History Series / COPS

-> ''Bad Cops, Bad Cops.''
-> ''Bad Cops, Bad Cops.''
-> ''[[CorruptCop Springfield Cops are on the take]],''
-> ''But what do you expect for the money we make?''
-> ''Whether in a car or on a [[CoolHorse horse]],''
-> ''[[PoliceBrutality We don't mind using excessive force.]]''

-> ''[[CorruptCop Springfield Cops are on the take,''

''[[RealSongThemeTune Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?]]''

* ''CSAConfederateStatesOfAmerica'' had [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMSKAZObGxQ a fake commercial for "Runaway"]], a parody of this show based around finding runaway slaves. Even its theme song sounds suspiciously like a version of ''[[RealSongThemeTune Bad Boys]]'' done by a bluegrass band instead of a reggae group.

* ''{{Transmetropolitan}}'' gives us ''CPD Live''. "Today, another deadly, spine-tingling mission for the girls and boys in [[TheFutureIsNoir black]], the City Police Department!"

* ''TheBenStillerShow'' featured patrols from various points in history.
* ''Series/AlmostLive'' featured patrols in various Seattle neighborhoods.

* ''Series/TheBenStillerShow'' featured patrols from various points in history.

* SoundEffectBleep: People tend to swear while being arrested. Also, whenever a name is mentioned, the last name is muted. Car reg numbers are also visually blurred.

* {{Pixellation}}: Used to protect the identities of people who don't sign waivers (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), as well as for the usual censorship purposes.
* PoliceBrutality: Jello Biafra once joked that one of the main subversive purposes of the show is to numb people of to the instances of police brutality via glorifying the police as good guys and the criminals that they catch as bad guys.
** Several high profile officers featured on the show have had police brutality run-ins thrown at them when they weren't being filmed. In one instance, a North Las Vegas officer was ultimately fired from his job due to a police brutality complaint and was rendered an {{Unperson}}, not named when unused footage of him ended up appearing in the spin-off show "Street Patrol".
** Another deputy in Pierce County, WA was charged with police brutality for roughing a homeless man thought to be a burgler in an episode of the show; while he was ultimately cleared of the brutality complaint, he is currently being sued by the homeless guy for said excessive force.
** There are episodes where every single clip they show features a Tazer being used.
** This is conspicuously absent from the numerous British clones of this show. The police are always, always, shown as being calm in the face of insane provocation, who will reason with unreasonable offenders, who will try to calm a situation, will never respond however bad the abuse gets, use physical restraint only as a last option, and who will help a criminal into the paddy wagon with the utmost concern for his welfare. This good-as-gold-in-front-of-the-cameras stuff begs the question - would they be so keen to do everything by the book if the cameras ''weren't'' there? Yeah, right.

''COPS'''s run on the Fox network ended in 2013. The program will move to SpikeTV in the fall.

It's been parodied more than a few times, but you can't argue with success: ''COPS'' seems like it'll be here to stay.

* LongRunners: ''COPS'' has been running for over twenty years, making it the longest-running reality show in history. Also, the Fox Saturday night schedule that it is a part of was the longest-running unchanged nightly schedule on American television.

* ChannelHop: To SpikeTV.

'''Cops''''s run on the Fox network ended in 2013. The program will move to SpikeTV in the fall.

''COPS'' is a reality show that is "filmed on location with the men and women of law enforcement", which means it's incredibly cheap to make. It is also the [[LongRunners longest-running]] {{reality show}} on television (it premiered in 1989); the show has a proven formula that has remained popular for years, and it is part of the longest unchanged nightly schedule in American television ({{Fox}}'s Saturday night schedule; the other show in that schedule was ''[[AmericasMostWanted America's Most Wanted]]'', before its ChannelHop). ''COPS'' is arguably the most realistic {{reality show}} on television: there is absolutely no script and no narration outside of the opening credits; everything you see is real people in real situations.

* This is conspicuously absent from the numerous British clones of this show. The police are always, always, shown as being calm in the face of insane provocation, who will reason with unreasonable offenders, who will try to calm a situation, will never respond however bad the abuse gets, use physical restraint only as a last option, and who will help a criminal into the paddy wagon with the utmost concern for his welfare. This good-as-gold-in-front-of-the-cameras stuff begs the question - would they be so keen to do everything by the book if the cameras ''weren't'' there? Yeah, right.

* SoundEffectBleep: People tend to swear while being arrested. Also, whenever a name is mentioned, the last name is muted.

''COPS'' is a reality show that is "filmed on location with the men and women of law enforcement", which means it's incredibly cheap to make. It is also the [[LongRunners longest-running]] {{reality show}} on television (it premiered in 1989); the show has a proven formula that has remained popular for years, and it is part of the longest unchanged nightly schedule in American television ({{Fox}}'s Saturday night schedule; the other show in that schedule is ''[[AmericasMostWanted America's Most Wanted]]''). ''COPS'' is arguably the most realistic {{reality show}} on television: there is absolutely no script and no narration outside of the opening credits; everything you see is real people in real situations.

* LighterAndFluffier: 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.

* ''TheSimpsons'' had a version following Springfield PD, changing the theme tune to "Bad cops, bad cops..."

* ''[[ParallelPornTitles POPS: True Stories of the Porno Patrol]]'', and the more recent ''[[http://pornparody.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/this-aint-cops-xxx-hustler-540-porn-parody.jpg This Ain't Cops XXX]]'' and its sequel.