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Like, have any of the people who actually write these shows ever seen a cop? Or how a crime is investigated? I was watching FBI with the missus (I know I don’t have a choice), and there’s a dead body on the floor. An agent just rolls in and moves the body. That’s not how it works—you can’t move the body until forensics have processed the scene. It completely ruins the viability of any evidence in a court case. Not to mention this dude just rolls the body over, takes the victims phone then holds their eyes open to face unlock the phone...Yes 4th amendment be damned lol..NOTHING gained from that device is admissable in court as it was accessed without a court order. They also seem to get DNA results back in about 20 seconds. Or they get a facial ID match from a photo… of a reflection in a mirror from an ATM camera, lol. And every cop just seems incompetent, like they don’t understand rights or even how their own gun works. You have the rare exception of shows like Bosch, The Wire, and True Detective, but my God, most other crime shows are just straight c***.Like, have any of the people who actually write these shows ever seen a cop?

37 Comments

KeremyJyles Apr 14, 2026 +12

>Not to mention this dude just rolls the body over, takes the victims phone then holds their eyes open to face unlock the phone...Yes 4th amendment be damned lol..NOTHING gained from that device is admissable in court as it was accessed without a court order. You don't need a court order and the 4th amendment does not apply to dead people. You're also completely wrong about "any evidence" being non-viable if someone moves a body. Like...basically you don't know shit and shouldn't be taking this I'm-so-much-smart-than-these-shows tone.

BranWafr Apr 14, 2026 +3

Sounds like someone who reads a lot of crime novels where someone does something at a crime scene and the main character makes comments like "It's not like this is a TV show where you can do this and there are no consequences!" As if crime novels don't have their own tropes that aren't realistic. The bottom line is any show about any profession gets stuff wrong because keeping the plot moving is always more important than "getting it right." Some are worse than others, but I guarantee any successful show has had characters doing things "wrong" at some point because doing it right would have made the scene worse in some way and they decided that accuracy was not the most important thing.

Kalamac Apr 14, 2026 +3

I was told by someone that you shouldn’t have facial recognition on your devices, because while they can’t force you to unlock it with a code (without a warrant/court order), they are allowed to hold it up to your face to unlock it with facial recognition, even if you’re still alive.

chogram Apr 14, 2026 +2

I don't believe the Supreme Court has ever ruled, honestly it's probably just a matter of time, but California protects your biometric information as well. That said, overall, you're correct. Courts across the country have repeatedly ruled that your face and fingerprint can be compelled to unlock your phone, but the passcode cannot, as it's considered testimony, and is protected. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_practice/resources/law-technology-today/2019/can-police-force-you-to-unlock-your-cell-phone/

NoTitleChamp Apr 14, 2026 +13

"And every cop just seems incompetent, like they don’t understand rights or even how their own gun works." Really under cutting the internets "propaganda" theory.

BalsamicBasil Apr 14, 2026 +2

Yes but the story almost never frames the police being incompetent or criminal (even when they are). When cops do that shit on tv it's typically framed as a cool anti-establishment (despite being the government's fist) rogue, who "doesn't play by the rules." Or if the cop is a side character, they might be an incompetent victim, or a bad apple....basically, they are the exception that reinforces the status quo of police being necessary/good, and often stand in contrast to the roguish, experienced cop hero. Successful propaganda has some subtlety, otherwise it wouldn't be effective.

ranbling011 Apr 14, 2026 +11

I'm not watching cop shows for the realism, if writers followed actual procedure everything would be slow and boring

Chataboutgames Apr 14, 2026 +3

Look man, I'm here for the paperwork.

metametapraxis Apr 14, 2026 +2

And 50% of the time, they would never find an answer to the dozen cases they were half-heartedly looking at simultaneously.

onihr1 Apr 14, 2026 +4

I’m always yelling ‘Lawyer’ during interrogations. Absolutely got annoyed when the suspect actually asked for a lawyer and the cop told him to shut up.

phantombrick22 Apr 14, 2026 +1

You’d hate Cold Case then lol

Mmm_hummus Apr 14, 2026 +1

I'm watching British show Dalgliesh, which is good, but I think only one suspect has asked for a lawyer in multiple episodes. I was almost shocked to see it, I'd basically just accepted that it wasn't the done thing in this fictional timeline

MGD109 Apr 15, 2026 +1

British shows seem to be generally better at this. Normally, there is a lawyer present during interrogations, and if there is not, it will be mentioned that they've waived their right to legal representation. I've also never seen one where the cops deliberately try to interview someone before they can see their lawyer and are still presented as the good guys.

zumera Apr 14, 2026 +6

>And every cop just seems incompetent, like they don’t understand rights or even how their own gun works. I mean…

Waynky Apr 14, 2026 +9

Every true crime show is like: “5 years later the cops were still stumped. That is until the ex bf who routinely threatened to kill her on social media came to the station pissed off he wasn’t a suspect and admitted to the crime “

Sloppykrab Apr 14, 2026 +11

Get ready for this, you may need to sit down. IT'S NOT REAL.

ButtPlugForPM Apr 14, 2026 -4

are u real.

-4

Sloppykrab Apr 14, 2026 +4

Maybe, maybe not.

Wagnaard Apr 14, 2026 +2

What is mind? No matter! What is matter? Never mind!

shinyhpno Apr 14, 2026 +2

Yeah, but I like it that way.

Tbh, if things progressed in real-time for a show, it wouldn't really be watchable. In the real world, detectives aren't just working on one case at a time sequentially. So yeah, the shows are shit in terms of realism -- but they aren't supposed to be realistic (if they were, most crimes would never even be solved). They are just meant to entertain. Obviously some stuff (like the "enhance!" on photos) can stretch willing suspension of disbelief a bit too much, but overall, if you want a proper view into a police investigation, you really need to watch a high quality documentary about a specific case (i.e. not a Netflix one, and probably not created for American TV).

chaosdrew Apr 14, 2026 +2

Enhance…. ENHANCE!

Ok-Investigator1004 Apr 14, 2026 +1

Most of those shows substitute realism with pacing and drama thus compressing or omitting everything. When you see it you can never unsee it and it becomes unintentional comedy.

abcbri Apr 18, 2026 +1

I love police and detective shows from other countries way more than

LowCalligrapher3 5 days ago +1

If you want realism, watch the first three seasons for Homicide: Life on the Streets.

Specialist_Gap_3399 Apr 14, 2026 +1

Cop shows treat procedure like Star Trek treats physics: vaguely aware it exists. If you want something that actually respects warrants and evidence handling, try “Unbelievable” or “Mindhunter” as a palate cleanser.

Jkid Apr 14, 2026 +1

Theyre made for boomers and low-information viewers.

upon-taken Apr 14, 2026

A whole youtube channel talking about this issue if you are interested

shinyhpno Apr 14, 2026 +1

Name?

upon-taken Apr 14, 2026 +1

SkipIntro

Is that the same series that tried to claim Buffy was a cop show?

HighwayPotential3784 Apr 14, 2026 +1

yeah there was some channel where ex-detective was reviewing all these shows and just ripping them apart constantly. The part about DNA results coming back in 20 seconds killed me - in real life that stuff takes weeks minimum Also noticed they always have this magical database where they can just upload random photo and get perfect match immediately. Like bro, facial recognition technology is not that good even today, let alone from some grainy security footage from 2003 The phone unlock thing you mentioned is peak stupidity though. Any decent lawyer would get that thrown out faster than you can say "unlawful search"

KeremyJyles Apr 14, 2026 +1

>The phone unlock thing you mentioned is peak stupidity though. Any decent lawyer would get that thrown out faster than you can say "unlawful search" No they wouldn't. Using a dead person's biometrics to unlock their phone is both very possible and very legal.

InsertFloppy11 Apr 14, 2026 -2

Most shows are c****

-2

ButtPlugForPM Apr 14, 2026 +2

fair

Chataboutgames Apr 14, 2026

This is on eof the most consistently stupid takes in social media. You assume that because something isn't realistic (aka the agent moving the body) that it's badly written. No dude, most fiction doesn't aspire to realism. That isn't a real metric for storytelling.

plannerchica Apr 14, 2026 -1

I like noise in the background, and FBI is one of those shows that I just can’t deal with enough to even listen to. Elsbeth is worse; they had such a wonderful character and destroyed her by making her the only person capable of solving homicides in NYC. She has access to wealthy suspects, who never lawyer, and just harasses them until they confess.

-1

All the police propoganda shows are so woefully written it's almost satire not drama.

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37 Comments