was shot or injured and the suspect already fled the scene.
** Any time there is a domestic disturbance call, you can almost guarantee it will involve a man who is not wearing a shirt.
* OpeningNarration: "''COPS'' is filmed on location with the men and women of law enforcement. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law."
* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope:
** "Due to the graphic nature of this program, viewer discretion is advised." This is an addition to the second part of the aforementioned OpeningNarration.
** Last names and street names in addresses get bleeped out as to protect the right to privacy of the people on-camera. Also, anyone who doesn't allow their image to be used on TV will have their face blurred out.
* {{Pixellation}}: Used to protect the identities of people who don't sign waivers as well as for the usual censorship purposes, and the occasional drunk nude reveler. In return, the people left unblurred get a small performer's fee. If the editors have to do a lot of blurring, the clip has to be really good.
* PoliceBrutality: Two incidents - one, where a North Vegas cop was fired for police brutality, which resulted in his footage being excised (and, though footage showed up in the spin-off ''Street Patrol'', he went unnamed), and an incident in Pierce County, Washington, where a cop was charged with brutality for roughing up a homeless man mistaken to be a burglar.
** This is one of the reasons why cameramen aren't allowed in certain cities' police forces (such as Honolulu), as the police fear they'd be drowned in brutality complaints. Note that a majority of these police forces refusing footage have had a lot of brutality complaints.
** This trope was averted in an episode where a cop shot a suspect armed with a knife in a pretty clear-cut case of self-defense. The full footage shows multiple officers trying to both talk to the suspect and peacefully subdue him, and the suspect was shown on-camera lunging at the cop in question with the knife.
* RealityShow: Doesn't get much more real. There's no script (outside of the opening), the cops are real cops, and the things they investigate are real crimes. More than thirty years after its debut, it's still going due to it being incredibly cheap to make and popular enough with the audience to bring in money.
* ShockAndAwe: Unsurprisingly, it's not uncommon to see a suspect who thought it was a good idea to run or fight find themselves getting tased.
* ShirtlessScene: Many of the perps don't wear shirts.
* SoundEffectBleep: People tend to swear while being arrested. Also, whenever a name is mentioned, last names and addresses are muted, usually covered by a radio squelch tone. Car license plates are also visually blurred.
* SpinOff: ''Street Patrol'' on Creator/MyNetworkTV consisted of previously unused COPS footage - some of which was filmed over a decade earlier - with added background music. ''Jail'' (also on [=MyNetworkTV=], and later Spike TV) took the filming indoors.
* StupidCrooks: Quite a few of these show up. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JkwZUk3Kng For example]], one woman called the police because her neighbor wouldn't return twenty dollars. When asked what she gave the neighbor the money for, the woman openly tells the cop that she was trying to buy crack. As a bonus, when the officer asks the neighbor about it, the neighbor denies having taken the money because [[EveryoneHasStandards she's a prostitute, not a drug dealer]].
* StupidStatementDanceMix: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQTXawaAKNA I can break. These. Cuffs!]]"
* TakesTenToHold: TruthInTelevision, since it was one of the first popular series to follow real American law enforcement around. There would be suspects too strong for one officer to restrain. In one episode, there was a sweaty naked suspect; the officers said it was hard to get a grip.
* UnbuiltTrope: By the time the term "RealityTV" became a popular genre, this show was already considered a long-runner. Also, it's fairly unusual compared to most modern reality TV shows, which still involve a fair amount of scripting and behind-the-scenes organization. By contrast, ''COPS'' is still completely true-to-life with no scripting, just cameramen filming real police doing their real jobs.
* VisibleBoomMic: One of the rare shows where this is more-or-less acceptable, considering that the camera and sound guys have to run after criminals as quickly as the cops do. Even still, they do their best to pull their booms out of the shot once it's all calmed down.
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** The opening of any sting [[MustStateIfYoureACop will begin with "Are you a cop?"]] followed by "No." (There's an urban legend that a police officer is required to tell you they're a cop if you ask them to because not doing so is entrapment. This is patently untrue, given that undercover police work is a thing. But since it helps with their job, the cops aren't exactly in a hurry to correct criminals who think otherwise.)
** People arrested for drug possession will nearly ''always'' try to lie about it. They can be caught driving a car full of drugs, wearing pants made of drugs while smoking drugs, and they'll still claim it's not their drugs. Bonus points when they claim it's not their drugs because it's not their car. Apparently car theft is better than drug possession.
*** At least one suspect claimed that he shouldn't be arrested for wearing pants full of drugs because "These aren't my pants."

** Running from the police once they've cuffed your hands behind your back. One instance had a suspect run ''twice'' after being handcuffed with predictable results.
** Another instance involved a man calling the cops because someone had stolen his marijuana. [[WhatAnIdiot He was arrested.]]

* LongRunner: The show's first season was in 1989, and it lasted until 2020. It made a ChannelHop to Spike TV in fall 2013 and another one to Spike's successor Paramount Network in 2017. A 31-year run on TV is something that few TV programs have even come close to matching.

** This trope was averted in an episode where a cop shot a suspect armed with a knife in a pretty clear-cut case of self-defense. The full footage shows multiple officers trying to both talk to the suspect and peacefully subdue him, and the suspect was clearly shown ''on camera'' lunging at the cop in question with the knife.

* StupidCrooks: Quite a few of these show up. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JkwZUk3Kng For example]], one woman called the police because her neighbor wouldn't return $20. When asked what she gave the neighbor $20 for, the woman openly tells the cop that she was trying to buy crack. As a bonus, when the officer asks the neighbor about it, the neighbor denies having taken the money because [[EveryoneHasStandards she's a prostitute, not a drug dealer]].

* TakesTenToHold: TruthInTelevision, since it was one of the first popular series to follow real American law enforcement around. There would be suspects too strong for one officer to restrain. In one episode there was a sweaty naked suspect; the officers said it was hard to get a grip.
* TooHotForTV: One of the earliest examples.
* UnbuiltTrope: By the time the term "RealityTV" was invented and became a popular genre, this show was already considered a long-runner. Also, it's fairly unusual compared to most modern Reality TV, which involves a fair amount of scripting and behind the scenes organization, as ''COPS'' is still completely true-to-life with no scripting, just cameramen filming real police doing their real jobs.
* VisibleBoomMic: One of the rare shows where this is more or less acceptable, considering that the camera and sound guys have to run after criminals as quickly as the cops do. Even still, they do their best to pull their booms out of the shot once it's all calmed down.

There had been disagreements between police departments and production companies, especially when it comes to the "right to privacy" provisions of US (and Canadian) law; film and television crews fight hard for the public's right to know and "freedom of information", but police agencies cooperating with ''COPS'' crews protested that the "right to know" did not trump the individual's right to privacy and security of person. Eventually, it was decided, in consultation with the producers of ''COPS'', that the individual's right to privacy should be respected, and that the faces, license-plates, and addresses of those featured on the show must be obscured in post production. People who signed waivers appear without {{pixellation}}, so it has been assumed that every drunk, naked ranting guy being handcuffed said at some point (and ''after'' they sobered up), "Yes, I want to appear on TV like this." Ninety percent of arrested suspects opt to appear without blurring. But ultimately, it is worth noting it has often been seriously called into question how "voluntary" signing these waivers actually are, with several participants later claiming that they either had no recollection of signing them, were not sober or in their right mind when signing them, or had signed under duress or false pretenses from the arresting officer(s) and/or producers. The show's co-creator, John Langley, even openly acknowledged the "color of authority" effect in an interview, explaining that that it was a common policy to have the officers if not outright ask, then at least encourage the arrestee to sign the waiver, as it would actively discourage them from refusing. There is also the problem that ''COPS'' rarely, if ever, acknowledges when a person arrested on screen is later found to be innocent of any wrongdoing by the justice system, often tarnishing their reputation for years, if not permanently.

Suddenly, in the wake of protests against PoliceBrutality following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, major networks and their parent companies decided that airing reality programming centered around the police [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents seemed uncomfortable]]. Thus, ''Cops'' [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cops-canceled-at-paramount-network-1297778 would be cancelled on June 9, 2020]] with Paramount Network announcing that they had no intention of bringing it back, ending ''Cops'''s run at 31 years. In addition, the reruns of the first 25 seasons, which Disney acquired when they bought [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios 20th Century Fox]] in March 2019[[note]]Creator/ViacomCBS handles ownership of Seasons 26 and beyond.[[/note]], were pulled as well, with Disney offering reruns of the final season of the syndicated version of ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire''. However, the show is still being produced for international syndication, and to fulfill overseas contracts that have not yet expired, with filming for new episodes having resumed on September 2020. COPS can still also be seen worldwide on [[Creator/PlutoTV Pluto TV]], which is owned by [[Creator/ViacomCBS ViacomCBS]].