Unmasking copaganda: How TV police dramas shape public perceptions of law and order
Original text was published HERE.
Television series dedicated to the work of police officers and detectives have been among the most watched and widespread for decades. A closer examination of these series reveals much about societal perceptions of the police, attempts by the institution to manage media narratives about itself, as well as the impact of media on the general normalisation of institutionalised violence.
1. Police on Television
Television programs are saturated with police series to such an extent that it is unreasonable to expect any other type of program when randomly tuning in to a TV station or logging in to streaming platforms. The options are limited to police dramas and, occasionally, comedy series to lighten the mood after dealing with violent crimes. Research from 2020 suggests that up to half of the series produced in the predominantly English-speaking areas of the world deal with the police in some way.
This information is particularly significant in the context of the current political climate.
The early 21st century has brought changes to public discourse. Some taken-for-granted assumptions about “law and order” and the conflation of legality with morality have been drastically re-examined by younger generations, who have access to a broader range of information and content, and do not necessarily accept traditional narratives about the necessity of respecting institutions at face value.
A global wave of political protests and unrest marked the beginning of this decade, with the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. receiving significant media attention. The issue of the disproportionately high power of the police in American, and many other, societies has received substantial media coverage, drawing attention to the role of the media, ranging from news to television and film, in shaping perceptions of established institutions.
Dramatic programs of this type play an important role in conveying messages about the police and military due to the emotional aspects of dramatic content. Through personalization and identification with the characters, emotional identification is facilitated with both the police officers and the civilians they interact with. The issues and messages these narratives give preference to are crucial for understanding the phenomenon colloquially, and now also academically, known as “copaganda“.
The term “copaganda”, a combination of the words “cop” (police officer) and “propaganda“, is used to describe media content that promotes the interests of the police.
Television series are a particularly fertile ground for analysis, given their abundance, accessibility, and the scope of the narratives they explore. We are talking about hundreds of episodes dedicated to a wide range of social and political issues, often from the perspective of the police as a repressive state apparatus.
Certainly, all “copaganda” implies a subjective bias towards this perspective, but not all police series are propagandistic. To label a series using this imprecise classification, one would have to examine the content of these programs. However, the primary concern is the impact the series that can be characterised as such have on our view of the police in a normative and ethical sense, as well as our understanding of the judicial system, which is often portrayed unrealistically.
The trend of detective and police series is also evident in our region—regional TV series typically deal with themes related to organised and other types of crime, but with an increasing emphasis on the police institution as a sort of counterbalance and alternative to this “challenging of order.” Series such as Ubice moga oca, Besa, Državni službenik, Južni vetar, etc., quite illustratively reflect how the police are viewed in the eyes of Serbian society in the region. However, this article focuses on series from predominantly English-speaking areas of the world; given their decades-long presence and ease of accessibility, it is only reasonable to discuss their impact on public understanding and evaluation of police work.
2. Police on Television
A crucial stepping stone for understanding police propaganda is grasping the impact of the police themselves on the content of these programs. It is reasonable to expect that the portrayal of the police depends on public perception of the institution and its importance.
However, the influence of specific police departments on the content of these series leads not only to a more subjective depiction of their work, but also to an exaggeration of their public role, or even an overrepresentation of this profession compared to other public occupations. With the occasional appearance of firefighters, other related professions are significantly underrepresented, such as public defenders, prosecutors, and especially social workers, who are often portrayed as “minor” characters.
In addition to the inherently dynamic nature of police work, police institutions possess the knowledge and resources necessary for those involved in creating television programs on this topic. Regarding American television, the first half of the 20th century is characterised by a notable lack of interest in the police. They are less frequently represented, and when they are, police officers are often depicted through a humorous or satirical lens. Radio dramas, in particular, focus more on fictional detectives and their observational skills, with less emphasis on their institutional role within the criminal justice system or their ability to exert force or administer “justice.” The interest in solving mysteries is much greater than in the punitive aspects of the justice system.
A turning point in this relationship occurred in 1951 with the series Dragnet, whose head writer, over the course of more than 30 years of working on the show, established a close relationship with the Los Angeles Police Department. This relationship provided not only financial support, but also insights into the daily life of the police and their cases, which provided inspiration for the episodes themselves. Naturally, internal knowledge of the job and first-hand material that serves as direct inspiration, as well as a broader overview of the situation in an urban area or region, are valuable insights that only those involved in police work can offer.
In this context, individual police persons are significant allies, and police departments and stations even more so. These representatives of the police as an institution inevitably provide invaluable information, but also gain the basis to demand something in return. Often, this includes control over the theme of the programs and the power of veto over the final content, as well as influence over the lens through which police officers are portrayed, particularly regarding their intentions and competencies.
Today, even when collaboration is not as direct, writers still rely on consultants who have worked, or are currently working, in the field, as well as on police infrastructure necessary for these television portrayals to appear authentic. A logical question that arises is about the conflict of interest in the context where those involved in creating these series have one-sided insights solely from the perspective of the police, but not from the citizens who interact with them, be it suspects of criminal activities or otherwise. After all, citizens do not have much to offer compared to the police, and therefore do not possess significant negotiating power.
3. Why are these series popular?
For the same reasons that television series focus on police officers rather than other public officials, episodes often deal with violent crimes such as murder. These “more interesting” cases are not necessarily the most common in reality but are prominent on television. The explanation is quite simple situations with higher risks and stakes are more dramaturgically compelling. The problem lies in the fact that real life, as well as the actual work of police and other government agencies, often lacks a clearly defined beginning, development, and conclusion. Moreover, real crime stories often do not have a clearly defined ending, and if they do, it may not be narratively or emotionally satisfying.
Even in series that deal with other types of crimes, the preferred outcomes are similar—the happy ending is the resolution of the crime and the incarceration of the perpetrator. Not only is restorative justice, which often involves the engagement of systemic institutions in reducing the likelihood of reoffending and rehabilitating offenders, nearly non-existent as an option in police series, but it is also taken for granted that this is the end of the story and a satisfactory outcome for the families and loved ones of the victims.
The Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd by a group of police officers were, of course, not the first protests of this kind. In fact, the tension between the police and citizens of African and Latino descent is an inescapable part of contemporary American history and a significant chapter in the civil rights movement of the 20th century. In this struggle, the police themselves have been a major actor, but on the side of preserving the status quo. From this historical distance and observing events from a time when certain hard-won human rights were taken for granted, it is easy to forget how short-lived these rights can be. Just 70 years ago, racial segregation was not only entirely legal but also supported by a large number of citizens and the political establishment.
In this context, the protection of “law and order” and the interests of the state implicitly meant the protection of the status quo, which involved racial segregation and institutionalised discrimination that became embedded in the judicial and educational systems, as well as the entire public infrastructure. This resulted from public policies created with the clear intent to maintain the long-established and deliberate segregation. In this regard, it is not surprising that violent clashes with the police are a major and significant part of the difficult and prolonged struggle to integrate human and civil rights into a legal system previously designed to codify inequality.
Parallel to the civil rights movement that began in 1954 and is remembered as “nonviolent,” the Watts riots in Los Angeles in 1965 emerged as a reaction to violence perpetrated by the Los Angeles police against the local population and were remembered as the worst riots in the city until 1992, when they saw a kind of reprise. In the spring of that year, massive riots erupted after four police officers accused of using excessive force during the arrest of Rodney King, an African American civilian, were acquitted of all charges. The violence in question was captured on video, clearly showing the police officers beating the arrested man.
This incident was merely the culmination of decades of tension and an expression of dissatisfaction from the predominantly Black local population, which had continuously complained about racist violence by the police and inadequate responses from the authorities to their grievances. The riots ended after 10,000 members of the California National Guard, the military, and several state agencies joined forces against the protesters. In the end, more than 60 people were killed, over 2,000 were injured, and around 10,000 were arrested. However, the violent and relatively effective suppression of this uprising did little to prevent subsequent attempts, primarily because the underlying causes of such riots were not addressed. Moreover, the issue of police brutality would continue to be one of the most important and media-covered topics in the following decades.
Changes in the depiction of the police on television are visible but rather slow, and do not necessarily keep pace with changes in the reporting on conflicts between civilians, particularly members of ethnic and racial minorities and residents of poorer areas of the U.S., and these institutions. For example, the “golden age” of police dramas in the 1990s and 2000s is marked not only by a dramatic increase in the popularity of these series, but also by the relatively conservative political ideology they propagate. The rise of the so-called New Right in the 1980s, culminating in Ronald Reagan’s presidential victory, brought about the “War on Drugs,” which placed a strong emphasis on, and consequently predicted harsher penalties for, “street” crime, increasing the presence of police in major cities. Police patrols were tasked with aggressively and, of course, violently combating street gangs and organised crime.
The 1990s brought the beginning of multi-decade series such as Law & Order, set in urban environments. These procedurals have multiple spin-offs and, in the case of Law & Order, are still ongoing. A well-known example is the series The Wire, remembered as one of the highest-quality series of its era. At the start of the millennium, it was part of a group of series that marked a revival of the medium in a critical sense and the inception of so-called “prestige” television. The series is set in Baltimore and is based on the experiences of one of its main writers, who worked as a detective in the city’s police department.
Similarly, a new wave of television series focusing on police and/or military themes emerged after September 11, 2001, in response to the terrorist attacks in New York. Public opinion during this period was characterised by widespread panic and insecurity in the realm of national security, leading to paranoia and excessive compensation for general anxiety, which manifested in the increased militarization of society. This was evident both in foreign policy, which became more aggressive than before, and in domestic policy. In this context, the military and police not only gained further prominence, but the state apparatus of coercion became more repressive towards migrants, particularly those from Middle Eastern countries. Public institutions also became increasingly focused on preventing any potential terrorist activities.
This also leads to a growing interest in these themes on television. For instance, the series 24 focuses on the “experiences” of a federal agent engaged in counter-terrorism efforts. At the same time, forensic series like CSI (Crime Scene Investigation), which has versions set in New York, Miami, and Las Vegas, concentrate on the newly acquired high-tech competencies of the police and their use in solving crimes in occasionally unbelievable and almost fairytale-like ways. What they all have in common is their portrayal of the police as a modern and competent institution that rationally utilises public resources.
4. The importance of studying “copaganda”
The idea of popular culture as a legitimate area of examination of political phenomena was ridiculed and classified as “mass” culture only a few decades ago, deemed unworthy of serious consideration. However, a defining characteristic of “mass” or popular culture, regardless of the term used, is its broad accessibility to the general public. These are programs intended for entertainment and must, therefore, be engaging, even when dealing with sometimes very difficult subjects.
At the heart of the police series is, of course, crime and the people who fight against it. Thus, we are talking about programs that are filled with violence and essentially rely on human fascination with the morbid and the negative, which must be balanced in some way. In this sense, the narrative structure of these series relies on the orderly resolution of the “case” at the center of each episode.
An interesting aspect is the investigation itself, or the element of searching for suspects, not only because it encompasses the standard “whodunnit” formula of detective fiction, where the mystery is resolved only at the end. The intellectual satisfaction that comes with solving a well-structured mystery is one of the major reasons for the popularity of this genre. The viewer is meant to think that, with the given information, they could reach the same conclusion, while also admiring the special skills and competencies of the police in investigation, forensics, crime scene analysis, and so on.
A crucial aspect of the entire narrative is the emotional catharsis that comes with the final resolution, where the “villains” are outwitted, defeated, and, most importantly, captured and removed from the streets, thereby preventing further threats to public safety. In the dramaturgy of police series, good must triumph over evil to provide a satisfying resolution that makes the heavy themes more digestible. The message is clear: there will always be “bad guys,” but comfort and satisfaction come from the hope and expectation that they will be stopped and appropriately punished.
Two obvious consequences of these implications emerge. The first is the completely misleading portrayal of the judicial system to the public. This not only concerns how their job actually functions, although that is an important aspect as well. In reality, there is much less adrenaline and far more paperwork and other types of work that are not dramatically interesting or visually appealing.
More importantly, there is a misrepresentation of the outcomes of police work. In reality, the effectiveness of investigations is far from as high as depicted in series, and similarly, the resolution of cases often lacks the dramatic closure shown on television. In real life, cases frequently end in disappointment or have generally unsatisfactory outcomes. The implication of these series is not only that “closure” is expected but that it is seen as the natural ultimate goal of the entire system and a valid solution to social issues related to crime.
The second, even more significant consequence arising from the first is the reduction of morality to rather black-and-white categories for the sake of convincing and easily internalisable dramatic narratives. In this sense, the idea of the “amorality” of violent offenders is not the most contentious—few would dispute such a classification of serious criminals. The more problematic issue is the positioning of criminals and police on two different moral poles, which often leads to the glorification of police work, a natural outcome of this good-versus-evil dichotomy. Even when we accept the classification of perpetrators as villains, the portrayal of the police as an infallible, diametrically opposed force remains questionable.
For example, police dramas often internalise their own narratives to the extent that they transparently show police officers breaking the law themselves, using their power to coerce, or even falsifying evidence and committing perjury. All of this is portrayed as justifiable in the broader context of a situation that requires resolution by any means available. This trust in institutions stems from the idea that their moral primacy allows them to bypass rules if they personally deem it ethically justified or if it leads to a satisfactory outcome. It is relatively easy to see why this attitude is potentially problematic in a context where the law is not necessarily the primary guarantor of protecting human and civil rights. In any case, the police are tasked with upholding and enforcing the law, or violating it at their discretion when they believe it is justified.
5. The future of police propaganda
The violent history of this institution is not unique to the U.S.; rather, it is typical of almost every country on the planet. However, in the American case, it is easier to trace the interplay between the police, their perception in the media, and the reflection of societal consensus about them in entertainment programming such as television series. Nonetheless, this debate is equally significant for all of us, primarily because we are all exposed to this content.
Essentially, for most viewers, the first and often only encounter with the justice system comes through popular culture. This topic, from which we are largely distanced, is also one which we form significant opinions on, and often make decisions on the political level.
For example, in many countries, former prisoners lose their right to vote, meaning that decisions regarding how the system is structured are made mostly by people who have no direct contact with it. Nevertheless, encounters with the police are not so distant from the average person’s daily life. Such encounters are highly probable during protests, riots, or public events, as well as in any type of emergency situation.
Excessively and unrealistically positive depictions of the police send the message that state-sanctioned violence through the institution of policing is justified because it targets individuals deemed morally defective, implying that these citizens deserve such violence. The main problem is that the same actors who decide who deserves what punishment are also responsible for enforcing that punishment, and these two actions are not necessarily sequential. An overreliance on the idea that the police “protect” citizens who deserve it implies that everyone with “good behaviour” is safe.
This stance is not particularly productive, especially in transitioning societies where law enforcement agencies do not hesitate to use force to achieve political and other goals that are not only illegal, but also unrelated to the public interest. Awareness of how various television programs propagate ideologies and analytical examination of these series is therefore a crucial first step in resisting the effects of such propaganda.
Author: Tamara Tica
