Crime TV Drama's Contradicting Eachother?

Sorry, I don't generally watch those things. If you get into the details, it'll probably ruin your viewing experience.

I did my time in L. A. so, here's a local primer:

First, there are several levels of people out there who may be packin' guns - "Peace officers" - in California. From the broadest arrest powers on down to more limited authority, they are (1) Police Officers, Sheriff's Deputies, D. A. Investigators, and others, (2) officers/investigators with the Highway Patrol, Univ. of Calif., Calif State Universities, Fish & Game, Dep't of Corrections, Alcoholic Beverage Control, and others, (3) officers/investigators for the DMV, Horse Racing Board, Fire Marshal, and others. And on down - you get the picture.

LAPD works within the city limits of L.A., with different patrol areas - "Divisions," each one sorta like a small department. They have their own crime lab. A homicide (or other cases) might be worked by a Division detective (Mark Fuhrman) or the bigs guns out of Robbery/Homicide downtown (Lange & Vannatter) or some other specialized unit: Gangs, Bunco/Forgery, Narcotics, etc.

L. A. Sheriff's have jurisdiction over all of the unincorporated areas of L. A. County plus those incorporated cities that contract for their services. Their patrol areas are "Stations." They have their own crime lab. too. They have a similar setup with Station level personnel plus detectives in special centralized units. LASD may assist a small department when it doesn't have the expertise or the manpower to devote to a case, e.g., a small city that has 1 murder every year or two can easily screw up an investigation.

Then there's a bunch of State agencies and Federal agencies. There are State and Federal crime labs. Cooperation between agencies on different and even the same levels ranges from great to non-existent. Turf wars and politics. Generally, no one is looking to take on more work; they're trying to cut case loads, unless there's some positive notoriety at stake (politics again.) There always seems to be a shortage of manpower and resources.

Typically, D.A.'s are not involved until the detective/investigator brings a case to them to file a criminal complaint. Being a skilled trial attorney does not readily equate with being a good investigator or interrogator.

Head spinning yet? ](*,)

The most realistic would probably be shows like Cops, The First 48, North Mission Road (Coroner) that follow around the actual people. Even then, it's like the police equivalent of The Dog Whisperer.

lol ok, makes sense. Kinda similar to what I know about Florida's agencies. OPD, Orange County Sheriff, State Troopers etc. I live in unincorporated Orlando/Orange County so I never see OPD unless I go downtown.

I used to hate any type of dramas on TV, but a friend of mine got me into CSI a few years ago n it just expanded into watching all the other shows that came on this season. I think having a DVR has increased my TV viewing about 800%, I can actually follow a TV series, because I'm not the type to stay home to catch what happened on the next episode so I never saw the point to watch something that required that :lol:

It just amuses me that on the shows they show the involvement of other departments in an absolutely minimalist way, n then their own department gets all the glory... but every show does that n every show is a different department, so it's like "OK who actually DOES the real work??" they show CSI busting into houses with guns n clearing the rooms or following people in cars... n it's like... OK wouldn't they have a deputy with them to do that? All in the name of a good show I guess! If I were a cop those shows would probably drive me nuts, I hate seeing inaccuracies in stuff I know alot about. Knowing about dogs also ruined the joy of other peoples pets now, because I see them give dogs 10 commands that never get responded to, or I'll see em ineffectively correct the dog or mis-read behaviors that should be corrected n it's tough for me to keep my mouth shut, but nobody ever listens to my advice so I've learnt to tollerate it lol.

... If I were a cop those shows would probably drive me nuts, I hate seeing inaccuracies in stuff I know alot about...

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That pretty much sums it up.

In real life, every LE agency has a specific jurisdiction in which they have authority. Generally speaking, State agencies (State Police, State Highway Patrol, State Gaming Commission, etc) have jurisdiction throughout the entire State or over specific crimes. Sheriff's Offices generally have jurisdiction in their entire specific county. Police Departments general have jurisdiction within their city limits.

Generally, Police Departments patrol municipalities, townships or villages. Sheriff's Office patrols unicorporated areas of a county (even though they technically have jurisdiction in the whole county). State Police or State Highway Patrol generally patrol certain areas of the State, even though they have jurisdiction in the entire State.

CSI is pretty realisitic in terms of the scientific side of things (even though DNA and other stuff can take weeks to get back, not minutes). But the rest of the show is just not true. CSI Techs are generally not SWORN police officers, meaning they have no arrest powers and don't carry guns, etc. They are usually civilians that work for the Crime Scene Investigation DIVISION of a larger Department (such as LAPD or CHP, etc). To be frank, they are generally techie-type nerds that are highly educated with a strong background in science, computers, etc .

In terms of who does what in real life, Law & Order is pretty accurate (though, that's where the accuracy stops in that show!). Third Watch was pretty realistic the first few years (at least as far as a TV show goes). Still, the most realistic COP show is still NYPD Blue, IMO. But they only dealt with one aspect of policing, being a Detective in a large metro agency. Almost ALL of the COP dramas on TV are from that perspective. I wish someone would come out with a GOOD, WELL-WRITTEN, REALISTIC show about policing from the Patrol Officer perspective. Third Watch was probably the closest so far.