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  • © 2014

Media Representations of Police and Crime

Shaping the Police Television Drama

Palgrave Macmillan

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Part of the book series: Critical Criminological Perspectives (CCRP)

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
  2. Introduction

    • Marianne Colbrana
    Pages 1-34
  3. Research Methods

    • Marianne Colbrana
    Pages 35-48
  4. Inside the World of The Bill

    • Marianne Colbrana
    Pages 49-76
  5. The Origins of Story Ideas

    • Marianne Colbrana
    Pages 77-102
  6. Influences on the Storyline

    • Marianne Colbrana
    Pages 103-133
  7. Creating the Story

    • Marianne Colbrana
    Pages 134-161
  8. Looking Beyond The Bill

    • Marianne Colbrana
    Pages 162-210
  9. Back Matter

    Pages 238-253

About this book

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.

Reviews

"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

Authors and Affiliations

  • Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford, UK

    Marianne Colbrana

About the author

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.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access