Conversation about Reality Cop Shows with Dr. Emma Rackstraw (Patreon)
Published:
2024-05-11 18:00:05
Imported:
2026-06
Content
"People seem to think it's a really accurate, real-time representation of what is happening on a typical night of policing"
Emma Rackstraw (Harvard) is a PhD economist and researcher who recently published a study of Cops, Live: PD, and On Patrol: Live. The excellent paper dives into the ways these shows impact viewer perceptions of policing and how the presence of cameras quantifiably changes the actions of police in departments that participate, seeing an increase in discretionary arrests simultaneously with a decrease in 911 call data.
Her paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4592803