The proliferation of cop shows

I have often wondered why the hell there are so many cop shows on tv. If six versions of CSI isn't enough the networks also give us NCIS, Without a Trace, Cold Case, JAG, three million syndicated reruns of Cops, and all the shows that relate to crime including those about the legal system (Boston Public), the military (the Unit), or just solving crime in general (the Ghost Whisperer, Psych, Monk). Why the heck do we love these kinds of shows so much? Or is it simply what the networks have to offer us?

These tv shows provide a sense of security and order for us as we go about our daily lives. Reassurance that the authorities are doing their jobs enables us to take for granted the social order so that we don't live in fear of chaos. Even if we bitch and complain about the authorities, the fact is that we cannot live peacefully in society without them. Perhaps the shows also restores faith in criminal justice system in a time when many view cops and politicians as incredibly corrupt. New stories regularly come out about police corruption or some political scandal so if we watch these cop shows, perhaps we feel a sens of transparency and comfort, that we know the police will do whatever it takes, sacrifice their personal lives, and give it all to solve that seemingly unsolvable crime that might be us one strange day...

Personally I often don't trust the police because of the experiences I had with them while growing up in San Francisco. During junior high and high school, I hung out with many different groups (I was one of those kids that just floated around and spent time with different people in different groups). Unfortunately one of the groups I hung out with were viewed by the school administrators as the troublemakers. Many of these friends were either in gangs, had friends who were gang members, or had relatives who were gang members. I'm not talking about your stereotypical gang members either - Asian gang members in San Francisco during the 1990s were very violent and dangerous. Unlike Latino gangs, many of them didn't distinguish themselves by wearing certain colors or something publicly distinguishable like that. Many of them were unnoticeable most of the time and you wouldn't be able to tell what was going on with them because many of them were straight A students. They all dressed in the trends of the 1990s in SF at that time: all black, spiky big hair, lots of makeup for the women, no backpacks or bags, and many of the guys carried a switchblade or some kind of knife not because they really thought they'd use it, but because it was just something to cool to carry. The supposedly gang-related friends I had in high school were easy to spot because they all dressed the same.

The cops loved to give them a hard time because they often cut school and loitered around campus. When I hung out with them, the worst that would happen would be cutting classes to go over to someone's house to listen to music. They all did the typical teenage things like shoplift, smoke, drink, but many of them were not violent. Often times their older brother and sisters would get into trouble - often by getting into fights - and once word got around that your brother and sister got sent to "juvi" you were pegged as a trouble maker by the school administration.

In college, cops also loved to give some of my friends a hard time because they drove modified cars. Non-street legal cars easily attracted the attention of police wherever they went so there would be no escaping a weekly fix it ticket. In college, the cops also hated Asian fraternities and sororities. Cops viewed as gangs because no one really understood them or what they did when they got together. House parties never lasted long once word got to the cops that an Asian fraternity or sorority was throwing the party. What made it worse were the predominantly white fraternities who often caused trouble by talking crap about Asian fraternities. Rumors always went around on campus about which white fraternity was going to jump what Asian fraternity.

More recently I've had to confront my distrust of the police. In my weekly mom group sessions, there are two women who work as police and one woman whose partner is police. These folks have been super nice and kind in group sessions and I've even seen one of them go into action when we had an emergency happen. Because I've gotten to know them a bit, my nervousness and mistrust has diminished a bit. I also think it's a bit easier because they're women. (I have a serious distrust of male cops.)

So given my history of antagonistic relationships with cops all my life, I have seldom felt the sense of security that law enforcement is supposed to provide. Perhaps I take it for granted that there is someone to call when something bad happens but in reality I have a hard time trusting cops because I've never had a positive encounter with a cop. So when I watch my two favorite "procedural" cop shows - CSI:NY and Without a Trace - it's because I enjoy the characters and challenging myself to figure out who did it before the end of the show, not because I derive some sense of security. It's sad and unfortunate that I feel this way but I openly acknowledge it.

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