Police have always been major players in true crime stories, as both heroes AND villains. So what’s real and what’s just “copaganda”?
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00:00Police have always been major players in true crime stories, as both heroes and villains.
00:05So, what's real, and what's just copaganda?
00:11Welcome to WatchMojo's series, The Evolution of True Crime.
00:15In this episode, we're going to explore how police are depicted across the vast history of true crime content.
00:20The good cop, bad cop routine?
00:24Not exactly.
00:30Policing touches on a myriad of hot-button issues, and we're not here to tell you what to think about them.
00:41Instead, we're looking at how the representation of police in true crime has changed over time,
00:46and how these changes reflect larger shifts in our society.
00:49So, let's dive in.
00:51These are the men who serve the city of Detroit, working together as a team for the protection of the lives and property of the people of Detroit.
00:59Law enforcement has existed in various forms throughout history.
01:03But as metropolitan centers expanded in the 19th century, policing became more organized,
01:08and developments in forensic science changed the game.
01:11Fingerprinting techniques allowed investigators to place individuals at a crime scene.
01:15The discovery that body temperature drops at regular intervals after death meant that time of death could be determined accurately.
01:22And, developments in ballistics and toxicology made it easier to identify weapons used in crimes.
01:28By the end of the 1800s, instead of drawing conclusions from visual evidence or hearsay,
01:33there were methods for solving crimes that were scientifically reliable.
01:37There was now a real chance of catching the guy who did it.
01:40This is important because these innovations led directly to the development of the mystery genre,
01:45a major influence on true crime as we know it.
01:49Inside, Houston found what scientists might call an anomaly.
01:54It was a partial print of an index finger, and it matched.
01:58True crime had been around for hundreds of years before mystery novels.
02:02But in the 1800s, the genre's focus shifted away from tabloidy tellings of gruesome events.
02:08Crime stories became more about the puzzle, the method of solving crimes,
02:11thanks to new public interest in policing.
02:13Conversely, how to get away with murder and the perfect crime became topics of conversation in literary and academic circles.
02:21While there are many sub-genres under the mystery umbrella,
02:24the genre typically revolves around a crime and police or police-adjacent figures
02:29peeling away the layers of secrecy surrounding its whys and hows.
02:33It'll be very interesting to see if my deductions are accurate.
02:36The genre's focus became less about, look at this sickening event,
02:39and more about who is intelligent and observant enough to crack this case.
02:44These inspector genius characters often have borderline superhero qualities,
02:48and an aura of exceptionality and superiority.
02:52For the subconscious mind, it's like the bottom part of an iceberg submerged beneath the sea.
02:57It's there, but you don't see it.
02:58We don't say this as a criticism, necessarily.
03:01Literary heroes are the heroes of their stories.
03:04And as the introduction of policing to rapidly growing cities brought more stability and accountability in areas of great change,
03:11it's no surprise that media featuring police had an element of hero worship.
03:15Well, I figured you'd be glad to see me.
03:18Glad to see you.
03:19Well, man, you just saved my life.
03:21However, as with any media wave, mystery and detective novels in the 19th century also reflected biases in society at that time.
03:29Modern criticism has pointed to how the genre reproduces popular myths about crime, like the prevalence of murder,
03:36and that the superhero-ish qualities of the genre's cops ignores problems like institutional racism and discrimination in police culture.
03:43This would not have been understood the same way as it is now, but in hindsight, it's clear.
03:49It's also worth questioning the trope of cop protagonists doing whatever it takes to solve a crime,
03:54even when those actions are immoral or illegal.
03:58I shoot the bastard. That's my policy.
04:00Does this trope normalize police misconduct under the rationale that it's for the greater good?
04:06Who does this greater good serve?
04:08Who does it harm?
04:08Again, we're not saying these characters aren't heroic within the context of their narratives.
04:13However, one can see how heroic police stories create a skewed impression of what good or normal policing looks like.
04:20So let's jump ahead to the next major innovation of cop content, reality TV.
04:26Cops is filmed on location with the men and women of law enforcement.
04:30This is an essential bridge between mystery literature and the true crime docuseries we stream today.
04:35Specifically, let's talk about cops.
04:37In this reality show, camera crews follow police during the course of their shifts,
04:42giving viewers the thrilling experience of a ride-along.
04:45It's a done deal. We're going to move in and do the takedown in this van here.
04:49Hold on.
04:51Get out of the car.
04:53The lack of narration and background music gives it an air of unfiltered authenticity.
04:57Get on the ground! Taser, taser, taser!
04:59Get on the ground, man!
05:00Given the saturation of police reality TV since the show's debut in 1989,
05:06many might be quick to dismiss cops as daytime trash, but do not underestimate its impact.
05:12Cops is one of the longest-running TV shows in American history, and its influence is enormous.
05:17The premise and popularity of cops hinges largely on its perceived objectivity,
05:25and the idea that cops are good guys and their arrestees are bad guys.
05:30The historical context is important because, remember,
05:33crime in the United States reached a broad all-time peak between 1970 and the early 1990s.
05:38So crime in communities was real.
05:41And this anxiety was in the public consciousness already.
05:44Well, do you know it or not, it's touching you somehow.
05:47Just look around. Look what's happened.
05:49So a verite-style series where police arrest drug dealers and violent criminals
05:53seems like not only a positive for the community, but also has an aura of heroism to it.
05:58Fair. Crime is bad. Violence is bad.
06:01Having responsible, accountable, and empathetic individuals working to keep their community safe
06:06is obviously a good thing.
06:07But here's where it gets a bit sticky.
06:10While the show is shot in verite style, the image of crime portrayed is not really accurate
06:15compared to actual crime statistics.
06:18For example, studies have found a major over-representation of men of color as perpetrators
06:23in the show compared to real crime data.
06:25Cops also over-represents the number of violent crime arrests by nearly a factor of four,
06:30and drug arrests by a factor of three.
06:33It paints a racialized image of who is committing crimes in America,
06:36while showcasing the impoverished living conditions of America's poor and addicted.
06:42There is a clear dichotomy between the good guys and the bad guys.
06:49And new bad guys.
06:51Cops is just one show.
06:53And while it has shot over 1,100 episodes across 30 years in over 140 American cities,
07:00we have to look at the bigger picture.
07:03The so-called war on drugs that began in the 1970s introduced policies that criminalized crack possession
07:09far more severely, up to 100 times, than cocaine, even though crack is derived from cocaine.
07:15We must wage what I have called total war against public enemy number one in the United States,
07:22the problem of dangerous drugs.
07:23Crack was far more prevalent in lower-income and minority communities at this time
07:27because it was much cheaper and easier to produce.
07:30So there emerged a heavily racialized profile of who was the face of the epidemic.
07:35And shows like Cops corroborated these stereotypes.
07:39Do you think the police will ever be able to stop crack in the streets of this city or any other city?
07:44What's more, Cops regularly depicts police busting into private residences,
07:49using tasers on suspects in custody, pinning suspects to the ground,
07:53stopping suspects on technicalities or random suspicion,
07:57and using this to justify investigating them for other crimes?
08:00How many times have you been stopped and frisked?
08:02Seven times.
08:03Seven times?
08:04Yes, sir.
08:04And you're how old?
08:0517.
08:06I remember them banging my head into this.
08:08He says he's more afraid of the law than the thugs.
08:12We're not here to give a case-by-case analysis of every situation on the show,
08:15but it's obvious that Cops represents this as good policing.
08:19Or, at the very least, standard.
08:23You ain't gotta be aggressive, man.
08:24Not being aggressive, man.
08:25Just doing it the way I'm supposed to.
08:27Within a cultural climate so concerned with crime,
08:30shows like Cops played an important PR role in justifying hardcore tactics in neighborhood policing,
08:35increased police power and budgets, and even racial profiling.
08:39How many people have been told they fit the description by a cop raising it?
08:43Almost all of us, right?
08:44It's worth mentioning that all police departments involved in the show
08:48are given editorial control over the final cut of the episodes.
08:51They can opt to remove anything that paints them in a light they don't agree with.
08:55So, it's safe to say that what we see in the show is, indeed, how those cops wish to be represented.
09:01PR has and always will be essential for police because most people almost never actually interact with them.
09:08The publics they serve overwhelmingly form their impressions of the police and their effectiveness through media.
09:14So, shows like Cops and Live PD provide entertainment, but also serve to paint police in a positive light.
09:20And reality TV aside, police departments themselves largely recognize media as an essential part of maintaining a positive relationship with the communities they serve.
09:28Communicating effectively about ongoing cases and being visually present in the community outside of active policing
09:35are legitimate ways the police use the media to maintain a healthy impression with their communities.
09:40HEAL is a national initiative that works to bridge the gaps between communities, law enforcement, and those impacted by the criminal justice system.
09:47In the 21st century, policing has become an increasingly polarizing topic, bound up with issues like systemic racism, gun control, the deeply political war on drugs, and the actual real need to protect communities from harm.
10:01This drug thing, this ain't police work.
10:05When you're at war, you need a f***ing enemy.
10:08And pretty soon, damn near everybody on every corner is your f***ing enemy.
10:13And soon the neighborhood that you're supposed to be policing, that's just occupied territory.
10:18The police reality TV genre has continued to explode, with seemingly endless action-driven shows like Live PD,
10:25Police Women of Various Cities, and cop-adjacent shows like Dog the Bounty Hunter.
10:29But an interesting counterpoint to this trend is the true crime boom of the 2010s,
10:34which typically leaned more into the thrills of mystery storytelling than the action-packed standards of reality TV.
10:41Many of the most popular true crime content of the 2010s, like Making a Murderer, The Keepers, and the podcast Serial,
10:47were heavily themed around police conspiracies, incompetence, or systemic inequalities leading to unjust outcomes.
10:54This wave of true crime approached police and criminal justice systems with a far more critical eye.
11:00Law enforcement despised Stephen Avery.
11:03Stephen Avery was a shiny example of their inadequacies, their misconduct.
11:10A lot of true crime from this era also features cases cracked by independent researchers who are able to do the police's job,
11:17unhindered by corruption and bureaucracy.
11:19And now we have something that the LAPD is going to really want.
11:23You know, without all the bullshit, without having to go through 800 different levels of discovery and all that stuff,
11:28we've got Bob reacting clean to this hugely important piece of evidence.
11:32Don't F with cats, hunting an internet killer, I'll Be Gone in the Dark,
11:36The Jinx, and again, the smash hit serial, are all examples of this concept playing out.
11:42It took me to a Facebook group, and it looked to me like it was focused on trying to find who was in this video.
11:48I was like, okay, this person wants to play a game of cat and mouse, and I'm up for that.
11:54So why the change?
11:55Is it just a matter of the pendulum swinging the other way?
11:58We didn't know where he lived.
11:59We were all in investigative mode.
12:01We didn't have much time.
12:02We need to stop him from doing this.
12:05Well, we know that media acts as a mirror, reflecting the social concerns of its time.
12:10When metropolitan police were introduced and forensics expanded in the 19th century,
12:14mystery novels reveled in the puzzles of crime.
12:18Cops and comparable reality crime TV reflected cultural anxiety about drugs and violence,
12:23and helped justify tough-on-crime policies and increased police presence in communities.
12:28True crime in our era reflects the power of the internet and social media in democratizing collective experience.
12:34There is now an unprecedented ability to meaningfully question or contest official accounts of events and political narratives.
12:41And citizens now have far greater understanding of the legal system.
12:46People have packed City Hall to speak up about the need for more police accountability.
12:51It's a conversation happening in cities all across the country.
12:54For instance, footage of George Floyd's 2020 arrest and murder was spread rapidly online,
13:00and showed former officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for over seven minutes.
13:05The official autopsy attributed Floyd's death to, quote,
13:08underlying health conditions and potential intoxicants,
13:11whereas a private autopsy done by the family found that the 46-year-old died of, quote,
13:16asphyxiation from sustained pressure.
13:18The footage of the event not only sparked widespread awareness and outrage,
13:22but helped change the outcome of the case where police repeatedly failed to do their duty,
13:27serve and protect their community.
13:29It's been the constant trauma, trauma, and reliving it over and over and over again,
13:35and we just, we need to see some justice to feel like we're going somewhere.
13:38Cops was canceled in 2020 by the Paramount Network in light of the global George Floyd protests,
13:44but was soon picked up by Fox Nation, a streaming companion to Fox News.
13:48Step out.
13:49New cops are only on Fox Nation.
13:52In 2021, a law was passed in Texas preventing reality shows from working with law enforcement agencies.
13:58The change came after a 40-year-old man died from being repeatedly tased by police
14:03following a 22-minute car chase, all filmed for Live PD.
14:08Ambler's attorneys say poorly trained deputies could not recognize the medical needs of a man
14:14whose disability could cause him to die in custody.
14:18Studies showed that use of force reports by police nearly doubled in the year
14:22following that agency's collaboration with the show,
14:24indicating that officers were more likely to use force
14:27when they knew they were going to be on TV.
14:36Regardless of where any of us fall on the political spectrum,
14:39we can all agree that the justice system should work to protect people from crime,
14:44violence, terror, and fear.
14:45Because policing touches on so many polemic issues,
14:48like gun control, racism, incarceration, and so on,
14:51media representations of police carry extra weight.
14:55The polarization of how police are represented in today's true crime
14:59is a prime example of the way the genre embodies the cultural anxieties and issues of its era.
15:04Are police heroes or villains?
15:07It depends who you ask.
15:09He's doing my job.
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