by Adam Hart

Created on: May 27, 2009   Last Updated: May 28, 2009

There are two key words to focus on in this question; real and operate. Any time a question deals with matters of opinion and sweeping generalizations they are difficult to answer. By defining such concrete terms as real and operate, coming to a conclusion is that much easier.

I find even more difficulty with this question living in the greater New York City region. As most shows of this nature either take place in New York or California, the plethora of CSI variants aside, it is hard to imagine the rest of the world is different. Being a citizen without a badge and no criminal record, it is also hard to imagine the world of cops and robbers being different from said shows.

However there is a stark contrast from TV to reality. Police officers wear uniforms that come equipped with real weapons. There is a heavy burden of responsibility and the presence of impending danger that comes along with this. There are no camera crews, no directors to yell cut, and certainly no conveniently placed evidence worked into the script. In reality, every precinct does not have a world famous detective with superb insight to the criminal mind, a keen eye for detail, and an all consuming nature that makes them live only for solving the case. They also do not all have state of the art labs with teams of PhD. super minds that can deliver spot on results with only the smallest shred of evidence and all within 60 minutes.

Let me state that I have nothing but respect for all of the good men and women who risk their lives every day wearing a badge. They are all heroes, real heroes. What this means is they do not have super powers or TV budgets to get the job done. So no matter how cool something looks or how well something works on TV, the police operate how they know best.

The criminal mind is much more of a grey area. There have been reports of crimes that sound very familiar to story lines in the past. This would seem to support the other side of the argument yet a deranged fan does not represent the real criminal element. While aspects of the crime might be copied, or ideas expanded upon, actual behavior is difficult to mimic. This is due in large part to the majority of shows focusing on the crime-solving side of the story. It is rare that we ever get to see how the criminal operates as this would take the mystery and suspense out of the show.

A TV show also has a large and intricate plot. Many of the depicted crimes are crimes of passion or have circumstantial factors that lead to the behavior. It would be a large coincidence for a real criminal to have the same set of circumstances in their lives. Without the same motivations, the behavior will be very different.

The crimes also involve some very state of the art and hard to come by equipment. This equipment is necessary to romanticize the situation and intrigue the viewer. I mean we see the same super-human crime fighters win every case, every week, so each crime must be increasingly more difficult to solve else the show becomes mundane. Again I am not a criminal, but I believe most would subscribe to the motto of keep it simple.

From all reports simple is how most criminals start out. You do not begin your career as a CEO and your first crime is not normally a serial murder spree or heist of a famous diamond. Perhaps under the right set of circumstances a budding criminal mind at just the right, or wrong if you share my view of the world, time in his or her career might see an episode that presents a logical escalation for them to follow. However I find this highly unlikely and must conclude that TV police dramas are a prime example of art imitating life, not the other way around.

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