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Abstract
A content analysis of TV police dramas was conducted to assess the portrayal of gender, race/ethnicity, and aggression among law enforcement, criminals, and victims. Representations of police personnel appeared more diversified than in past eras, with white personnel no longer overrepresented and some racial minority groups (African and Asian American) now overrepresented relative to consensus data, instead. Women were underrepresented as victims while Hispanic characters were underrepresented in all character categories. Comparable to previous studies was the violent nature of the genre, as violent crimes and cases solved were significantly overrepresented, and police were more physically and verbally aggressive than criminals. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. The Nielsen ratings consist of original, prime-time telecasts, including seven days’ worth of DVR and video on-demand usage.
2. A macro developed by Hayes and Krippendorff (Citation2007) for SPSS and SAS to calculate alpha was used to measure inter-coder reliability. As described by the authors, the macro can be “used regardless of the number of observers, levels of measurement, sample sizes and the presence or absence of missing data” (p. 77).
3. These entries exclude exigent circumstances, such as preserving evidence, pursuing a suspect, or a reasonable belief that someone’s life or safety could be at risk (Beller, Citation1991).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Jack Glascock
Jack Glascock (PhD, Michigan State University) is an associate professor at Illinois State University. His research focus is entertainment media content, most recently the depiction of verbal aggression.