Which television crime or detective series to follow?

If you're looking for information on how detectives actually work I'd suggest either some books on the subject or perhaps some documentary type TV shows. There are a few TV series that look at real-life cases (you might be able to find them on YouTube).

I think one or two good books on the subject would be more helpful to you at this point if you looking for solid information.

Remember that many novels, movies, and dramatic TV shows aren't that realistic, and aren't trying to be. If someone is writing what is called a police procedural then it's generally expected to be more realistic. In other novels the writer is not expected to be that realistic on how they portrait the police detectives. A murder mystery with paranormal aspects wouldn't be expected to be that true to real-life.

What alleycat said.

There are many books written by cops, about their time working as cops, that would probably help much more than a tv show.

Also, just fyi, how a police department runs and what it consists of, and other things, depends on where it's located, yes, but that's not by state. State police are different than local police, so while a book can feature either, or both, or federal law enforcement, and sometimes these work together, figuring out which will probably help guide your research.

If you know where you want to set it, and what kind of crimes or what have you, you can target that area or type of department, and then try for books written by people involved with that type - besides general books.

I have a number of books on the subject I use when I need to research something. I just looked over on my bookshelf. One that sticks out is Howdunit, How Crimes are Committed and Solved. It's a book for the general reader. It might be out-of-date a bit because things change. DNA evidence is more important than ever now.

You can buy actual police manuals and textbooks but those tend to be expensive.

kaloni said:

Hello everyone,

After publishing three middle grade books, this time I am inspired and working on a new-adult murder mystery with paranormal aspects.


As I am not from USA, I'd like to know more on how the US police work as the novel is based in that country. Although different states follow different procedures, yet a general idea would be great.


Thank you

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Don't set your novel somewhere you've never been. Set your novel in your country, show us something different, tell us things only you can tell us. One of the joys of reading foreign authors is discovering their local setting through their writing.

And I second the advice that you cannot do research from a tv show.

I agree with jeseymour. Writers always seem to think that where they live doesn't merit a great novels, but the plain fact is that where you live makes the best possible setting. I know from experience that slush piles are filled with novels that use settings the writer has obviously never visited, and this causes a lot of rejections.

Having said this, I'm not sure any two police departments work exactly the same way, and a lot of writers screw up because they read a book based on one police department, and then try to use it for a different location. My experience is that the best way to get it right, really the only way to get it right, is to go to the source.

Call the police department where your novel is set. Every police department I've contacted had a public relations officer, and they've always been happy to answer my questions. Both phone and e-mail work wonders in this area.

I'd do the book research, as everyone suggested, but I'd also watch some TV crime shows for one simple reason: That's how the general public BELIEVES cops do things. Belief is much stronger than fact, and if a work of fiction threatens said belief, the reader/viewer will feel wrong, get insulted and put it down unread. The author has to choose where to spend words: on why this isn't like everything else in fiction, or on the story they're telling. I heard this years ago at a writer's conference from a panel of editors (sorry--20 years ago, don't remember who, but it was Pike's Peak Writer's Conference), and never forgot the tidbit of advice.

Personally, I'd look to some of the better shows with long runs, such as Perception (still running on TNT, where the FBI brings Daniel in on cases, he's not right there, as in other shows), The original Law & Order is a classic and very beloved, particularly the years with Lenny Briscoe (character). There's also Criminal Minds (FBI again), Monk (private detective, IIRC), or Bones (consultants to FBI again--the early years were good, until they got all baby-crazy recently).

Seconding (thirding?) jeseymour and Jamesaritchie. I'd love to read more crime fiction set in places other than the US and UK.

There are about 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the US, all to some degree different. Some basic stuff will be similar, but it's often extremely obvious that the authors of both books and TV shows haven't done any research about their particular setting nor the police in general. Just about the only TV shows I'd recommend for giving you an accurate feel of real police work are Southland and The Wire.


(And Super Troopers.)

I ran into a website that focused on nternation crime fiction, Bitter Lemon Press.
http://www.bitterlemonpress.com

And I agree. We all love fiction in exotic places.

DeleyanLee said:

I'd do the book research, as everyone suggested, but I'd also watch some TV crime shows for one simple reason: That's how the general public BELIEVES cops do things. Belief is much stronger than fact, and if a work of fiction threatens said belief, the reader/viewer will feel wrong, get insulted and put it down unread. The author has to choose where to spend words: on why this isn't like everything else in fiction, or on the story they're telling. I heard this years ago at a writer's conference from a panel of editors (sorry--20 years ago, don't remember who, but it was Pike's Peak Writer's Conference), and never forgot the tidbit of advice.

Personally, I'd look to some of the better shows with long runs, such as Perception (still running on TNT, where the FBI brings Daniel in on cases, he's not right there, as in other shows), The original Law & Order is a classic and very beloved, particularly the years with Lenny Briscoe (character). There's also Criminal Minds (FBI again), Monk (private detective, IIRC), or Bones (consultants to FBI again--the early years were good, until they got all baby-crazy recently).

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TV and books draw very different people. Barring the very, very few shows that are accurate, try the same thing in a book and you'll either get rejected, or draw very few readers.

You can make very good TV shows from good books, but trying to write books by watching TV usually just leads to failure. If you write a book about how the police do something, you'd better get it right because readers will know when you get it wrong, even if a TV audience doesn't.

I know it's not accurate, but I like to watch "The Closer," and "Major Crimes" because they have good crimes and great characters with a lot of depth. The characters go from being caring and serious to total goof balls!!! I like quirky characters!!

There's a big difference between watching a tv show because you enjoy it and watching it to do research. I like Prison Break but it's way more than a little far-fetched when it comes to the police work.

The only television show that I know is 99% accurate on police procedure is Blue Bloods. Of course, there is a lot of fluff thrown in just to make it interesting for the average viewer. The show is based on the NYPD and being a former officer of that great department, I find it realistic and entertaining. Of course there is also the show COPS, which is real life action with real cops.

The season premiere is the 26th.

http://www.cbs.com/shows/blue_bloods/


http://www.cops.com/

Hi Kaloni, I know you asked about movies or tv series, but if your story involves a murder, I would recommend any of the books by Ann Rule. She's a former cop who writes about true crimes involving murders. A large part of her books describes how the detectives worked on the cases, forensics, clues, and the personalities of the criminals as well as the victims. Although the crimes are horrible, she never makes it seem graphic, sordid or titillating like other crime books.

kaloni said:

Thank you everyone for all your inputs and info as they have been really helpful.
Books are not easily accessible on my side due to high shipping cost. So for the time being I will stick to the TV series.

Most of the feedback have bordered around these series:
Wire in the blood
The Wire
True Detective
Law and Order
The Castle;
CSI Miami
Bones
Perception
Criminal Minds (FBI again)
Monk (private detective, IIRC)
Medium

CSI Miami, Wire in the blood, Law and Order and Medium are the few I have got hold of at the moment.

Thank you once again for taking the time to answer my query.

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NONE of those will teach you anything about REAL police work. Sure, some scenes might be reasonably accurate, but that's almost accidental. These shows are ENTERTAINMENT, not educational.

I've written for several of those shows. I also write MTS novels. I would no more refer to television shows for the factual information for novels than I would look to fortune cookies to tell me how to live my life.

In network programming, the key is to solve the crime in 50 minutes of screen time.

In novels, you have time (and pages) to develop characters and story.

If you want to learn about police work, watch reality TV shows about cops. COPS for patrol work. THE FIRST 48 for homicide detectives. CNN has a series called DEATH ROW STORIES.

But the best thing you can possible do as an aspiring crime novel writer is to take a look at your local police department. Even if you live in a tiny town, you can learn a lot about procedure, about personalities, and about how things happen.

Readers don't want television-educated writers; they crave new places/characters/situations that are reality based.

You're making a big mistake to think television will teach you about police work.

The old "Dragnet" and "Adam-12" were based on true life cases. They may seem dated today, but they pretty accurately showed how Police operated without a lot of extraneous Hollywood drama.

Also keep an eye on http://www.leelofland.com/ He's an ex-cop who wrote a police procedural guide for writers that may have been referenced upthread.

I often visit the Forensic Outreach website, and follow their facebook page. They teach forensics in the UK and have some great resources.