Movies and television series that feature law enforcement are exciting specifically because of the high-risk nature of their jobs. Continuously engaged in tense hostage negotiations, shoot-outs, and high-speed chases, cops seem like superhuman beings who never get tired, never have to reload their firearms, and never have to spend time buried under mountains of paperwork. While this makes for hours of entertainment, it’s often a far cry from what police officers and detectives experience in their day-to-day lives.
Separating fact from fiction is important to appreciate the real trials and tribulations that law enforcement officials face, and to realize that creative liberties are taken to dramatize work that is mired in protocols. Regulations are important to ensure police work proceeds safely and efficiently, but its spontaneous and dangerous nature will always provide more storytelling opportunities onscreen.
THEIR CLOTHING
Even when going undercover or being a part of a unit like in Miami Vice, cops don’t dress like fashion models, without bulky equipment, and in finely tailored clothing. Detectives often wear plainclothes, but they are more utilitarian, and still reflect the tastes of the officers who wear them.
Most cops wear standard uniforms, without any special alterations like in Reno 9-1-1 or in Brooklyn 99. And detectives don’t wear the latest trends but nondescript, often ill-fitting suits that are designed to have them blend in with their surroundings, especially in an urban environment.
THEIR LOOKS
Aside from not dressing like fashion models, most cops don’t look like fashion models, either. While there are attractive people in every field, most police officers don’t look like Brad Pitt in Seven or Angelina Jolie in The Bone Collector. They look like regular people and sometimes are even out of shape.
An officer’s appearance sometimes depends on their department’s standards, but most wouldn’t let a watch sergeant have a goatee in uniform like in The Rookie. Some officers spend a lot of time on physical fitness with their colleagues, but most cops come across a little nerdy, and more like Steve Rogers before he took the super-soldier serum than Captain America.
THEIR ATTITUDE
There may be one errant officer in a squad room, but for the most part, they don’t have a chip on their shoulder which causes them to fight back against authority. And captains or sergeants don’t barrel into the room and demand cases be solved immediately, or berate their officers for doing their jobs improperly.
Most cops have a public and private persona due to the amount of compartmentalization they have to do. They’re one way around fellow officers, which might convey more of their personality, but the moment they’re around the public, they have a job to do, which can result in many officers having a similarly reserved disposition.
FIREARMS
Many cops can go their entire life without ever firing a single shot, and some without ever even drawing their firearm. The degree to which they draw their weapon tends to pertain to whether or not they’re in a more urban environment, but even then, they do so as a last resort and escalation of force.
In movies and television, officers draw their guns all the time, even when they’re not “covering a suspect” or engaging a suspect who’s armed (this goes even for grittier films like Training Day or Street Kings). When they get in a shoot-out, they have magazines with 50 bullets in them, and never seem to have to reload.
INTERROGATION
A real officer would never get to pull a Detective Stabler and beat a suspect for information, like on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The suspect would start a complaint immediately, and Internal Affairs would read the officer in question their Miranda Rights and immediately remove them from the case.
If found guilty of battery, the officer would not only lose their job and pension, but more than likely any privileges for their family, and possibly could see prison time. It’s simply not worth it for them to jeopardize their stability for one case, when they might have thirty other cases that all need information from suspects.
LONG HOURS
Whether it’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Dragnet, or the Lethal Weapon films, officers and detectives are seen sometimes putting in long hours for a case or investigation. They arrive early in the morning and leave late at night, putting in hours upon hours of overtime that in reality, would need to be approved by their boss.
Police officers and homicide detectives work the same 8 1/2 hour days that other jobs require, split up into shifts. It’s highly unlikely that they get to pursue a case “until it’s done”, unless they want to work on their own time, but if that’s the case they can’t have access to any of their privileges, flash their badge, or even use their firearm.
THE AMOUNT OF PAPERWORK
For most cops, their days are spent writing reports or taking statements, amounting to a lot of paperwork. This doesn’t make very interesting entertainment, so most of the time it’s simply not shown onscreen. But it’s a vital part of their job, especially if their paperwork becomes admissible in a court case. They have to be as exacting as possible in their recollection of details.
Violent crime accounts for about 4% of all crime in the United States. Most criminal offenses are substance or property related, but that doesn’t make for dramatic storytelling. So both the crimes, and the amount of paperwork they involve are eschewed in favor of exciting shoot-outs and high-speed car chases.
TAKING A LIFE
For most officers, taking a life (even if justified) is something they never get over. Some series like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has shown officers receiving counseling, but in films like Bad Boys, shooting anyone doesn’t have the same repercussions because they’re justifiably “bad guys” who deserved it.
In reality, taking even one life has serious mental and physical consequences for an officer, and they may decide not to continue a career in law enforcement. Some will even go on to take their own life over the incident, even with proper counseling. No matter if the victim was considered good or bad in the eyes of the law, an officer can’t just shake off taking their life nonchalantly.
FIGHTS AND CHASES
Most police officers don’t end up getting in fights with perps, contrary to what is seen on screen. If officers look professional and squared away, the general public won’t want to fight them, especially since they’ll arrive to a radio call with at least a partner (if not more units) to give them the numerical advantage.
The majority of an officer’s day is spent filing paperwork, or in the case of a detective filing paperwork and making a court appearance. If they’re a beat cop, they’re riding in their car all day, taking the occasional radio call, and mostly finding ways to entertain themselves, as depicted in Super Troopers.
THE LAB
In series like CSI, Law & Order, and others officers round up evidence and then drop it off at a forensics lab, where personnel will go over it with a fine-tooth comb and find the exact set of hair/fibers that’s needed to solve the case and incriminate a suspect. This also happens quickly, so that the evidence can be admissible in court.
In reality, unless the crime is incredibly serious, the lab won’t be able to get much processing done, and if it can it will take a number of weeks. Labs don’t have enormous budgets, and often have to prioritize their work, which unfortunately means some cases and their evidence can slip through the cracks.
