Colbran, M. (2014) “Police perceptions of representations of crime and policing in television drama” in Marinescu, V., Branea, S. and Mitu, B. (eds) Contemporary Television Series: Narrative Structures and Audience Perceptions, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 1-16
In this book chapter, I explore whether or not police officers perceive that representations of their work in police procedurals such as The Bill have any impact on their interaction with the public and on public support for the organisation. I argue that officers do believe that police shows have an impact on their interaction with the public, and suggest that these shows often frame the public’s expectations of how the police will treat them. While officers suggested that inaccurate depictions of police procedure, such as overly aggressive interview scenes, might prevent witnesses from coming forward, I also suggest that, conversely, some officers believed police procedurals to be too accurate on occasion, particularly in terms of crime detection, and feared that too many ‘trade secrets’ were being given away to offenders.
Colbran, M (2025) “Media Representations of Crime and Justice” in P. Davies, P. Francis, J. Harding and G. Mair (eds.) An Introduction to Criminal Justice, 2nd Edition, London, Sage, pp. 113-128
In this chapter, I branch out to look at media representations of prisons and courts as well as of policing. Again, my starting point is to look at the reasons why journalists, crime writers and documentary makers are telling these stories in the way that they do. As Becker (2007) argues, any representations of society, whether films, novels or documentaries, ‘give a picture that is only partial … [a]ll of them arise in organizational settings, which constrain what can be done’ (Becker 2007, p. 3). Among the key factors that can cause crime news and crime drama to omit crucial elements or present a ‘distorted’ view of reality are the production processes and working practices of those creating these films, dramas and news bulletins.
In this chapter, rather than exploring how ‘the media distorts crime’, I instead explore why media representations of the police, of crime, of prisons and the courts leave out so many salient facts. I look at why, for example, the police are often seen in crime dramas as crime-fighters, even though, as many criminologists have argued, their main function is in fact order maintenance. Finally I explore why some crimes are rarely reported, while others are over-reported, and why some communities are often stigmatised unfairly.
Dr Marianne Colbran 