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This unique book explores the social processes which shape fictional representations of police and crime in television dramas. Exploring ten leading British and European police dramas from the last twenty-five years, Colbran, a former scriptwriter, presents a revealing insight into police dramas, informed by media and criminological theory.

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1. Introduction 2. Research Methods 3. Inside the World of The Bill 4. The Origins of Story Ideas 5. Influences on the Story-line 6. Creating the Story 7. Looking Beyond The Bill 8. The Function and Importance of the Television Police Show in Shaping Public Understanding

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"Media representations of policing are of crucial significance for both the legitimacy and the effective functioning of policing, and indeed social order more broadly. This pioneering ethnographic study is the first to analyse the interactions of creative personnel and the political-economic pressures that shape the production of fictional television stories about the police. It is a major contribution to the understanding of policing and the media, and will be of great value to criminology and to media sociology." - Robert Reiner, London School of Economics, UK

"Behind the scenes probe into how hit cop show The Bill was made and why. A deep analysis of process [which will be] fascinating for academics and interested public alike". - Tony Garnett, Film and Television producer and author, UK

"A timely, thoughtful and extremely well researched book on a genre that though fiction, nevertheless has deep

influence on how politicians, media, the public and even police themselves see their role. The fictional preoccupation with serious crime and higher status offenders as compared to the reality of more mundane offences and lower status offenders creates a loop of disinformation that has serious implications at a time of cuts and reorganisation of the whole justice system. This is a must read for police professionals, academics and crime writers alike." - Roger Graef OBE, Visiting Professor Mannheim Centre for Criminology, LSE, UK

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Marianne Colbran is a Research Associate at the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford, UK. Before becoming an academic, she was a scriptwriter and worked as a staff writer on the long running British police show, The Bill, for seven years and on the soap opera, Brookside, for two years.

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