Media Representations of Police and Crime : Shaping the Police Television Drama

The Palgrave Critical Criminological Perspectives book series aims to showcase the importance of critical criminological thinking when examining problems of crime, social harm and criminal and social justice. Critical perspectives have been instrumental in creating new research agendas and areas of criminological interest. By challenging state defined concepts of crime and rejecting positive analyses of criminality, critical criminological approaches continually push the boundaries and scope of criminology, creating new areas of focus and developing new ways of thinking about, and responding to, issues of social concern at local, national and global levels. Recent years have witnessed a flourishing of critical criminological narratives and this series seeks to capture the original and innovative ways that these discourses are engaging with contemporary issues of crime and justice. This unique book explores the social processes which shape fictional representations of police and crime in television dramas. Exploring ten leading British and European police dramas from the last twenty-five years, Colbran, a former scriptwriter, presents a revealing insight into police dramas, informed by media and criminological theory. Police series are prime time viewing. They are important in shaping public perceptions and preferences about the role and the nature of policing in society. But how are these stories created? How important is authenticity to the makers? And what is the appeal for audiences in watching these dramas? Written by a former police drama scriptwriter, this book is the first criminological study of its kind to explore the impact of production processes in shaping fictional representations of police and crime in television drama. Drawing on media and criminological theory, it analyses how commercial imperatives, working processes and artistic constraints shape storytelling on ten key British and European police dramas from the last twenty-five years including The Bill, Between the Lines, Broadchurch and popular French drama Spiral. Providing a revealing insight into the television industry and the factors which play a part in determining how and why representations of the police have changed over time, this book will appeal to scholars in Criminology, Media Studies and Sociology Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-34 Research Methods....Pages 35-48 Inside the World of The Bill....Pages 49-76 The Origins of Story Ideas....Pages 77-102 Influences on the Storyline....Pages 103-133 Creating the Story....Pages 134-161 Looking Beyond The Bill....Pages 162-210 The Function and Importance of the Television Police Show in Shaping Public Understanding....Pages 211-237 Back Matter....Pages 238-253