History Series / COPS

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 sign waivers appear without {{pixellation}}, so every drunk, naked ranting guy being handcuffed said at some point, "Yes, I want to appear on TV like this." Ninety percent of arrested suspects opt to appear without blurring.

* RealityShow

* BlatantLies: Yes, ''of course'' the police can't tell you are drunk.
** Similarly, the opening of any prostitution sting [[MustStateIfYoureACop will begin with "Are you a cop?"]] "''No.''" (This often works to a police officer's advantage: There's a common urban legend that a police officer is required to tell you that he's a cop if asked. Patently untrue, given that undercover police work is a thing that exists.)

* 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 [[EveryoneHaStandards she's a prostitute, not a drug dealer]].

* 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.

* StupidCrooks: Quite a few of these show up.

* RealLifeThemeTune: "Bad Boys" by the reggae group Inner Circle.

* 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.

* IdiotBall: Running from the police once they've cuffed your hands behind your back. Once there was a clip that involved a man calling the cops because someone had stolen his marijuana. [[WhatAnIdiot He was arrested.]]

* RealSongThemeTune: "Bad Boys" by Inner Circle. The song was initially recorded and released in 1987, two years before ''Cops'' premiered. However, it wasn't issued as a single in the United States until 1993, where it promptly went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 because [[TheRedStapler it was the theme song for]] ''Cops''.

''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 longest-running {{reality show}} on television (it premiered in 1989); the show has a proven formula that has remained popular for years, and it was part of the longest unchanged nightly schedule in American television (Creator/{{Fox}}'s Saturday night schedule; the other show in that schedule was ''Series/AmericasMostWanted'', 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.

''COPS'''s 25-year run on the Fox network ended in 2013. The program moved to [[Creator/SpikeTV Spike]] that fall and will continue to air on its 2018 rebrand Creator/ParamountNetwork.

* SpinOff: ''Street Patrol'' on 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.

''COPS'''s 25-year run on the Fox network ended in 2013. The program moved to Creator/SpikeTV that fall and will continue to air on its 2018 rebrand Creator/ParamountNetwork.

''COPS'''s 25-year run on the Fox network ended in 2013. The program moved to Creator/SpikeTV that fall and will continue to air on Creator/ParamountNetwork.

''COPS'''s 25-year run on the Fox network ended in 2013. The program moved to Creator/SpikeTV that fall.

''COPS'''s 25-year run on the Fox network ended in 2013. The program moved to Creator/ParamountNetwork that fall.

''COPS'''s 25-year run on the Fox network ended in 2013. The program moved to Creator/SpikeTV that 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 longest-running {{reality show}} on television (it premiered in 1989); the show has a proven formula that has remained popular for years, and it was part of the longest unchanged nightly schedule in American television ({{Fox}}'s Saturday night schedule; the other show in that schedule was ''Series/AmericasMostWanted'', 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.

* IdiotBall: Running from the police once they've cuffed your hands behind your back. Once there was a clip that involved a man calling the cops because someone had stolen his marijuana. [[WhatAnIdiot He was arrested]].

* OnceAnEpisode: 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.

* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: "Due to the graphic nature of this program, viewer discretion is advised." This is an addition to the second part of the:

* SpinOff: ''Street Patrol'' on {{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.

* MultiNationalShows: Not shows per se, but episodes; the show has shot specials in Hong Kong, [[LondonTown London]], and [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia the former Soviet Union]].

* MultiNationalShows: Not shows per se, but episodes; the show has shot specials in Hong Kong, [[LondonTown London]], and [[TheNewRussia the former Soviet Union]].

** People arrested for drug possession will nearly ''always'' try to lie about it, no matter what. They can be caught driving a car full of drugs, wearing pants made of drugs while smoking drugs, and they'll still claim its not theirs. Bonus points when they claim its not their drugs because its not their car, apparently car theft is better.

* ShockAndAwe: Unsurprisingly, it's not uncommon to see a suspect who thought it was a good idea to run or fight find themself getting tased.

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

''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 longest-running {{reality show}} on television (it premiered in 1989); the show has a proven formula that has remained popular for years, and it was 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.