Live PD
Season 1 C&I (*171) 20:50 True crime
Reality police series Live PD (2016- current) really is live and you’re seeing the arrests as they happen, more or less. “Obviously because it’s live we have to have a delay in the broadcast,” explains host Dan Abrams. “This can be several seconds and even minutes depending on the content [including potential shooting between the officers and the suspects] and that is what makes our show revolutionary – you’re watching our officers on the street as it happens.”
Being live has its pros and cons adds Dan, who is joined in each episode by special police officer and crime reporter Tom Morris Jr and Sergeant Sean Larkin of the Tulsa PD in Oklahoma. “We’ve had people almost escape because they were actually watching our show as we got close to their homes and they fled. That is not an ideal situation to be in and that’s why we have the delay. But we are also on the streets doing highspeed chases, attending to bar fights and simple roadblocks.”
To broadcast live, the show makes use of bonded cellphones, which means that large quantities of video data can be sent through to the TV network studios and streamed live like a sports event. “It’s cheaper, more reliable and the technology used means that video feeds from body cameras worn by the officers are broadcast while also being recorded on our servers for use in the court cases,” says Dan. And having his co-hosts in studio means that the show is providing expert information to viewers who may think that they know the law but don’t realise what it really entails. “Who would’ve thought that live police action would be this popular?” adds the host.