The police show, or police crime drama, is a
subgenre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
procedural drama and
detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a
police officer
A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
or department as the
protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on either a private detective, an amateur investigator or the characters who are the targets of investigations. While many police procedurals conceal the criminal's identity until the crime is solved in the
narrative climax (the so-called
whodunit
A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the c ...
), others reveal the perpetrator's identity to the audience early in the narrative, making it an
inverted detective story
An inverted detective story, also known as a "howcatchem", is a murder mystery fiction structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The story then describ ...
. Whatever the plot style, the defining element of a police procedural is the attempt to accurately depict the profession of law enforcement, including such police-related topics as
forensic science,
autopsies
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...
, gathering
evidence,
search warrant
A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any evidence they find. In most countries, ...
s,
interrogation and adherence to legal restrictions and procedure.
Early history
The roots of the police procedural have been traced to at least the mid-1880s.
Wilkie Collins
William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for '' The Woman in White'' (1859), a mystery novel and early "sensation novel", and for '' The Moonstone'' (1868), which has b ...
's novel ''
The Moonstone
''The Moonstone'' (1868) by Wilkie Collins is a 19th-century British epistolary novel. It is an early example of the modern detective novel, and established many of the ground rules of the modern genre. The story was serialised in Charles Di ...
'' (1868), a tale of a
Scotland Yard detective investigating the theft of a valuable diamond, has been described as perhaps the earliest clear example of the genre.
As detective fiction rose to worldwide popularity in the late 19th century and early 20th century, many of the pioneering and most popular characters, at least in the English-speaking world, were private investigators or amateurs. See
C. Auguste Dupin,
Sherlock Holmes,
Sam Spade,
Miss Marple
Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Ch ...
and others.
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
was described as a veteran of the Belgian police, but as a protagonist he worked independently. Only after World War II would police procedural fiction rival the popularity of PIs or amateur sleuths.
Lawrence Treat's 1945 novel ''V as in Victim'' is often cited as the first police procedural, by
Anthony Boucher
William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio d ...
(mystery critic for the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
Book Review'') among others. Another early example is
Hillary Waugh
Hillary Baldwin Waugh (June 22, 1920 – December 8, 2008) was a pioneering American mystery novelist. In 1989, he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. Pseudonyms used by Waugh included Elissa Grandower, Harry Walker and H. ...
's ''
Last Seen Wearing...'' 1952. Even earlier examples from the 20th Century, predating Treat, include the novels ''Vultures in the Dark'', 1925, and ''The Borrowed Shield'', 1925, by
Richard Enright
Richard Edward Enright (August 30, 1871 – September 4, 1953) was an American law enforcement officer, detective, and crime writer and served as NYPD Police Commissioner from 1918 until 1925. He was the first man to rise from the rank-and-fil ...
, retired
New York City Police Commissioner
The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsib ...
, ''Harness Bull'', 1937, and ''Homicide'', 1937, by former Southern California police officer
Leslie T. White, ''P.C. Richardson's First Case'', 1933, by Sir
Basil Thomson
Sir Basil Home Thomson, (21 April 1861 – 26 March 1939) was a British colonial administrator and prison governor, who was head of Metropolitan Police CID during World War I. This gave him a key role in arresting wartime spies, and he was clos ...
, former
Assistant Commissioner of
Scotland Yard, and the short story collection ''Policeman's Lot'', 1933, by former Buckinghamshire High Sheriff and Justice of the Peace
Henry Wade
Henry Menasco Wade (November 11, 1914 – March 1, 2001) was an American lawyer who served as district attorney of Dallas County from 1951 to 1987. He participated in two notable U.S. court cases of the 20th century: the prosecution of Jack Ru ...
.
The procedural became more prominent after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, and, while the contributions of
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...
s like Treat were significant, a large part of the impetus for the post-war development of the procedural as a distinct subgenre of the mystery was due, not to prose fiction, but to the popularity of a number of American films which dramatized and fictionalized actual crimes. Dubbed "
semidocumentary
A semidocumentary is a form of book, film, or television program presenting a fictional story that incorporates many factual details or actual events, or which is presented in a manner similar to a documentary.
Characteristics
Stylistically, it ...
films" by film critics, these motion pictures, often filmed on location, with the cooperation of the law enforcement agencies involved in the actual case, made a point of authentically depicting police work. Examples include ''
The Naked City
''The Naked City'' (aka ''Naked City'') is a 1948 American film noir directed by Jules Dassin, starring Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart and Don Taylor. The film, shot almost entirely on location in New York City, depicts the poli ...
'' (1948), ''
The Street with No Name
''The Street with No Name'' is a 1948 film noir directed by William Keighley. A follow-up to ''The House on 92nd Street'' (1945), it tells the story of an undercover FBI agent, Gene Cordell ( Mark Stevens), who infiltrates a deadly crime gang. Cor ...
'' (1948), ''
T-Men
''T-Men'' is a 1947 semidocumentary and police procedural style film noir about United States Treasury agents. The film was directed by Anthony Mann and shot by noted noir cameraman John Alton. The production features Dennis O'Keefe, Mary Mea ...
'' (1947), ''
He Walked by Night
''He Walked by Night'' is a 1948 American police procedural film noir directed by Alfred L. Werker and an uncredited Anthony Mann. The film, shot in semidocumentary tone, was loosely based on newspaper accounts of the real-life actions of Erwin ...
'' (1948), and ''
Border Incident
''Border Incident'' is a 1949 film noir featuring Ricardo Montalbán, George Murphy, Howard Da Silva. Directed by Anthony Mann, the MGM production was written by John C. Higgins and George Zuckerman. The film was shot by cinematographer John ...
'' (1949).
Films from other countries soon began following the semi-documentary trend. In
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, there was ''
Quai des orfevres
A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (moorings), berths ...
'' (1947), released in the United States as ''Jenny Lamour''. In
Japanese cinema
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that ea ...
, there was
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...
's 1949 film ''
Stray Dog'', a serious police procedural
film noir that was also a precursor to the
buddy cop film
Buddy cop is a film and television genre with plots involving two people of very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, sometimes learning from each other in the process. ...
genre. In the
UK, there were films such as ''
The Blue Lamp
''The Blue Lamp'' is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that t ...
'' (1950) and ''
The Long Arm'' (1956) set in London and depicting the Metropolitan Police.
One semidocumentary, ''
He Walked By Night
''He Walked by Night'' is a 1948 American police procedural film noir directed by Alfred L. Werker and an uncredited Anthony Mann. The film, shot in semidocumentary tone, was loosely based on newspaper accounts of the real-life actions of Erwin ...
'' (1948), released by
Eagle-Lion Films
Eagle-Lion Films was a British-American film production company owned by J. Arthur Rank intended to distribute British productions in the United States.
In 1947, it acquired Robert R. Young's PRC Pictures, a small American production company, ...
, featured a young radio actor named
Jack Webb in a supporting role. The success of the film, along with a suggestion from
LAPD Detective
Sergeant Marty Wynn, the film's
technical advisor
In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a ...
, gave Webb an idea for a
radio drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
that depicted police work in a similarly semi-documentary manner. The resulting series, ''
Dragnet'', which debuted on radio in 1949 and made the transition to television in 1951, has been called "the most famous procedural of all time" by mystery novelists
William L. DeAndrea
William Louis DeAndrea (July 1, 1952 - October 9, 1996) was an American mystery writer and columnist.
Biography
DeAndrea was born in Port Chester, New York in 1952 and was educated at Syracuse University. During the 1980s his job took him to E ...
,
Katherine V. Forrest and
Max Allan Collins
Max Allan Collins (born March 3, 1948) is an American mystery writer, noted for his graphic novels. His work has been published in several formats and his '' Road to Perdition'' series was the basis for a film of the same name. He wrote the ''Di ...
.
The same year that ''Dragnet'' debuted on radio,
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
Sidney Kingsley
Sidney Kingsley (22 October 1906 – 20 March 1995) was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Men in White'' in 1934.
Life and career
Kingsley was born Sidney Kirschner in New York. He studied at ...
's stage play ''
Detective Story
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...
'' opened on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
. This frank, carefully researched dramatization of a typical day in an
NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
precinct detective squad became another benchmark in the development of the police procedural.
''
Dragnet'' marked a turn in the depiction of the police on screen. Instead of being corrupt laughingstocks, this was the first time police officers represented
bravery
Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle.
Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, ...
and
heroism
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...
.
In their quest for authenticity, ''
Dragnet''
's producers used real police cars and officers in their scenes.
However, this also meant that in exchange, the
LAPD could vet scripts for authenticity.
The LAPD vetted every scene, which would allow them to remove elements they did not agree with or did not wish to draw attention to.
Over the next few years, the number of novelists who picked up on the procedural trend following ''Dragnet''
's example grew to include writers like Ben Benson, who wrote carefully researched novels about the
Massachusetts State Police
The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state. As of 10/4/2022, it ...
, retired police officer
Maurice Procter, who wrote a series about North England cop
Harry Martineau
Harry Martineau is a fictional British police detective created by Maurice Procter. He is a Chief Inspector in the industrial Northern city of Granchester, which was inspired by Manchester. Procter, himself a former police officer, wrote fourt ...
, and Jonathan Craig, who wrote short stories and novels about New York City police officers. Police novels by writers who would come to virtually define the form, like
Hillary Waugh
Hillary Baldwin Waugh (June 22, 1920 – December 8, 2008) was a pioneering American mystery novelist. In 1989, he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. Pseudonyms used by Waugh included Elissa Grandower, Harry Walker and H. ...
,
Ed McBain
Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino,(October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005) was an American author and screenwriter best known for his 87th Precinct novels, written under his Ed McBain pen name, and the novel upon which the film '' Blackb ...
, and
John Creasey
John Creasey (17 September 1908 – 9 June 1973) was an English crime writer, also writing science fiction, romance and western novels, who wrote more than six hundred novels using twenty-eight different pseudonyms.
He created several charac ...
started to appear regularly.
In 1956, in his regular ''
New York Times Book Review'' column, mystery critic
Anthony Boucher
William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio d ...
, noting the growing popularity of crime fiction in which the main emphasis was the realistic depiction of police work, suggested that such stories constituted a distinct subgenre of the mystery, and, crediting the success of ''Dragnet'' for the rise of this new form, coined the phrase "police procedural" to describe it.
As police procedurals became increasingly popular, they maintained this image of heroic police officers who are willing to bend the rules to save the day, as well as the use of police
consultants
A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization.
Consulting servic ...
.
This would allow
Hollywood to form a friendly relationship with law enforcement who are also responsible for granting shooting permits.
This, however, has garnered criticisms.
Written stories
French ''roman policier''
French ''roman policier''
(fr) value induction over deduction, synthesis of character over analysis of crime.
*1866:
Émile Gaboriau
Émile Gaboriau (9 November 183228 September 1873) was a French writer, novelist, journalist, and a pioneer of detective fiction.
Early life
Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime. He was the son of Charles Gabriel Gab ...
:
Monsieur Lecoq
Monsieur Lecoq is the creation of Émile Gaboriau, a 19th-century French writer and journalist. Monsieur Lecoq is a fictional detective employed by the French Sûreté. The character is one of the pioneers of the genre and a major influence on ...
*1905:
Maurice Leblanc
Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (; ; 11 December 1864 – 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French c ...
:
Arsène Lupin
Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazi ...
*1908:
Gaston Leroux
Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux (6 May 186815 April 1927) was a French journalist and author of detective fiction.
In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel '' The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, ...
:
Joseph Rouletabille
Joseph Rouletabille () is a fictional character created by Gaston Leroux, a French writer and journalist. Rouletabille is a journalist and amateur sleuth featured in several novels and other works, often presented as a more capable thinker than t ...
*1931:
Georges Simenon
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
Early life and education ...
:
Inspector Maigret
*1949:
Frédéric Dard: "San-Antonio"
1931: Georges Simenon
The ''
Inspector Maigret'' novels of
Georges Simenon
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
Early life and education ...
feature a strong focus on the lead character, but the novels have always included subordinate members of his staff as supporting characters. Simenon, who had been a journalist covering police investigations before creating Maigret, gave the appearance of an accurate depiction of law enforcement in Paris. Simenon influenced later European procedural writers, such as Sweden's
Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in the ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, collectively titled ''The Story of a Crime''. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been adapte ...
, and
Baantjer.
1940: John Creasey/J. J. Marric
Perhaps ranking just behind McBain in importance to the development of the procedural as a distinct mystery subgenre is
John Creasey
John Creasey (17 September 1908 – 9 June 1973) was an English crime writer, also writing science fiction, romance and western novels, who wrote more than six hundred novels using twenty-eight different pseudonyms.
He created several charac ...
, a prolific writer of many different kinds of crime fiction, from espionage to criminal protagonist. He was inspired to write a more realistic crime novel when his neighbor, a retired
Scotland Yard detective, challenged Creasey to "write about us as we are". The result was ''Inspector West Takes Charge'', 1940, the first of more than forty novels to feature Roger West of the
London Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
. The West novels were, for the era, an unusually realistic look at Scotland Yard operations, but the plots were often wildly melodramatic, and, to get around thorny legal problems, Creasey gave West an "amateur detective" friend who was able to perform the extra-procedural acts that West, as a policeman, could not.
In the mid-1950s, inspired by the success of television's ''
Dragnet'' and a similar British TV series, ''
Fabian of the Yard
''Fabian of the Yard'' is a British police procedural television series based on the real-life memoirs of Scotland Yard detective Robert Fabian, made by the BBC and broadcast between November 1954 and February 1956. It is considered the earlies ...
'', Creasey decided to try a more down-to-earth series of cop stories. Adopting the pseudonym "J.J. Marric", he wrote ''
Gideon's Day'', 1955, in which
George Gideon, a high-ranking detective at Scotland Yard, spends a busy day supervising his subordinates' investigations into several unrelated crimes. This novel was the first in a series of more than twenty books which brought Creasey his best critical notices. One entry, ''Gideon's Fire'', 1961, won an
Edgar Award from the
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City.
The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday.
It presents the Edgar Awa ...
for Best Mystery Novel. The Gideon series, more than any other source, helped establish the common procedural plot structure of threading several autonomous story lines through a single novel.
1952: Hillary Waugh
Hillary Waugh
Hillary Baldwin Waugh (June 22, 1920 – December 8, 2008) was a pioneering American mystery novelist. In 1989, he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. Pseudonyms used by Waugh included Elissa Grandower, Harry Walker and H. ...
, in 1952, wrote
''Last Seen Wearing ...'', a commercial and critical success, exploring detailed and relentless police work.
1956: Ed McBain
Ed McBain, the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
of
Evan Hunter
Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino,(October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005) was an American author and screenwriter best known for his 87th Precinct novels, written under his Ed McBain pen name, and the novel upon which the film '' Blackb ...
, wrote dozens of novels in the ''
87th Precinct
The 87th Precinct is a series of police procedural novels and stories by American author Ed McBain (a writing pseudonym of Evan Hunter). McBain's 87th Precinct works have been adapted, sometimes loosely, into movies and television on several o ...
'' series beginning with ''
Cop Hater
''Cop Hater'' (1956) is the first 87th Precinct police procedural novel by Ed McBain. The murder of three detectives in quick succession in the 87th Precinct leads Detective Steve Carella on a search that takes him into the city's underworld and ...
,'' published in 1956. Hunter continued to write 87th Precinct novels almost until his death in 2005. Although these novels focus primarily on Detective Steve Carella, they encompass the work of many officers working alone and in teams, and Carella is not always present in any individual book.
As if to illustrate the universality of the police procedural, many of McBain's 87th Precinct novels, despite their being set in a slightly fictionalized New York City, have been filmed in settings outside New York, even outside the US.
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...
's 1963 film, ''
High and Low'', based on McBain's ''King's Ransom'' (1959), is set in
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
. ''Without Apparent Motive'' (1972), set on the
French Riviera, is based on McBain's ''Ten Plus One'' (1963).
Claude Chabrol's ''
Les Liens de Sang'' (1978), based on ''Blood Relatives'' (1974), is set in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
. Even ''
Fuzz'' (1972), based on the 1968 novel, though set in the US, moves the action to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. Two episodes of ABC's
Columbo, set in Los Angeles, were based on McBain novels.
1960: Elizabeth Linington/Dell Shannon/Lesley Egan
A prolific author of police procedurals, whose work has fallen out of fashion in the years since her death, is
Elizabeth Linington
Barbara "Elizabeth" Linington (March 11, 1921 – April 5, 1988) was an American novelist and mystery writer. She was one of the first women to write in the style of a police procedural.
Biography
She was born on March 11, 1921 in Aurora, Kane ...
writing under her own name, as well as "Dell Shannon" and "Lesley Egan". Linington reserved her Dell Shannon pseudonym primarily for procedurals featuring LAPD Central
Homicide Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
Luis Mendoza (1960–86). Under her own name she wrote about Sergeant Ivor Maddox of LAPD's North Hollywood Station, and as Lesley Egan she wrote about suburban cop Vic Varallo. These novels are sometimes considered flawed, partly due to the author's far-right political viewpoint (she was a member of the
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ide ...
), but primarily because Miss Linington's books, notwithstanding the frequent comments she made about the depth of her research, were all seriously deficient in the single element most identified with the police procedural, technical accuracy. However, they have a certain charm in their depiction of a kinder, gentler California, where the police were always "good guys" who solved all the crimes and respected the citizenry.
1965: Sjöwall and Wahlöö
Maj Sjöwall
Maj Sjöwall (; 25 September 1935 – 29 April 2020) was a Swedish author and translator. She is best known for her books about police detective Martin Beck. She wrote the books in collaborative work with her partner Per Wahlöö.
Biograph ...
and
Per Wahlöö
Per Fredrik Wahlöö (5 August 1926 – 22 June 1975) – in English translations often identified as Peter Wahloo – was a Swedish author. He is perhaps best known for the collaborative work with his partner Maj Sjöwall on a series of ten nove ...
planned and wrote the
Martin Beck
Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in the ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, collectively titled ''The Story of a Crime''. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been adapt ...
police procedural series of ten books between the 1960s and 1970s, set in
Sweden. The series is particularly renowned for its extensive character development throughout the series. Beck himself is gradually promoted from
detective in a newly nationalised Swedish police force to
Chief Inspector of the National Murder Squad, and the realistic depiction, as well as criticism of the Swedish
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...
at the time whilst the tedium of the police procedural continues in the background, is something still widely used today, with authors such as
Jo Nesbø
Jo Nesbø (; born Jon Nesbø; 29 March 1960) is a Norwegian writer, musician, economist, and former football player and reporter. More than 3 million copies of his novels had been sold in Norway as of March 2014; his work has been translated ...
and
Stieg Larsson. The books gave rise to the
Swedish noir scene, and ''
The Laughing Policeman'' earned a "Best Novel" Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1971. The books were translated from Swedish into 35 different languages, and have sold roughly ten million copies. Sjöwall and Wahlöö used
black humour
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...
extensively in the series, and it is widely recognised as one of the finest police procedural series.
1970: Tony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman
Anthony Grove Hillerman (May 27, 1925 – October 26, 2008) was an American author of detective novels and nonfiction works, best known for his mystery novels featuring Navajo Nation Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Several of his work ...
, the author of 17 novels involving Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, wrote procedurals in which the procedures were those of the
Navajo Tribal Police
The Navajo Nation Police (formerly known as the Navajo Tribal Police) is the law enforcement agency on the Navajo Nation in the Southwestern United States. It is under the Navajo Division of Public Safety. It is headed by a Chief of Police, si ...
.
1971: Joseph Wambaugh
Though not the first police officer to write procedurals,
Joseph Wambaugh's success has caused him to become the exemplar of cops who turn their professional experiences into fiction. The son of a
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, policeman, Wambaugh joined the Los Angeles Police Department after a stint of military duty. In 1970, his first novel, ''
The New Centurions'', was published. This followed three police officers through their training in the academy, their first few years on the street, culminating in the Watts riots of 1965. It was followed by such novels as ''The Blue Knight'', 1971, ''
The Choirboys'', 1975, ''Hollywood Station'', 2006, and acclaimed non-fiction books like ''
The Onion Field'', 1973, ''Lines and Shadows'', 1984, and ''Fire Lover'', 2002. Wambaugh has said that his main purpose is less to show how cops work on the job, than how the job works on cops.
Detective novel writers
It is difficult to disentangle the early roots of the procedural from its forebear, the traditional detective novel, which often featured a police officer as protagonist. By and large, the better known novelists such as
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh (; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982) was a New Zealand mystery writer and theatre director. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966.
As a crime writer during the "Golden Age of De ...
produced work that falls more squarely into the province of the traditional or "cozy" detective novel. Nevertheless, some of the work of authors less well known today, like
Freeman Wills Crofts
Freeman Wills Crofts FRSA (1 June 1879 – 11 April 1957) was an Irish mystery author, best remembered for the character of Inspector Joseph French.
A railway engineer by training, Crofts introduced railway themes into many of his stories, ...
's novels about Inspector French or some of the work of the prolific team of
G.D.H. and
Margaret Cole
Dame Margaret Isabel Cole (née Postgate; 6 May 1893 – 7 May 1980) was an English socialist politician, writer and poet. She wrote several detective stories jointly with her husband, G. D. H. Cole. She went on to hold important posts in Lon ...
, might be considered as the antecedents of today's police procedural. British mystery novelist and critic
Julian Symons
Julian Gustave Symons (originally Gustave Julian Symons) (pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; 30 May 1912 – 19 November 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature. He was bor ...
, in his 1972 history of crime fiction, ''Bloody Murder'', labeled these proto-procedurals "humdrums", because of their emphasis on the plodding nature of the investigators.
Televised stories
TV creators
*
Barbara Avedon, co-creator of ''
Cagney & Lacey
''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...
''.
*
Donald P. Bellisario, creator of ''
NCIS'' and ''
JAG''.
*
Ann Biderman, creator of ''
Southland Southland may refer to:
Places Canada
* Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia
New Zealand
* Southland Region, a region of New Zealand
* Southland County, a former New Zealand county
* Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...
''.
*
Steven Bochco, creator of ''
Hill Street Blues
''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
'', the experimental musical police procedural ''
Cop Rock
''Cop Rock'' is an American police procedural musical television series created by Steven Bochco and William M. Finkelstein for the American Broadcasting Company. It premiered on September 26, 1990, and broadcast eleven episodes before concludin ...
'', the longer-lived ''
NYPD Blue'' and short lived ''
Brooklyn South
''Brooklyn South'' is an American ensemble police drama television series that aired on CBS for one season from September 22, 1997, to April 27, 1998. It was aired during the 1997–98 television season. The series was co-created by Steven Boc ...
''.
*
Jon Bokenkamp
Jon Bokenkamp (born September 9, 1974 in Kearney, Nebraska) is an American writer and producer best known for his role in writing the screenplays for '' Taking Lives'' and '' The Call'', and creating the NBC series ''The Blacklist'' along with ' ...
, creator of ''
The Blacklist
''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily s ...
''.
*
Andy Breckman
Andrew Ross Breckman (born March 3, 1955) is an American television and film writer and a radio personality on WFMU. He is the creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series ''Monk'' on the USA Network, and is co-hos ...
, creator of ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
''.
*
Shane Brennan
Shane Brennan (born 1957 in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian television writer and producer, best known as the executive producer of the American CBS drama '' NCIS'', as well as the creator of the ''NCIS'' spin-off series, '' NCIS ...
, creator of ''
NCIS: Los Angeles''.
*
Stephen J. Cannell, creator of ''
Silk Stalkings
''Silk Stalkings'' is an American crime drama television series that premiered on CBS on November 7, 1991, as part of the network's late-night ''Crimetime After Primetime'' programming package. Broadcast for two seasons until CBS ended the ''Crim ...
'', ''
21 Jump Street
''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...
'' and ''
The Commish
''The Commish'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on ABC in the United States from September 28, 1991, to January 11, 1996. The series focuses on the work and home life of a suburban police commissioner in Eastbridge, New ...
''.
*
Barbara Corday
Barbara Corday (born October 15, 1944) is an American television executive, writer and producer known for co-creating the television series ''Cagney & Lacey''.
Early life and education
Corday was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York Ci ...
, co-creator of ''
Cagney & Lacey
''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...
''.
*
Jeff Davis, creator of ''
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...
''.
* Robert Doherty, creator of ''
Elementary
Elementary may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001
* ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007
* ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977
Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...
''.
*
Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana (born September 12, 1951) is an American screenwriter, writer, and television producer. Fontana worked on NBC's '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' and created HBO's ''Oz.''
Early life and education
Fontana was born on the west si ...
, creator of ''
Homicide: Life on the Street'' and ''
The Beat''.
*
Steve Franks, creator of ''
Psych''.
*
Leonard Freeman
Leonard Freeman (October 31, 1920 – January 20, 1974) was an American television writer and producer who is best remembered as the creator of the CBS series ''Hawaii Five-O'' in 1968. He appeared in a 1953 episode (#112) of the TV serie ...
, creator and producer of ''
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to:
* ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series
* ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...
''.
*
Anna Fricke
Anna Fricke is an American television writer and producer best known for her work on shows like ''Dawson's Creek'', ''Everwood'', ''Men in Trees'' and '' Privileged'' and as the co-creator of the North American version of '' Being Human.''
Ca ...
, developer of ''
Walker
Walker or The Walker may refer to:
People
* Walker (given name)
*Walker (surname)
* Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer
Places
In the United States
*Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County
*Walker, Mono County, California ...
''.
*
Bryan Fuller, creator of ''
Hannibal''.
*
Gary Glasberg
Gary Glasberg (July 15, 1966 – September 28, 2016) was an American television writer and producer. He was born in New York City. He was the showrunner on '' NCIS'' and creator of '' NCIS: New Orleans''.
Glasberg's production company is called ...
, creator of ''
NCIS: New Orleans''.
*
Hart Hanson
Hart Hanson (born July 26, 1957) is an American-born television writer and producer, as well as an author. His family moved to Canada when he was a child. He received a B.A. from the University of Toronto and a MFA from the University of Britis ...
, creator of ''
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...
''.
* Alexi Hawley, creator of ''
The Rookie''.
*
Bruno Heller
Bruno Heller (born 13 January 1960) is an English screenwriter, producer and director. He is known for creating the HBO television series ''Rome'' and CBS television series ''The Mentalist''. He has produced the TV series '' Gotham'', based on ...
, creator of ''
The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show f ...
''.
*
Martin Gero
Martin Gero (born July 6, 1977 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Canadian screenwriter and co- executive producer for ''Stargate Atlantis'' and the creator of '' Blindspot''.
Born in Switzerland, Gero spent much of his childhood in Ottawa, Ontar ...
, creator of ''
Blindspot''.
*
Dan Goor
Daniel Joshua Goor (born April 28, 1975) is an American comedy writer and television producer. He has written for several comedy talk shows including ''The Daily Show'', ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' and ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. He ...
, co-creator of ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine''.
*
Robin Green
Robin Green is an American writer and producer. She was an executive producer on the HBO series ''The Sopranos''. She was a creator and executive producer for '' Blue Bloods''.
Biography
A Rhode Island native, Robin Green earned a Bachelor of ...
and
Mitchell Burgess
Mitchell Burgess is an American writer and producer. He was the writer and an executive producer on ''The Sopranos''. He was a creator and executive producer for '' Blue Bloods''. He frequently works with his wife Robin Green.
Career
''The Sop ...
, creator of ''
Blue Bloods''.
*
Tim Kring
Richard Timothy Kring (born July 9, 1957) is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his creation of the drama series '' Strange World'', ''Crossing Jordan'', '' Heroes'', and ''Touch''.
Early life
Kring was born in El D ...
, creator of ''
Crossing Jordan
''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its dete ...
''.
*
Richard Levinson
Richard Leighton Levinson (August 7, 1934 – March 12, 1987) was an American screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link.
Life and career
Levinson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the Unive ...
, co-creator of ''
Columbo''.
*
William Link
William Theodore Link (December 15, 1933 – December 27, 2020) was an American film and television screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson.
Biography Early life
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...
, co-creator of ''
Columbo''.
* Barbara Machin, creator of ''
Waking the Dead''.
*
Abby Mann, creator of ''
Kojak
''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, ...
''.
*
Andrew W. Marlowe, creator of ''
Castle''.
*
Quinn Martin
Quinn Martin (born Irwin Martin Cohn; May 22, 1922 – September 5, 1987) was an American television producer. He had at least one television series running in prime time every year for 21 straight years (from 1959 to 1980). Martin is a mem ...
, producer of such shows as ''
The Untouchables
Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to:
American history
* Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness
* ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley
* ''The U ...
'', ''
The F.B.I.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
'' and ''
The Streets of San Francisco
''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ...
''.
*
Geoff McQueen, creator of ''
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983.
The programme focused o ...
''.
*
Jed Mercurio
Gerald Gary "Jed" Mercurio (born September 1966) is a British television writer, producer, director and novelist. A former hospital doctor and Royal Air Force officer, Mercurio has been ranked among UK television's leading writers. In 2017, Mer ...
, creator of ''
Line of Duty'' and ''
Bodyguard''.
*
David Milch
David Sanford Milch (born March 23, 1945) is an American writer and producer of television series. He has created several television shows, including ABC's ''NYPD Blue'' (1993-2005), co-created with Steven Bochco, and HBO's '' Deadwood'' (2004 ...
, co-creator of ''
NYPD Blue''.
*
Christopher Murphey, creator of ''
Body of Proof
''Body of Proof'' is an American medical/crime comedy-drama television series that ran on ABC from March 29, 2011, to May 28, 2013, and starred Dana Delany as medical examiner Dr. Megan Hunt. The series was created by Christopher Murphey and ...
''.
*
Jonathan Nolan
Jonathan Nolan (born 6 June 1976) is a British-American screenwriter, producer, director and author. He is the creator of the CBS science fiction series ''Person of Interest'' (2011–2016) and co-creator of the HBO science fiction western s ...
, creator of ''
Person of Interest''.
*
Shawn Ryan, creator of ''
The Shield
''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt pol ...
''.
*
Michael Schur
Michael Herbert Schur (born 1975) is an American television producer, writer, director and actor. He was a producer and writer for the comedy series ''The Office'', and co-created ''Parks and Recreation'' with ''Office'' producer Greg Daniels. ...
, co-creator of ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine''.
*
David Simon
David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on '' The Wire'' (2002–08).
He worked for '' The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' H ...
, co-creator of ''
Homicide: Life on the Street'' and creator of ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...
''.
*
Hank Steinberg, creator of ''
Without a Trace
''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...
''.
*
Meredith Stiehm
Meredith Stiehm (born 1968) is an American television producer and writer. She is the creator of the hit crime drama '' Cold Case'' and the FX thriller drama '' The Bridge''. She is President of the Writers Guild of America.
Early life and ed ...
, creator of ''
Cold Case
A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...
''.
*
Joseph Wambaugh, creator of ''
Police Story''.
*
Jack Webb, creator, producer, and principal actor in ''
Dragnet'', and co-creator of ''
Adam-12''.
*
Dick Wolf
Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. He is al ...
, creator of the
''Law & Order'' franchise, ''
FBI'', ''
FBI: Most Wanted'' and
''Chicago'' franchise.
*
Anthony Yerkovich
Anthony Yerkovich is an American television producer and writer.
He is best known for creating the 1980s cop show ''Miami Vice''. He served as the show's executive producer along with Michael Mann before handing over full executive responsibilit ...
, creator of ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two M ...
''.
*
Graham Yost
Graham John Yost (born September 5, 1959) is a Canadian film and television screenwriter. His best-known works are the films ''Speed'', '' Broken Arrow'', and '' Hard Rain'' and the TV series '' Justified''.
Early life, family and education
Yo ...
, creator of ''
Justified'' & ''
Boomtown
A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...
''.
*
Anthony E. Zuiker, creator of the
''CSI'' franchise.
TV series
Australia
For details see the PhD dissertation by Antony Stephenson (2019).
* ''
Bellamy'' (Network Ten 1981)
* ''
Bluey'' (Seven Network 1976–77)
* ''
Blue Heelers
''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...
'' (Seven Network 1994–2006) 510 episodes set in the fictional rural town of
Mount Thomas
Mount Thomas is the fictional town featured in the long-running Australian police procedural drama ''Blue Heelers'', which ran from 1994 up until its cancelation in 2006. The program was filmed in Victorian suburbs of Werribee, Williamstown ...
, Victoria, was produced by
Southern Star Entertainment
Endemol Australia, formerly known as Southern Star Group, Southern Star Productions, Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia and Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd, was Australia's largest independent television production and distribution group. On 26 Jul ...
for the
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
.
* ''
City Homicide'' (Seven Network 2007–11) Set in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
. Follows the investigations of six detectives and their two superior officers in the homicide squad of the
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''.
, Victoria Police had over 22,300 staff, comprising over 16,700 ...
.
* ''
Cop Shop
''Cop Shop'' is a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes.
The show
The show revolved ar ...
'' (Seven Network, 1977–84)
* ''
Division 4
''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes.
Synopsis
The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success o ...
'' (Nine Network 1969–75) made by Crawford Productions, ran on the Nine Network for 301 episodes.
* ''
The Feds'' (Nine Network 1993–96)
* ''
Homicide'' (Seven Network 1964–76) was an Australian police procedural television series made by Crawford Productions for the Seven Network. One of the first commercial TV series produced especially for Australian TV, and the first to depict the operations of a modern-day Australian police force, its historical significance in Australian television is analogous to the importance of ''Dragnet'' in the United States.
* ''
The Link Men'' (Nine Network 1970)
* ''
The Long Arm'' (Network Ten 1970)
* ''
Matlock Police
''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...
'' (Network Ten 1971–75) was set in a rural town and lasted 229 episodes.
* ''
Murder Call
''Murder Call'' is an Australian television series, created by Hal McElroy for the Southern Star Entertainment and broadcast on the Nine Network between 1997 and 2000. The series was inspired by the ''Tessa Vance'' novels by Jennifer Rowe, both ...
'' (Nine Network 1997–99)
* ''
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
'' (ABC 1992–93)
* ''
Police Rescue
''Police Rescue'' is an Australian television series which originally aired on ABC TV between 1989 and 1996. It was produced by ABC and Southern Star Xanadu in association with the BBC.
Apart from the 61 episodes, there was a 90-minute pi ...
'' (ABC 1991–96)
* ''
Rush'' (Network Ten 2008–11) follows the stories of a tactical police unit in Melbourne, Victoria.
* ''
Skirts (TV series)'' (Seven Network 1990)
* ''
Small Claims
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may ...
'' (Network Ten 2005–06)
* ''
Solo One
''Solo One'' is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Seven Network and screened in 1976. There were 13 half-hour episodes.
Synopsis
The series was a spin-off from Crawford's other police show '' Matlock Police ...
'' (Seven Network 1976) a short-lived spin-off from ''Matlock Police''
* ''
Special Squad'' (Network Ten 1984)
* ''
Stingers'' (Nine Network 1998–2004)
* ''
Water Rats'' (Nine Network 1996–2001) 177 episodes set in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, focusing on the Sydney Water Police.
* ''
White Collar Blue
''White Collar Blue'' is an Australian television series made by Knapman Wyld Television for Network Ten from 2002 to 2003.
Starring Peter O'Brien as Joe Hill and Freya Stafford as Harriet Walker, the series dealt with a division of the po ...
'' (Network Ten 2002–03)
* ''
Wildside'' (ABC 1997–99)
* ''
Young Lions'' (Nine Network 2002)
Austria
* ''
Inspector Rex
''Inspector Rex'' (German: ''Kommissar Rex''; Italian: ''Il commissario Rex'') is an Austrian-Italian police procedural comedy-drama television series created by Peter Hajek and Peter Moser. Originally an Austrian series aired from 1994 to 2004 on ...
'' (1994–2003) was an Austrian homicide detective series, which aired all over the world and was popular in Australia when broadcast on
SBS. It is about a
German Shepherd
The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899.
It was originally bred as a herding dog, for ...
police dog named Rex and his owner, Detective-Inspector Richard Moser of the Vienna Kriminalpolizei. Rex was a bomb squad dog whose handler was killed at a crime scene that Moser was investigating. Moser's team consisted of Ernst Stockinger (seasons 1 and 2), and Peter Hollerer (seasons 1 to 4), and Christian Bock (seasons 3 to 6). Dr Leo Graf served as
forensic pathologist
Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases ...
/coroner throughout the series, who often described autopsy scenes and procedures much to the disgust of the police staff. Moser was murdered by a psychotic serial killer halfway through season 4. Detective Inspector Alexander Brandtner took over Moser's role after his untimely death.
:Rex frequently saved the team's necks during pursuits and catching criminals, sniffing out clues, rescuing child victims, as well as occasionally being a nuisance around the office or while interviewing suspects. The show mixes serious themes with occasional comedy, such as Rex's penchant for ham rolls (wurstsemmeln), demanding to buy many dog toys, and interfering with Moser's and Brandtner's erratic love lives.
Canada
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_police_procedural_television_series
France
* ' (1988–1990) – a French TV series created by Dominique Roulet and ''
Claude Chabrol'', broadcast on TF1. It follows the films ''
Cop au Vin'' (1985) and ''
Inspecteur Lavardin'' (1986) by ''
Claude Chabrol'', who already feature ''
Jean Poiret'' in the role of Lavardin.
* ''
Monster Buster Club
''Monster Buster Club'' is a science fiction computer-animation television series co-produced by the French-based company Marathon Media, Canadian animation studio Image Entertainment Corporation and Jetix Europe. The show debuted on June 2, 200 ...
'' (TF1: 2008–2009)
* ''
Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie'' (France Télévisions: 2009–2012; 2013–present) – based on
Agatha Christie's detective fiction; Series One is set in France in the 1930s, Series Two in the mid-1950s to 1960s. Series Three, announced in 2019, is to be set in the 1970s.
Germany
* ''
Derrick
A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and ...
'' is a German TV crime series produced between 1974 and 1998.
* ''
Polizeiruf 110
''Polizeiruf 110'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running German-language detective television series likened to Poirot. The name links to the emergency telephone number of the ''Volkspolizei''. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the ...
'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running German-language detective television series.
* ''
Tatort
''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed b ...
'' (Crime scene) is a German television series running since 1970 with Austria's and Switzerland's national broadcasters in a joined production pool.
* ''
The Old Fox'' (original German title "Der Alte", lit. "The Old One") is a German crime drama which premiered on April 11, 1977.
Hong Kong
* ''Police Cadet'' trilogy (TVB; 1984–88) consisting of ''
Police Cadet '84'', ''
Police Cadet '85
Police Cadet '85 () is a 1985 TVB police drama TV series starring Tony Leung as male lead and Margie Tsang as female lead with Carina Lau, Chow Yun-fat, Jaime Chik, and Simon Yam in supporting roles. This is the 1st sequel and 2nd series in the ...
'' and '. Starring
Tony Leung Chiu-wai
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place =
, death_cause =
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinates =
, burial_place ...
, it center on his character, Cheung Wai Kit, rise from Cadet School to a working detective.
India
* ''
C.I.D.'' (1995–present) – an Indian crime detective series that airs on Sony TV. It is about a team of detectives belonging to the Criminal Investigation Department in Mumbai. The protagonists of the show are played by
Shivaji Satam
Shivaji Satam (born 21 April 1950), is an Indian television and film actor. He is best known for his role as ACP Pradyuman on the TV series '' C.I.D.'' on SET India. A former bank official and Inspection Officer, he has appeared in Hindi and ...
,
Aditya Srivastava
Aditya Srivastava (born 21 July 1968) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films, television and theatre. He is best known for his role as Senior Inspector Abhijeet in India's longest-running television police procedural '' C.I.D.''. He has ...
,
Dayanand Shetty
Dayanand Chandrashekhar Shetty (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian film and television actor and model, best known for his role as Senior Inspector Daya Singh in India's longest-running television police procedural ''CID''. He was inducted int ...
,
Dinesh Phadnis,
Hrishikesh Pandey
Hrishikesh Pandey is an Indian television actor. He appeared in ''Hamari Betiyoon Ka Vivaah'' as Shakti, and plays the role of Inspector Sachin in '' C.I.D''. Also seen in ''Jag Janani Maa Vaishno Devi - Kahani Mata Rani Ki'' as Maharaj Ratnak ...
, Vivek Mashru,
Jasveer Kaur,
Ansha Saeed. The forensic experts are played by
Narendra Gupta and
Shraddha Musale
Shraddha Musale (born 7 January 1984) is an Indian model and actress most popular for her role as Dr. Tarika in the detective series '' C.I.D.''. She has gained immense popularity through this role. However, she has done many shows across var ...
respectively.
Ireland
* ''
The Burke Enigma'' –
RTÉ 1978.
* ''
DDU: District Detective Unit'', (1998–99) was made by RTÉ, set in Waterford City and starring
Seán McGinley
Seán McGinley (born c. 1956) is an Irish actor. He has appeared in about 80 films and television series.
Early life
McGinley was born in Pettigo, County Donegal, in Ulster, Ireland, where his father was a customs officer, and raised in near ...
.
* ''
Single-Handed'' (2007–) is set in the west of Ireland.
* ''
Proof'' (2003–04) set in Dublin and starring
Orla Brady
Orla Brady (born 28 March 1961) is an Irish theatre, television, and film actress born in Dublin. She has been nominated for several awards from the Irish Film & Television Academy for her work in televised programs, as well as starring in the ...
.
* ''Na Cloigne'' (The Heads) a 2010 three-part supernatural police procedural produced for
TG4
TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was formerly known ...
.
Italy
* ''
Il commissario Montalbano
The ''Inspector Montalbano'' ( ) television series are Italian police procedural stories. Based on Andrea Camilleri's detective novels, they are located in the imaginary town of Vigàta, Sicily, which is based on Camilleri's native Porto Empedo ...
'' is an Italian television series produced and broadcast by RAI since 1999, based on the detective novels of Andrea Camilleri.
* ''
Commissario Guido Brunetti'' is a German television series based on the books of
Donna Leon
Donna Leon (; born in Montclair, New Jersey) is the American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice, Italy, featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti. In 2003, she received the Corine Literature Prize.
Leon lived in Veni ...
. It has been produced since 2000 by the
ARD in Germany. This TV series is also shown in Spain. Music:
André Rieu
André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (; is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.
Rieu and his orchestra have turned classical and waltz music into a worldwide concert touring act. He r ...
.
Japan
*''
Taiyō ni Hoero!
, literally ''Roar at the Sun!'', was a long-running prime-time television detective series in Japan, which ran from 1972 to 1986 for a total of 718 episodes. The lead star was Yujiro Ishihara. It also helped further the career of actors such a ...
'' (NTV 1972–1986) The longest series of Japan.
*''
Seibu Keisatsu
is a television drama series produced by and broadcast on TV Asahi.
Plot
The series portrays the Western Police Headquarters Criminal Investigation Division's Sergeant Keisuke Daimon, played by Tetsuya Watari and his subordinates, dubbed the ...
'' (TV Asahi 1979–1984)
*''
Patlabor: The TV Series'' (
Nippon TV
JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
1989–1990)
*
''You're Under Arrest'' (
TBS 1996–1997)
*''
Bayside Shakedown
is a Japanese police comedy-drama television series originally broadcast by the Fuji Television group in 1997. The series was developed by Ryoichi Kimizuka and stars Oda Yūji, Toshirō Yanagiba, Eri Fukatsu, Chosuke Ikariya, Miki Mizuno, a ...
'' (1997)
*''
AIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duo'' (TV Asahi 2003–)
*''
Galileo'' (
Fuji TV
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...
2007–2013)
Malaysia
*''
Gerak Khas'' (RTM; 1999–present)
*''Roda-Roda Kuala Lumpur'' (RTM; 1998–99, 2008–13)
*''Metro Skuad'' (RTM; 2012–13) similar to ''Gerak Khas'', ''Metro Skuad'' centers on various criminal cases including
murders,
gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...
isms,
acid throwing
An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another "with the intention to disfigure, maim, to ...
,
robberies
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
and others.
The Netherlands
* ''
Baantjer'' (1996–06) – set in Amsterdam and starring
Piet Römer
Petrus "Piet" Römer (2 April 1928 – 17 January 2012) was a Dutch television, film and stage actor.
Filmography Television series
*'' Stiefbeen en Zoon'' (1963–1964) – Dirk Stiefbeen / Zoon stiefbeen
*t Schaep Met De 5 Pooten'' (1969 ...
. The series is based on the novels of writer
A. C. Baantjer
Albert Cornelis "Appie" Baantjer (16 September 1923 – 29 August 2010) was a Dutch author of detective fiction and police officer.
He is mainly known for his large series of detective novels revolving around police inspector De Cock (also tran ...
* ''
Flikken Maastricht
''Flikken Maastricht'' (Belgian Dutch for "Maastricht Cops") is a Dutch police drama. The series is set in Maastricht, Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, a city in the south of the Netherlands, and began broadcasting on Dutch channel NPO 1 on 3 Sept ...
'' (2007–present) – set in Maastricht and starring
Angela Schijf and
Victor Reinier
New Zealand
* ''
Mortimer's Patch'' (1980–84) – set in provincial New Zealand and starring
Terence Cooper,
Sean Duffy
Sean Patrick Duffy (born October 3, 1971) is an American politician, prosecutor, former sports commentator and reality television personality who is currently a co-host of ''The Bottom Line'' on Fox Business, as well as a contributor on Fox News. ...
,
Don Selwyn
Don Charles Selwyn (22 November 1935 – 13 April 2007) was a Māori actor and filmmaker from New Zealand. He was a founding member of the New Zealand Māori Theatre Trust and directed the 2002 film '' Te tangata whai rawa o Weneti (The Maori me ...
and
Jim Hickey
* ''
Shark in the Park
''Shark in the Park'' is a New Zealand police procedural. It revolved around the professional and private lives of a group of officers at a Wellington police station under the command of Inspector Brian "Sharky" Finn. The title came from the i ...
'' (1989–92) – set in Wellington and starring
Jeffrey Thomas
* ''
Duggan'' (1997–99) – set in New Zealand's Marlborough Sounds and starring
John Bach
John Bach (born 5 June 1946) is a British-born New Zealand actor who has acted on stage, television and film over a period of more than four decades. Though born in the United Kingdom, he has spent most of his career living and working in New Z ...
* ''
Plainclothes'' (1995) – set in Auckland and starring
Alan Dale
* ''
The Brokenwood Mysteries
''The Brokenwood Mysteries'' is a New Zealand television detective drama series that premiered on Prime in 2014. Each of the first six series comprises four distinct episodes. Series 7 began streaming on 29 March 2021 on Acorn TV, comprises six ...
'' (2014–) – set in a fictional small town in the north of New Zealand and starring
Neill Rea
Philippines
* ''
Ang Probinsyano
''FPJ's Ang Probinsyano'' (lit. ''FPJ's The Provincial Man''; abbreviated as ''FPJAP'' and internationally known as ''Brothers'') is a 2015 Philippine action drama television series under ABS-CBN Entertainment replacing ''Nathaniel''. Based ...
'' (
ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company unde ...
; 2015–present) – based on the
1997 film of the same name starring
Fernando Poe, Jr.
Russia
* ''
Streets of Broken Lights'' (1995–2017) – Russian criminal drama-detective TV series anthology about police work in Saint-Petersburg.
* ''
Deadly Force (TV series)'' (2000–2006) – Russian TV series, which first appeared on television in 2000. It was released by ''
Channel One Russia
Channel One ( rus, Первый канал, r=Pervyy kanal, p=ˈpʲervɨj kɐˈnal, t=First Channel) is a Russian state-controlled television channel. It is the first television channel to broadcast in the Russian Federation. Its headquarters ...
'' simultaneously as a spin-off series from ''
Streets of Broken Lights'' and as its direct competitor.
* ''
Investigation Held by ZnaToKi
''Investigation Led by ZnaToKi'', or ''Investigation Led by Experts'' (russian: Следствие ведут ЗнаТоКи, Transliteration, translit. ''Sledstvie vedut ZnaToKi'') was a popular 1971-1989 Soviet Union, Soviet detective TV-ser ...
'' – The popular Soviet detective series from 1971 to 1989 was continued in two Russian TV series (2002 and 2003).
* ' (2005–2018) – Russian television series based on scripts by retired police colonel Maxim Esaulov and criminal journalist Andrei Romanov.
* ' (2008–2011) – The series tells about the employees of the fictional police department "Pyatnitsky" in Moscow.
* ' (2021) – The series tells about a Moscow detective investigating the case of the murder of children in the small mining town of Khrustalny.
Singapore
*''
C.L.I.F.
''C.L.I.F.'' (''Courage, Loyalty, Integrity, Fairness'', or 警徽天职, commonly pronounced as cliff) is a police procedural series produced by Mediacorp Singapore in 2011 in collaboration with the Singapore Police Force. It was aired from 31 M ...
'' (MediaCorp Singapore 2011–16)
*''
Triple Nine'' (Television Corporation of Singapore 1995–99)
South Korea
*''
Beyond Evil'' (2021) – South Korean television series follows the story of two fearless policemen from the Manyang Police Substation.
The Soviet Union
* ''
Investigation Held by ZnaToKi
''Investigation Led by ZnaToKi'', or ''Investigation Led by Experts'' (russian: Следствие ведут ЗнаТоКи, Transliteration, translit. ''Sledstvie vedut ZnaToKi'') was a popular 1971-1989 Soviet Union, Soviet detective TV-ser ...
'' (1971–1989) – a popular Soviet series, the main characters are investigator Pavel Znamenski, detective Alexandr Tomin and laboratory analyst Zinaida Kibrit, who were acting together under a group name ZnaToKi (translated as "Experts").
United Kingdom
* ''
Fabian of the Yard
''Fabian of the Yard'' is a British police procedural television series based on the real-life memoirs of Scotland Yard detective Robert Fabian, made by the BBC and broadcast between November 1954 and February 1956. It is considered the earlies ...
'', (1954–55) – possibly the first police drama to be made for British TV, this series, based on the memoirs of real-life Scotland Yard detective Robert Fabian, had a lot in common with ''
Dragnet''. Just as ''Dragnet'' had been the first network drama series with continuing characters to be shot on film, so ''Fabian of the Yard'' was one of the first British series to be filmed. Both shows featured voice-over narration by the main character; both fictionalized stories derived from real-life cases; and both ended with an epilogue that revealed the ultimate fate of the criminals. On ''Fabian'', this took the form of a medium-shot of Bruce Seton, who played Fabian in the series, seated at a desk. The shot slowly dissolved into one of the real-life Fabian in the same pose at the same desk. At that point, the actual Fabian stood up and told the audience what happened to the criminal he'd caught in the real-life case that had just been dramatized.
* ''
Dixon of Dock Green
''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...
'', (1955–76) –
Jack Warner reprised the role of
Constable George Dixon, the uniformed beat cop he had played in ''
The Blue Lamp
''The Blue Lamp'' is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that t ...
'', despite the fact that the Dixon character had been tragically murdered in that film. During the course of this somewhat gentle series, Warner's character became, for many, the living embodiment of what every British "bobby" was supposed to be. As the series progressed, Dixon went through several promotions, eventually winding up as the
Station Sergeant at his local division. By the final season, with Warner now over 80, Dixon retired and the focus shifted to the younger officers he'd trained up over the years.
* ''
No Hiding Place
''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967.
It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' (1957–1958) ...
'', (1957–67) – Produced with the cooperation of Scotland Yard, this long-running series featured Raymond Francis as high-ranking Met detective Tom Lockhart. During its run, the series went through several title changes. When it began in 1957, it was known as ''Murder Bag'', referring to the
bag of investigative tools that
Superintendent
Superintendent may refer to:
*Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank
*Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator
*Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
Lockhart carried with him whenever he was called to a case. In 1959, with Lockhart promoted to
Chief Superintendent
Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces, especially in those organised on the British model.
Rank insignia of chief superintendent
File:Sa-police-chief-superintendent.png, South Australia Police
File:RCMP Chief Superintendent.pn ...
, it became ''Crime Sheet''. Later in 1959, the series was given its final and best-remembered title, ''No Hiding Place'', which lasted until the series ended in 1967.
* ''
Z-Cars
''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...
'', (1962–78) – a police drama about two teams of uniformed constables (
Brian Blessed
Brian Blessed (; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor, presenter, writer and mountaineer.
Blessed is known for portraying PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars'', Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of '' I, Claudius'', King Richard I ...
,
Joseph Brady,
James Ellis, and
Jeremy Kemp
Edmund Jeremy James Walker (3 February 1935 – 19 July 2019), known professionally as Jeremy Kemp, was an English actor. He was known for his significant roles in the miniseries ''The Winds of War'' and ''War and Remembrance'', the film ''The ...
) assigned to "Crime Patrol" duties in a pair of powerful
Ford Zephyr
The Ford Zephyr is an executive car manufactured by Ford of Britain from 1950 until 1972. The Zephyr and its luxury variants, the Ford Zodiac and Ford Executive, were the largest passenger cars in the British Ford range from 1950 until their re ...
s, under the supervision of Detective Sergeant John Watt (
Frank Windsor
Frank Windsor Higgins (12 July 1928 – 30 September 2020), known professionally as Frank Windsor, was an English actor, primarily known for his roles on television, especially policeman John Watt in ''Z-Cars'' and its spin-offs.
Biography
Win ...
) and Detective
Chief Inspector
Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP).
Usage by country Australia
The rank of chief inspector is us ...
Charlie Barlow (
Stratford Johns
Alan Edgar Stratford Johns (22 September 1925 – 29 January 2002), known as Stratford Johns, was a British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the long-running ...
). A franker, and often less flattering portrait of police work than audience were used to seeing on ''Dixon of Dock Green'', the show was an immediate hit, its popularity generating spin-offs like ''
Softly, Softly'' (1966–76), ''
Barlow at Large
''Barlow at Large'', later ''Barlow'', is a British police procedural television programme broadcast in the 1970s, starring Stratford Johns in the title role.
Johns had previously played Barlow in the ''Z-Cars'', '' Softly, Softly'' and '' So ...
'' (1971–75), and ''
Second Verdict
''Second Verdict'' is a six-part BBC television series from 1976. It combines the genres of police procedural and docudrama, with dramatised documentaries in which classic criminal cases and unsolved crimes from history were re-appraised by fict ...
'' (1976).
* ''
Gideon's Way
''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series made by ITC Entertainment and broadcast by ITV in 1964–1966, based on novels by John Creasey (writing as 'J. J. Marric'). The series was made at Elstree Studios in twin production with ' ...
'', (1965–66) – a crime series produced during 1964/65 and based on the novels by
John Creasey
John Creasey (17 September 1908 – 9 June 1973) was an English crime writer, also writing science fiction, romance and western novels, who wrote more than six hundred novels using twenty-eight different pseudonyms.
He created several charac ...
(as J. J. Marric). The series was made at Elstree in twin production with
The Saint TV series. It starred Liverpudlian
John Gregson
Harold Thomas Gregson (15 March 1919 – 8 January 1975), known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles.
He was cr ...
in the title role as Commander George
Gideon of Scotland Yard, with
Alexander Davion as his assistant, Detective Chief Inspector David Keen,
Reginald Jessup as Det. Superintendent LeMaitre (nicknamed Lemmy),
Ian Rossiter as Detective Chief Superintendent Joe Bell and
Basil Dignam
Basil Dignam (24 October 1905 – 31 January 1979) was an English character actor.
Basil Dignam was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire. Before the acting, he tried many jobs, from a company clerk to a journalist. He acted on film and ...
as Commissioner Scott-Marle.
* ''
New Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London' ...
'', (1972–74) – a police drama series produced by
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
(LWT) for the
ITV network between 1972 and 1974. It features the activities of two officers from the
Criminal Investigations Department
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...
(CID) in the
Metropolitan Police force headquarters at
New Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London' ...
, as they dealt with the assorted villains of the day.
* ''
The Sweeney'', (1975–78) – a drama series focusing on the
Flying Squad
The Flying Squad is a branch of the Serious and Organised Crime Command within London's Metropolitan Police Service. It is also known as the Robbery Squad, Specialist Crime Directorate 7, SC&O7 and SO7. It is nicknamed The Sweeney, an abbreviat ...
of the
Metropolitan Police and their twenty-four-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week job of catching some of the most dangerous and violent criminals in London. The
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
featured
Detective Inspector
Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it.
Australia
In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...
Jack Regan (
John Thaw
John Edward Thaw, (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor who appeared in a range of television, stage, and cinema roles. He starred in the television series '' Inspector Morse'' as title character Detective Chief Inspector ...
) and other tough-talking hard-drinking members of his elite unit, both on and off duty. With its high level of violence, location filming, bold frankness, and well written scripts, ''The Sweeney'' revolutionized the genre. The series was so phenomenally popular that two feature-length movies, ''Sweeney!'' (1976) and ''Sweeney 2'' (1978) were released to theatres during the show's original broadcast run.
*''
The Gentle Touch
''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police of ...
'', (1980–84) – a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV. Commencing transmission on 11 April 1980, the series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police detective as its leading character, ahead of the similarly themed BBC series Juliet Bravo by four months.
*''
Juliet Bravo
''Juliet Bravo'' is a British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC1. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over con ...
'', (1980–85) – a British television series, which ran on BBC1. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over control of a police station in the fictional town of Hartley in Lancashire.
* ''
Taggart
''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 Septembe ...
'' (1983–2010)
* ''
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983.
The programme focused o ...
'', (1984–2010) – a drama series focusing on both the uniformed and plain-clothes police officers working out of a fictional inner-London police station. The original conception of this series was as purely procedural, with an almost fly-on-the-wall approach that survived to an extent throughout.
* The ''
Prime Suspect
''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who ...
'' series, (1991–2006) – featuring
Helen Mirren as Detective Chief Inspector (later Chief Superintendent) Jane Tennison, which focused on the police investigations and on Tennison's conflicts with her fellow officers as a prominent female detective in a heavily male-dominated work environment, as well as her personal problems concerning her family and after-work life.
* ''
Cracker'' (1993–95) – hard-hitting drama series following dysfunctional criminal psychologist Dr Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald, played by
Robbie Coltrane
Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor and comedian. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. H ...
* ''
McCallum'' (1995–98)
* ''
Hamish Macbeth
Hamish Macbeth is the lackadaisical police constable of the fictional Scottish Highland town of Lochdubh, in a series of murder mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney).
Considered by many to be a useless, lazy moocher, Macbeth ...
'' (1995–97) – police drama-comedy set in the west coast Highlands of Scotland, starring
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...
* ''
The Cops'' (1998–2000) – perhaps the most realistic police drama series yet seen on British TV, noted for its documentary-style camerawork and uncompromising portrayal of the police force.
* ''
Heartbeat'' (1992–2010) is made by
Yorkshire Television
ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
at
The Leeds Studios
The Leeds Studios (also known as the ITV Television Centre, Yorkshire Television Studios or YTV Studios) is a television production complex on Kirkstall Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. ITV plc had proposed to close the studios in 20 ...
for broadcast on
ITV. It lasted 18 series. Set in 1960s
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, in the fictional town of Ashfordly and the nearby village of Aidensfield in the
North Riding of Yorkshire, the motorcycle-riding Aidensfield village bobby was originally played by
Nick Berry
Nicholas Berry (born 16 April 1963) is a retired English actor and pop singer. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 1990, and as PC Nick Rowan in '' Heartbeat'' from 1992 to 1998. He sang UK chart sin ...
.
* ''
Rebus
A rebus () is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+ ...
'' (2000–2007)
* ''
Inspector George Gently
''Inspector George Gently'' (also known as ''George Gently'' for the pilot and first series) is a 2008 British television crime drama series produced by Company Pictures for BBC One, set in the 1960s and loosely based on some of the Inspector G ...
'' (2007–2017) is an adaptation of
Alan Hunter's George Gently series of novels. Starring
Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series '' The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the title roles in '' ...
as Gently, and set in the 1960s, it is a combination of police procedural and period drama. It was produced by
Company Pictures
Company Pictures is an independent British television production company which has produced drama programming for many broadcasters. It was set up in 1998 by Charles Pattinson and George Faber, colleagues at BBC Films. Their first film was '' ...
for
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
.
* ''
Law & Order: UK'' (2009–2014) is an adaptation of the
''Law & Order'' franchise for the British market. The programme is financed by
Kudos Film and Television, Wolf Films (a company owned by
Dick Wolf
Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. He is al ...
, the creator of the franchise) and
NBC Universal
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
and airs on
ITV. The show is adapted from scripts and episodes of the original U.S. ''
Law & Order''.
* ''
Suspects'' (2014–present) is an East London-based police procedural shot in a stripped-back documentary style using improvised dialogue, and follows DS Jack Weston (
Damien Molony
Damien Molony (born 21 February 1984) is an Irish actor. He is best known for his television roles as Hal Yorke in BBC Three's '' Being Human'', DC Albert Flight in the BBC's ''Ripper Street'', DS Jack Weston in Channel 5's '' Suspects'', Jon ...
), DC Charlie Steele (
Claire-Hope Ashitey) and their superior DI Martha Bellamy (
Fay Ripley
Fay Ripley (born 26 February 1966)Ripley, Fay (25 February 2011).Don't tell me you are going to get my followers up to 5,000 for my birthday tomorrow...I say my birthday tomorrow. Twitter. Retrieved 26 February 2011. is an English actress, telev ...
) as they investigate various crimes.
* ''
No Offence
''No Offence'' is a British television police procedural drama on Channel 4, created by Paul Abbott. It follows a team of detectives from Friday Street police station, a division of the Manchester Metropolitan Police (a fictional version of the ...
'' (2015–present) is a
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
-based police procedural created by
Paul Abbott
Paul Abbott (born 22 February 1960) is an English television screenwriter and producer. Abbott has become one of the most critically and commercially successful television writers working in Britain, following his work on popular series such as ...
. The show follows a team of detectives from Friday Street police station, a division of the Manchester Metropolitan Police (a fictionalised version of
Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England.
, Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...
), and stars
Joanna Scanlan
Joanna Marion Scanlan (born 27 October 1961) is a British actress. On television, she is known for her roles in British series such as ''The Thick of It'' (2005–2012), '' Getting On'' (2009–2012), ''Puppy Love'' (2014), and ''No Offence'' ( ...
as Detective Inspector Viv Deering.
* ''
The Mallorca Files
''The Mallorca Files'' is a British police procedural television drama series set on the Spanish island of Mallorca, starring Elen Rhys and as a pair of detectives. The series, broadcast on BBC One, was created by Dan Sefton and is a co-prod ...
'' (2019–present) is set on the Spanish island of
Mallorca, starring
Elen Rhys and as English and German detectives investigating crimes for the island's police force.
United States
* ''
Dragnet'' (1951–59, 1967–70, 1989–91 and 2003–04) was a pioneering police procedural that began on radio in 1949 and then on television in 1951. ''Dragnet'' established the tone of many police dramas in subsequent decades, and the rigorously authentic depictions of such elements as organizational structure, professional jargon, legal issues, etc., set the standard for technical accuracy that became the most identifiable element of the police procedural in all media. The show was occasionally accused of presenting an overly idealized portrait of law enforcement in which the police (represented by Sgt.
Joe Friday
Joe Friday is a fictional character created and portrayed by Jack Webb as the lead for his series '' Dragnet''. Friday is a detective in the Los Angeles Police Department. The character first appeared on June 3, 1949 in the premiere of the NBC ...
) were invariably presented as "good guys" and the criminals as "bad guys", with little moral flexibility or complexity between the two. However, many episodes depicted sympathetic perpetrators while others depicted unsympathetic or corrupt cops. Further, though Jack Webb may have seemed to go to extremes to depict the
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
in a favorable light, most depictions of cops at the time of ''Dragnets debut were both unsympathetic and unrealistic. Webb's depiction was meant to offer balance. Also, the show benefited from the unprecedented technical advice, involvement, and support of the LAPD, a first in TV, which may also have been an incentive to depict the Department favorably. After the success of ''Dragnet'', Webb produced other procedural shows like ''The DA's Man'', about an undercover investigator for the
Manhattan District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...
's Office, ''
Adam-12'', about a pair of uniformed
LAPD officers patrolling their beat in a radio car, and ''
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury'', with
David Janssen
David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer) (March 27, 1931February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen also ...
as a trouble-shooting federal officer.
* ''
Adam-12'' (1968–1975) is a television police procedural drama that follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they ride the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. The series was created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb, the latter of whom also created Dragnet. It starred Martin Milner and Kent McCord and purported to realistically capture a typical day in the life of police officers. The show ran from September 21, 1968, through May 20, 1975, and helped to introduce police procedures and jargon to the general public in the United States.
* ''
The Untouchables
Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to:
American history
* Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness
* ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley
* ''The U ...
'' (1959–63) fictionalized real-life Federal Agent
Eliot Ness
Eliot Ness (April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957) was an American Prohibition agent known for his efforts to bring down Al Capone and enforce Prohibition in Chicago. He was the leader of a team of law enforcement agents, nicknamed The Untouchables. ...
's ongoing fight with prohibition-era gangs in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and elsewhere. Originally a two-part presentation on the anthology series ''
Desilu Playhouse'', it made such a splash that a series was launched the following fall. That two-part pilot, later released to theaters under the title ''The Scarface Mob'', stuck comparatively close to the actual events, with Ness, as played by
Robert Stack
Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the highly successful ABC tele ...
, recruiting a team of incorruptible investigators to help bring down
Al Capone. Later episodes showed Ness and his squad, after Capone, going after just about every big name gangster of the era, and when the writers ran out of real-life figures to pit against Ness, they created new ones.
Quinn Martin
Quinn Martin (born Irwin Martin Cohn; May 22, 1922 – September 5, 1987) was an American television producer. He had at least one television series running in prime time every year for 21 straight years (from 1959 to 1980). Martin is a mem ...
, who would become closely associated with police and crime shows like this, produced the series during its first season, leaving to found his own company, QM Productions, which would go one to produce police procedural shows like ''
The New Breed'', ''
The F.B.I.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
'', ''
Dan August
''Dan August'' is an American drama series that aired on ABC from September 23, 1970, to April 8, 1971. Burt Reynolds played the title character. Reruns of the series aired in prime time on CBS from May to October 1973 and from April to June 1 ...
'', and ''
The Streets of San Francisco
''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ...
'' over the next twenty years. The success of the series led to an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning
motion picture in 1987, and a new TV
series
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used in ...
that was syndicated to local stations in 1993.
* ''
Police Story'' (1973–78) was an anthology series set in Los Angeles created by
LAPD Detective Sergeant Joseph Wambaugh. Hard-hitting and unflinchingly realistic, its anthology format made it possible to look at LAPD police work from many different perspectives, what it was like to be a woman in a male-dominated profession, an honest cop suspected of corruption, a rookie cop, an undercover narc, a veteran facing retirement, or a cop who had to adjust to crippling injuries incurred in the line of duty. Despite its anthology format, there were a number of characters who appeared in more than one episode, including Robbery/Homicide partners Tony Calabrese (
Tony Lo Bianco
Anthony LoBianco (born October 19, 1936) is an Italian-American film, stage, and television actor.
Born to first-generation Italian American parents in New York City, Lo Bianco began his career in theater, and appeared in several Broadway prod ...
) and Bert Jameson (
Don Meredith
Joseph "Dandy" Don Meredith (April 10, 1938 – December 5, 2010) was an American football quarterback, sports commentator, and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career (1960–1968) with the Dallas Cowboys of the Nat ...
), vice cop turned homicide detective Charlie Czonka (
James Farentino
James Farentino (February 24, 1938 – January 24, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 100 television, film, and stage roles, among them '' The Final Countdown'', ''Jesus of Nazareth'', and '' Dynasty''.
Career
Born in Brooklyn, N ...
), and stakeout-surveillance specialist Joe LaFrieda (
Vic Morrow
Victor Morrow (born Victor Morozoff; February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982) was an American actor. He came to prominence as one of the leads of the ABC drama series '' Combat!'' (1962–1967), which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstand ...
). Several series were spun off from the show, including ''
Police Woman'', ''Joe Forrester'', and ''
Man Undercover''. During its last two seasons, the show appeared as an irregular series of two-hour
TV movies rather than a weekly one-hour program. The show was revived for a season in 1988, using old scripts reshot with new casts when a writers' strike made new material inaccessible.
* ''
Kojak
''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, ...
'' (1973–78, 1989–90) created by
Abby Mann, focused on a veteran New York City detective-lieutenant played by
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...
. Its exteriors were filmed at New York's Ninth Precinct, the same place where ''
NYPD Blues exteriors would be filmed. In 1989, Savalas returned to the role briefly for five two-hour episodes, in which Kojak had been promoted to
inspector and placed in charge of the Major Crimes Squad. It rotated with three other detective shows on
ABC. A 2005 remake for the
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
starred
Ving Rhames
Irving Rameses Rhames (born May 12, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles as IMF Agent Luther Stickell in the ''Mission: Impossible'' film series and gang kingpin Marsellus Wallace in ''Pulp Fiction''. He also a ...
. Kojak's most memorable character trait was his signature lollipop.
* ''
Hill Street Blues
''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
'' (1981–87) featured a number of intertwined storylines in each episode, and pioneered depiction of the conflicts between the work and private lives of officers and detectives on which the police procedural was centered. The show had a deliberate "documentary" style, depicting officers who were flawed and human, and dealt openly with the gray areas of morality between right and wrong. It was set in an unidentified east coast or Midwestern US city. The show was written by
Steven Bochco and
Michael Kozoll
Michael Kozoll is an American screenwriter. He is perhaps best known for creating the police procedural television series ''Hill Street Blues'' along with Steven Bochco. Kozoll wrote for television programs including '' Delvecchio'', '' Quincy, M ...
.
* ''
Cagney & Lacey
''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...
'' (1982–88) revolved around two female NYPD detectives who led very different lives. Christine Cagney, played by
Sharon Gless
Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American actress and author, who is known for her television roles as Maggie Philbin on ''Switch'' (1975–78), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series ''Cagney & Lacey'' (1982 ...
, was a single-minded, witty, brash career woman. Mary Beth Lacey was a resourceful, sensitive working mom.
Loretta Swit
Loretta Jane Swit (born Loretta Szwed; November 4, 1937) is an American stage and television actress known for her character roles. Swit is best known for her portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on ''M*A*S*H'', for which she won two E ...
was the original choice for Cagney
he played the role in a TV movie however, she could not get out of her contract on ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
Th ...
''. During the first season,
Meg Foster
Margaret Foster is an American film and television actress. Some of her many roles were in the 1979 TV miniseries version of ''The Scarlet Letter'', and the films ''Ticket to Heaven'', ''The Osterman Weekend'', and '' They Live''.
Early years
F ...
played the part of Cagney, while
Tyne Daly
Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, a Tony Award and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee.
Daly began her career on stage in summer stock in New York, ...
played Lacey, the role she had originated in the pilot.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
canceled the series claiming low ratings. It was brought back due both to a letter-writing campaign which drew millions of letters nationwide and because the ratings went ''up'' during summer reruns. A ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
'' magazine read "Welcome Back". Daly continued as Lacey, but Foster was replaced with Gless, who would become the actress most identified with the part. It had 36 nominations and 14 wins during its run. Four TV movies were broadcast after the series ended.
* ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two M ...
'' (1984–90) and ''
21 Jump Street
''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...
'' (1987–91) showed the MTV style of Police procedurals.
* The
''Law & Order'' franchise, which started with the long-running series ''
Law & Order'' (1990–2010, 2022–present), focuses on the two 'halves' of a criminal proceeding in the New York City criminal justice system: the investigation of the crime by the
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
homicide detectives and the subsequent prosecution of the criminals by the
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...
's office. The success of the original ''Law & Order'' inspired ten other
spin-off series in four different countries:
** Six in the U.S.: ''
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (1999–present), which focuses on sex crimes such as rape and child molestation, ''
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...
'' (2001–11), focusing on major crimes from the point of view of the criminal and capturing them from a psychological side, ''
Law & Order: Trial by Jury'' (2005–06), which focuses more on the trial from both the prosecution and the defense teams' points of view, ''
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is cons ...
'' (2006), ''
Law & Order: LA'' (2010–11) and ''
Law & Order: Organized Crime'' (2021–present). ''Special Victims Unit'', ''Criminal Intent'', ''LA'' and Organized Crime series focused more on the police procedurals than ''Trial by Jury'' and ''Conviction''.
** Two in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
: Adaptations of ''Special Victims Unit'' (2007) and ''Criminal Intent'' (2007), both set in Moscow.
** ''
Paris enquêtes criminelles
''Paris enquêtes criminelles'' ( en, "Paris Criminal Investigations") is a French television series broadcast since May 3, 2007, on TF1.
Synopsis
Adapted from '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (french: New York section criminelle),Gerard Gilbe ...
'' (2007), a French adaptation of ''Criminal Intent'' set in Paris.
** ''
Law & Order: UK'' (2009–2014), a British adaptation of the original ''Law & Order'' set in London.
:Aside from being its depiction of police investigation, this program also relates to the
legal drama
A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...
and "forensic pathology" subgenres, and has inspired such other programs as the ''
CSI''
series
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used in ...
.
* ''
Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–99; TV movie in 2000), a police procedural focusing on the homicide unit of the
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
city police department. Critically praised (although frequently struggling in the ratings), the show was more of an ensemble piece, focusing on the activities of the unit as a whole (although significant characters such as Detective
Frank Pembleton and Detective
John Munch
John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer. Munch first appeared on the American crime drama television series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' on NBC. A regular through the entire run of the series from 1993 to 1999, Mu ...
, who has also appeared on the various ''Law & Order'' shows, among others, became popular with viewers). The show (particularly in its first three seasons) used long-form arcs to depict ongoing criminal investigations, such as the investigation of a murdered child in the first season, which ran through 13 episodes but ended without an arrest or conviction, or even conclusive proof of who committed the crime. The show also heavily featured the complex internal politics of the police department, suggesting that rising through the ranks has more to do with personal connections, favors and opportunism than genuine ability.
* ''
NYPD Blue'' (1993–2005) explored the internal and external struggles of the assorted investigators of the fictional 15th Precinct of Manhattan. The show gained notoriety for profanity and nudity never previously broadcast on American network television. ''NYPD Blue'' was created by genre veteran
Steven Bochco and
David Milch
David Sanford Milch (born March 23, 1945) is an American writer and producer of television series. He has created several television shows, including ABC's ''NYPD Blue'' (1993-2005), co-created with Steven Bochco, and HBO's '' Deadwood'' (2004 ...
. The cast of ''NYPD Blue'' included actor Dennis Franz, who previously played Detective Buntz on ''Hill Street Blues'', as well as on a spin-off series, ''Beverly Hills Buntz''. Another cast member, David Caruso, would later play Lt. Horatio Caine on ''CSI: Miami''.
* The
CSI franchise which started with ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
'' (2000–2015) and eventually spawned two spin-offs focused on solving ordinary crimes using forensics, ''
CSI: Miami
''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...
'' (2002–2012) and ''
CSI: NY
''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for a total of nine seaso ...
'' (2004–2013). Produced by
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television producer. He has been active in the genres of action, drama, fantasy, and science fiction.
His films include '' Flashdance'', ''Top Gun'', '' The Rock'', '' ...
, these three shows focus on three groups of forensic scientists in Las Vegas, Miami and New York City who investigate how and why a person has died and if it is a murder or not by investigating not only
whodunit
A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the c ...
but also howdunit. A third spin-off, ''
CSI: Cyber'' (2015–2016), focused on cybercrime and its impact on modern society.
* The CSI franchise inspired other forensic shows such as ''
Body of Proof
''Body of Proof'' is an American medical/crime comedy-drama television series that ran on ABC from March 29, 2011, to May 28, 2013, and starred Dana Delany as medical examiner Dr. Megan Hunt. The series was created by Christopher Murphey and ...
'' (2011–2013), ''
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...
'' (2005–2017) and ''
Crossing Jordan
''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its dete ...
'' (2001–2007).
* The CSI franchise also inspired other crime dramas involving teams solving crimes but not relying on forensics; these include victim and witness memory for cold cases and missing people in ''
Cold Case
A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...
'' (2003–2010) and ''
Without a Trace
''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...
'' (2002–2009) respectively, psychological profiling in ''
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...
'' (2005–2020), using
mathematics in ''
Numbers
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
'' (2005–2010) and using deception in ''
The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show f ...
'' (2008–2015).
* ''
The Shield
''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt pol ...
'' (2002–08) is about an experimental division of the Los Angeles Police Department set up in the fictional Farmington district ("the Farm") of Los Angeles, using a converted church ("the Barn") as their police station, and featuring a group of detectives called "The Strike Team", who will do anything to bring justice to the streets. Michael Chiklis (Chiklis previously played the title character in the TV series ''The Commish'') has top billing with his portrayal of Strike Team leader Detective Victor "Vic" Mackey. The show has an ensemble cast that will normally run a number of separate story lines through each episode. It was on the
FX network
FX is an American pay television channel owned by FX Networks, LLC, a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content unit of The Walt Disney Company. It is based at the Fox Studios lot in Century City, California. FX originally launch ...
and was known for its portrayal of police brutality and its realism. The show inspired other shows similar to ''The Shield'' such as ''
Dark Blue'' and ''
Southland Southland may refer to:
Places Canada
* Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia
New Zealand
* Southland Region, a region of New Zealand
* Southland County, a former New Zealand county
* Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...
''. ''The Shield'' was created by writer/producer
Shawn Ryan.
* The
NCIS franchise which was spun off from the CBS series ''
JAG'' in 2003. The original series, ''
NCIS'' (2003–present) follows the Major Case Response Team of the
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary law enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of the Navy. Its primary function is to investigate criminal activities involving the Navy and Marine Corps, though its ...
, as they investigate crimes related to the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and
Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
. ''NCIS'' has been among the top scripted series on U.S. television, and has received three spin-offs; ''
NCIS: Los Angeles'' (2009–present) deals with an LA-based branch dealing in special undercover assignments, ''
NCIS: New Orleans'' (2014–2021) focuses on a small group of agents who handle cases from the Mississippi River to the Texas Panhandle and ''
NCIS: Hawaiʻi'' (2021–present) which focuses on agents working out of the Pearl Harbor Field Office.
* ''
Castle'' (2009–2016), ''
The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show f ...
'' (2008–2015), ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
'' (2002–2009) and ''
Psych'' (2006–2014) feature quirky investigators with their own distinct methods of solving crimes and are equally comedic shows as they are police procedurals.
*
''Chicago'' is a multi-genre franchise that focuses on the
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
Police Department, the
Fire Department and the
Medical branch respectively.
* ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' (2013–2021) is a single-camera police sitcom focusing on Detectives in the 99th precinct in Brooklyn.
* The
FBI Franchise (2018–present).
Comic strips and books
The
comic strip ''
Dick Tracy'' is often pointed to as an early procedural.
''Tracy'' creator
Chester Gould
Chester Gould (; November 20, 1900 – May 11, 1985) was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the '' Dick Tracy'' comic strip, which he wrote and drew from 1931 to 1977, incorporating numerous colorful and monstrous villains.
...
seemed to be trying to reflect the real world. Tracy himself, conceived by Gould as a "modern-day
Sherlock Holmes", was partly modeled on real-life law enforcer Eliot Ness, and his first, and most frequently recurring, antagonist, the
Big Boy, was based on Ness's real-life nemesis Al Capone. Other members of Tracy's
Rogues Gallery
A rogues' gallery (or rogues gallery) is a police collection of mug shots or other images of criminal suspects kept for identification purposes.
History
In 1855, Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, established a ...
, like Boris Arson,
Flattop Jones
Flattop Jones, Sr. is a fictional villain created by Chester Gould for the '' Dick Tracy'' comic strip. His nickname comes from his large head that is perfectly flat on the top.
Background of fictional character
Gould revealed little about Fl ...
, and Maw Famon, were inspired, respectively, by
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times an ...
,
Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, and
Kate "Ma" Barker.
Once ''Tracy'' was sold to the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' syndicate, Gould enrolled in a criminology class at
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
, met with members of the
Chicago Police Department, and did research at the department's crime lab, to make his depiction of law enforcement more authentic. Ultimately, he hired retired
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
policeman Al Valanis, a pioneering forensic sketch artist, as both an artistic assistant and police technical advisor.
The success of ''Tracy'' led to many more police strips. While some, like Norman Marsh's ''
Dan Dunn
Dan Dunn is a fictional detective created by Norman W. Marsh. He first appeared in ''Detective Dan: Secret Operative No. 48'', a proto-comic book from 1933, produced by Humor Publishing. He subsequently appeared in newspaper comic strips from 193 ...
'' were unabashedly slavish imitations of ''Tracy'', others, like
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...
's and
Alex Raymond
Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. (October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956) was an American cartoonist who was best known for creating the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into many ...
's ''
Secret Agent X-9
''Secret Agent X-9'' is a comic strip created by writer Dashiell Hammett ('' The Maltese Falcon'') and artist Alex Raymond (''Flash Gordon''). Syndicated by King Features, it ran from January 22, 1934 until February 10, 1996.
Premise and publ ...
'', took a more original approach. Still others, like Eddie Sullivan's and Charlie Schmidt's ''
Radio Patrol
''Radio Patrol'' is a police comic strip carried in newspapers from August 7, 1933 to December 16, 1950 in the dailies, with a Sunday strip that ran from November 25, 1934 to October 20, 1946. It was created by artist Charles Schmidt and writer E ...
'' and Will Gould's ''Red Barry'', steered a middle course. One of the best post-''Tracy'' procedural comics was ''
Kerry Drake'', written and created by Allen Saunders and illustrated by
Alfred Andriola. It diverged from the metropolitan settings used in ''Tracy'' to tell the story of the titular Chief Investigator for the District Attorney of a small-town jurisdiction. Later, following a personal tragedy, he leaves the DA's Office and joins his small city's police force in order to fight crime closer to the grass roots level. As both a DA's man and a city cop, he fights a string of flamboyant, Gould-ian criminals like "Stitches", "Bottleneck", and "Bulldozer".
Other syndicated police strips include
Zane Grey
Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American fronti ...
's ''
King of the Royal Mounted
''King of the Royal Mounted'' is an American comics series which debuted February 17, 1935 by Stephen Slesinger, based on popular Western writer Zane Grey's byline and marketed as ''Zane Grey's King of the Royal Mounted''. The series' protagonist ...
'', depicting police work in the contemporary Canadian Northwest, Lank Leonard's ''
Mickey Finn'', which emphasized the home life of a hard-working cop, and ''Dragnet'', which adapted stories from the pioneering radio-TV series into comics. Early
comic books with police themes tended to be reprints of syndicated newspaper strips like ''Tracy'' and ''Drake''. Others adapted police stories from other mediums, like the radio-inspired anthology comic ''
Gang Busters
''Gang Busters'' is an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered on January 15, 1936, and was broadcast over 21 years through November 27, 1957.
Histo ...
'', Dell's ''87th Precinct'' issues, which adapted McBain's novels, or ''The Untouchables'', which adapted the fictionalized TV adventures of real-life policeman Eliot Ness.
More recently, there have been attempts to depict police work with the kind of hard-edged realism seen in the novels of writers like Wambaugh, such as
Marvel's four-issue mini-series ''Cops: The Job'', in which a rookie police officer learns to cope with the physical, emotional, and mental stresses of law enforcement during her first patrol assignment. With
superheroes having long dominated the comic book market, there have been some recent attempts to integrate elements of the police procedural into the universe of costumed crime-fighters. ''
Gotham Central'', for example, depicts a group of police detectives operating in
Batman's
Gotham City
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...
, and suggested that the caped crime-fighter is disliked by many Gotham detectives for treading on their toes. Meanwhile, ''
Metropolis SCU'' tells the story of the Special Crimes Unit, an elite squad of cops in the police force serving
Superman's
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big ci ...
.
The use of police procedural elements in superhero comics can partly be attributed to the success of
Kurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek ( ) (born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer. His work includes the '' Marvels'' limited series, his own series titled ''Astro City'', a four-year run on '' The Avengers, Thunderbolts'' and '' Superman.''
Early lif ...
's groundbreaking 1994 series ''
Marvels
''Marvels'' is a four-issue Limited series (comics), miniseries comic book written by Kurt Busiek, painted by Alex Ross and edited by Marcus McLaurin. It was published by Marvel Comics in 1994.
Set in the 1939 to 1974 time period, the series ex ...
'', and his subsequent ''
Astro City
''Kurt Busiek's Astro City'' is an American superhero anthology comic book series centered on a fictional American city of that name. Created and written by Kurt Busiek, the series is mostly illustrated by Brent Anderson, with character designs an ...
'' work, both of which examine the typical superhero universe from the viewpoint of the common man who witnesses the great dramas from afar, participating in them tangentially at best.
In the wake of Busiek's success, many other writers mimicked his approach, with mixed results – the narrative possibilities of someone who does not get involved in drama are limited. In 2000, however,
Image Comics published the first issue of
Brian Michael Bendis's comic ''
Powers'', which followed the lives of homicide detectives as they investigated superhero-related cases. Bendis's success has led both Marvel Comics and
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
to begin their own superhero-themed police procedurals (''
District X
District X, also known as Mutant Town or the Middle East Side, is a fictional location appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a neighborhood in New York City primarily populated by mutants, first seen during Grant ...
'' and the aforementioned ''Gotham Central''), which focus on how the job of a police officer is affected by such tropes as secret identities, superhuman abilities, costumes, and the near-constant presence of
vigilante
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority.
A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...
s.
While the detectives in ''Powers'' were "normal" (unpowered) humans dealing with super-powered crime,
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...
and
Gene Ha
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian inheritance#History, Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanin ...
's ''
Top 10'' mini-series, published by
America's Best Comics
America's Best Comics (ABC) is a comic book publishing brand. It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics.
History
''America's Best ...
in 2000–01, centered around the super-powered police force in a setting where powers are omnipresent. The comic detailed the lives and work of the police force of Neopolis, a city in which everyone, from the police and criminals to civilians, children and even pets, has super-powers, colourful costumes and secret identities.
Criticism
Masculinity and racism
The police procedural is considered to be a male-dominant genre which very often portrays the
masculine hero dedicated to the professional realm. The introduction of women as protagonists is commonly attributed to either adding
sexual appeal, introducing gendered issues like investigating
sex crimes
Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes.
Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...
, or delving into the personal relationships of the characters. It also often portrays
rape myths
Rape myths are prejudicial, stereotyped, and false beliefs about sexual assaults, rapists, and rape victims. They often serve to excuse sexual aggression, create hostility toward victims, and bias criminal prosecution.
Extensive research has b ...
, such as that rape is more often committed by strangers rather than a known acquaintance of the victim, that the majority of rape claims are false, and that rapes only happen to "bad girls".
The portrayal of the criminal justice system also under-represents issues of race and
institutional racism
Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health ...
. A report by
Color of Change Hollywood and the USC Annenberg
Norman Lear Center identified that in these shows there was a severe lack of portrayal of racial bias in the criminal procedure, discussion about
criminal justice reform
Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any point where the cr ...
, and victims who are women of color. There is also little representation of people of color in the creation of these shows.
Biased narratives
The police procedural genre is becoming increasingly popular and has accounted for about 22% of all scripted shows on US
broadcast network
A terrestrial network (or broadcast network in the United States) is a group of radio stations, television stations, or other electronic media outlets, that form an agreement to air, or broadcast, content from a centralized source. For example, ...
in the last 10 years. This prevalence implies that viewers are often facing
TV series that place
police officers
A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
at the center of the story, showing exclusively their vision of the world. This approach has been denounced as enforcing the idea that the life and views of policemen are more important than the ones of the communities being policed.
In police procedural the policemen are presented as the "good guys" or close to superhuman, leading to a potentially biased narrative. Even when they use illegal practices it is presented as a necessary decision made in the
general interest. A report by
Color of Change Hollywood and the USC Annenberg
Norman Lear Center revealed that police procedural shows were normalizing unjust practices such as
illegal search,
surveillance,
coercion,
intimidation
Intimidation is to "make timid or make fearful"; or to induce fear. This includes intentional behaviors of forcing another person to experience general discomfort such as humiliation, embarrassment, inferiority, limited freedom, etc and the victi ...
,
violence
Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...
,
abuse and
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
.
Misrepresentation of reality
Additionally, criticisms have been raised against the genre for its unrealistic depiction of crime. Particularly, police procedurals have been accused of possessing an unrealistic preoccupation with incidents such as
homicide and
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
.
In the United States, plot points involving murder investigations appear at more frequent rates than those involving theft,
substance abuse, or
domestic violence—all of which citizens are more likely to personally experience. Following the 2001
attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, police procedurals have additionally portrayed attempted terrorism incidents at unrealistically high rates, prompting accusations of
racial profiling
Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involv ...
and
fear-mongering
Fearmongering, or scaremongering, is a form of manipulation that causes fear by using exaggerated rumors of impending danger.
Theory
According to evolutionary psychology, humans have a strong impulse to pay attention to danger because awareness ...
.
The manner in which crime has been portrayed in the media has subsequently been linked with discrepancies both in popular perception of
crime rates
Crime statistics refer to systematic, quantitative results about crime, as opposed to crime news or anecdotes. Notably, crime statistics can be the result of two rather different processes:
* scientific research, such as criminological studies, vi ...
, as well as
sentencing.
In a 2005 study conducted on the
German public, it was found that despite a decline in total offences between 1992 and 2003, "the German public believes or assumes, on balance, that crime has increased".
It has been further posited that the distorted public perception arising from the prevalence of police procedurals has been a factor in influencing sentencing rates. Countries such as the US, UK and Germany—while experiencing declines in crime rates—reported increases in the volume and severity of
incarceration.
Recent efforts and developments
However, alongside protests against
police brutality in the United States and abroad, and debates on the role of entertainment in the portrayal of law enforcement in society,
the genre has been facing increased scrutiny.
As a result, some
television networks
A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...
have been making an effort to address and correct the aforementioned criticism. In August 2020, it became known that the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
writing staff will partner with 21CP Solutions,
an advisory group on
public safety
Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensur ...
and
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Education ...
, on the network's
legal dramas and police procedurals. CBS producers state that the team, including
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
experts, lawyers and police veterans alike, has been hired in order to fill the recently identified lack of reality in crime shows and allow the genre to move with the times.
As a result, the main objectives and partnership's attention is supposed to focus on an increase of inclusivity, diversity and authenticity in the production of police procedurals.
See also
*
Crime comics
Crime comics is a genre of American comic books and format of crime fiction. The genre was originally popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s and is marked by a moralistic editorial tone and graphic depictions of violence and criminal activity ...
*
Crime fiction
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
*
Legal fiction
*
List of police television dramas
References
Further reading
* Agger, Gunhild, and Anne Marit Waade. "Melancholy and murder." in ''European Television Crime Drama and Beyond'' (Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2018) pp. 61–82.
* Arntfield, Michael. "TVPD: The generational diegetics of the police procedural on American television." ''Canadian Review of American Studies'' 41.1 (2011): 75–95.
* Bolger, P. Colin, and Glenn D. Walters. "The relationship between police procedural justice, police legitimacy, and people's willingness to cooperate with law enforcement: A meta-analysis." ''Journal of criminal justice'' (2019).
* Brunsdale, Mitzi M. ''Icons of Mystery and Crime Detection: From Sleuths to Superheroes'' (2 vol. ABC-CLIO, 2010).
* Cummins, Ian, Marian Foley, and Martin King. ...And After the Break': Police Officers' Views of TV Crime Drama." ''Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice'' 8.2 (2014): 205–211.
* Cummins, Ian, and Martin King. Drowning in here in his bloody sea': exploring TV cop drama's representations of the impact of stress in modern policing." ''Policing and society'' 27.8 (2017): 832–846
online
* Davis, J. Madison. "He do the police in different voices: The rise of the police procedural." ''World Literature Today'' 86.1 (2012): 9–11.
* García, Alberto N. "Baltimore in The Wire and Los Angeles in The Shield: Urban landscapes in American drama series." ''Series-International Journal of TV Serial Narratives'' 3.1 (2017): 51–6
online
* McGovern, Alyce, and Nickie D. Phillips. "Police, media, and popular culture." in ''Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice'' (2017).
* Primasita, Fitria Akhmerti, and Heddy Shri Ahimsa-Putra. "An Introduction to the Police Procedural: A Subgenre of Detective Genre." ''Humaniora'' 31.1 (2019): 33+
* Roberts, Les. "Landscapes in the frame: Exploring the hinterlands of the British procedural drama." ''New Review of Film and Television Studies'' 14.3 (2016): 364–385
online
* Sabin, Roger, with Ronald Wilson, et al. ''Cop Shows: A Critical History of Police Dramas on Television'' (McFarland, 2015). viii, pp. 219.
* Saunders, Robert A. ''Geopolitics, Northern Europe, and Nordic Noir: What Television Series Tell Us about World Politics'' (Routledge, 2020).
* Scheg, Abigail G. and Tamara Girardi, eds. ''Hero or Villain?: Essays on Dark Protagonists of Television'' (2017
excerpt* Stephenson, Antony. "Kinds of blue: The representation of Australian police and policing in television drama and reality television." (PhD dissertation, Charles Sturt University, Australia, 2019)
online* Stephenson, Antony. "Police as cop show viewers." in ''Crime, Media, Culture'' (2021): 17416590211005520.
{{Crime fiction
Crime fiction
Genres