You know how movies often show police detectives and inspectors working tirelessly day and night to crack cases? But let’s get real – is that what it’s really like in the USA? Are these real-life heroes constantly swamped with crime-solving action, or is there more to their job than the silver screen suggests?
14 comments
The tone of your question suggests you already know the answer.
No, film does not accurately reflect the lives of detectives.
Movies wouldn’t be very interesting if the detective just went home at 5:00, ate dinner, and watched basketball until bed.
Definitely more no than yes. In cases of some who have their own vendetta, feel that they are about to solve a case, workaholics, and/or single…It’s like any job. Most go home when the day is over. Some put in long hours for their own reasons.
Most Americans, regardless of occupation, are living regular, mundane lives. That contrast with TV and movies is what makes the latter entertaining.
Edit: spelling
Cops must be so busy in my City they don’t even pick up 911 a good amount of time
“in movies”
No.
No, and our films are works of fiction. We’re the Mark Bellison character in *The Invention of Lying*, apparently.
In many instances, sure, they’re probably thinking about a case while not on the job
idk, I do that too and I’m just a designer
If you’re caught up in a logic puzzle, it’s hard to turn it off sometimes
The way this is portrayed in film is generally an exaggeration though.
I only know one police detective. He still finds time after work to be one of Houston’s best bar trivia players.
Movies are not reality. I’m sorry to have to tell you this. Also, tv shows are not reality.
Not only is this not true, but in many places, the majority of major crimes go unsolved. [Detroit has seen over 8,000 homicides since 1980 and 2/3 of them remain unexplained.](https://uncovered.com/states/michigan-cold-cases/detroit-mi)
There’s no budget in most departments for huge teams of investigators. They “solve” what they can.
Yes and no.
I saw my BIL who is an New York Police Department (NYPD) detective last night and sometimes he’s away from home for 48+ hours straight. He might grab a couple of hours a sleep at the precinct but otherwise he’s working.
This isn’t because he’s working tirelessly to crack a case but because they’re short on manpower and the OT is very lucrative.
There’s been big events that have required him to be in the precinct for days on end. The 2020 summer riots are a perfect example. There was just too much work, too few officers, and too much OT for him to come home. I do keep mentioning the OT but it’s really not that optional beyond quitting.
“No luck catching them killers then?”
You should watch the TV series “The First 48” if you want to get a closer glimpse of what real life detectiving is like in most places. It’s a reality show that is real reality with no script. It follows the first 48 hours of murder investigations.
But there is nothing glamorous about it. The detectives are generally average middle class men and women doing their job. The murders are usually the result of drug deals or moronic “beefs” between stupid people who don’t know how to behave in society. There are no criminal geniuses like in many detective shows. The worst are when innocent people get killed in robberies or when they are caught in the crossfire.
I think no real detective in normal circumstances works on one case at a time. They have lots of open cases at any given moment. They usually work in pairs and not exciting teams full of good looking experts who also only work on one case at a time. They spend lots of time sitting at a utilitarian desk making phone calls. Or driving around neighborhoods trying to find witnesses. It’s a lot of grunt work. They do sometimes miss family events because of cases they are working on.
None of them have an evil nemesis trying to ruin their lives.