During the late 1980s and early 1990s, COPS was instrumental in shaping a new form of reality television programming, reality crime television. In the basic format for the show, video crews follow police officers on their daily beat, capturing events in each tour of duty. Shoulder-held cameras capture high-speed chases, drug busts, domestic disputes, and traffic stops. There are no reporters or narrators to provide context for or information about the images being seen. The only explanations given are the occasional observations made by the police officers featured in each episode. Thus, COPS allows viewers to witness the gritty and dangerous life of police work from the comfort of their couch. The daily events and experiences are heavily edited, however, into what the series presents as “real-life drama and adventure of crime fighting cops.”

COPS is unlike its predecessors, Unsolved Mysteries and America’s Most Wanted, which utilize an interactive element in which viewers call in with in formation, and thus participate in apprehending criminals. Rather, COPS employs a passive format. Viewers do not watch COPS to help solve a crime, but merely to gaze at police procedures and practices and at criminal behavior and its potential consequences.

The voyeuristic format of COPS has been strongly criticized from its inception. Much of the criticism surrounding COPS stems from the show’s content, blurring the line between information and entertainment. In an attempt to make the program entertaining for viewers, hours of video, which show police officers merely sitting in their squad car or filling out paperwork, are edited out or not recorded at all. In addition, because COPS is a highly successful program, often achieving number-one ratings in its time period for key adult demographics, ontological incongruities and their potential effects on society are of great concern for critics. COPS has the power to shape how society views crime, criminal behavior, and police officers. Studies conducted on reality crime programs, like COPS, have shown that violent crimes, such as murder, rape, and assault, are overemphasized. This misrepresentation of reality, researchers warn, could be harmful to society by reinforcing false notions of crime and criminal behavior. Additional criticism is directed at the characterizations constructed for both law enforcement professionals and criminals, characterizations that often fall along lines of social class. These depictions tend to reinforce certain stereotypes, with the frequently inebriated criminals exhibiting violent behavior and strongly expressed antisocial attitudes.

Not only does COPS have the ability to affect society’s views of the criminal justice system, it has also affected the criminal justice system itself. The possible effect of having cameras present at real-life crime scenes has been a heated topic and has even been subject to judicial debate. At issue are the property rights of the videographic evidence taken at the scene of a crime as well as the protection of privacy rights for the alleged criminals who unknowingly become the stars of reality crime shows. As a consequence of court battles, such programs now face stricter guidelines and scrutiny over how they obtain their graphic docu-cop footage.

Despite its critics, COPS continues to enjoy tremendous success. The first-run syndicated series has featured more than 104 different U.S. cities. In addition, COPS has ventured outside the United States. Episodes have featured police in London, Hong Kong, Central and South America, Leningrad, and even Moscow, where COPS became the first American television show allowed to follow the police in the former Soviet Union. The format has also been marketed on a global scale, increasing its popularity and significance in the reality television genre. COPS also achieved critical recognition in 1993 when the show was named the Best Reality Show by the American Television Awards. The series has also regularly received Emmy nominations throughout its 14 seasons on the air.

The popularity of the COPS series has stretched into other media ventures. First, the demand for more COPS footage spawned the COPS home video market. Several videos, including COPS: Too Hot for TV, COPS: Caught in the Act, COPS: In Hot Pursuit, and Best of COPS, feature highlights from the show or exclusive footage that was edited out for television. In addition to video sales, the COPS series has produced several spin-offs including CODE 3 (FOX) and Cop Files (UPN).