“OPINION: How '24 Hours in Police Custody' changed policing on television.”

From the Custard TV reviews:

“In 2014, Channel 4 launched a spin-off to 24 Hours in A&E. Like the show it spun off from, 24 Hours in Police Custody used fixed rig cameras to go inside the Custody suits to give viewers unprecedented access to the work of Luton and Bedfordshire police. Documentaries that shone the spotlight on the work of the police weren't new. 2011's Coppers, also on Channel 4, took an equally fascinating and unflinching look at modern policing in Britain, but 24 Hours in Police Custody offered something different not seen before on British television.

This is a documentary that champions British policing but doesn't paint them as heroes. It shows them for what they are: normal people doing their job. It captures them at their angriest and most determined and sometimes most frustrated. It's also not being afraid of shining a light on the difficulties and traumatic things that police encounter on a daily basis. The show arrived at a time before we developed an obsession with true crime. Pre-dating podcast Serial, or Netflix's Making a Murderer, the show seemed ahead of its time in terms of its ability to tell these true stories in real-time with the kind of twists and turns we're used to in a scripted drama.”

Read the full article here.

https://www.thecustardtv.com/2021/09/opinion-how-24-hours-in-police-custody.html