I Watch TV: SWAT

SWAT (the 2017 TV series) believes that there is a problem with policing, Or rather that there are three problems with policing. Firstly it believes that there are too many violent criminals and that therefore we need elite teams of good-looking cops to kick down doors, beat people to the ground and, when necessary, shoot them. So far, pretty much as I expected.

It also believes that the police have lost the trust of marginalised neighbourhoods, and again it has a solution. In this case that a very intense black guy from a rough are of South LA can win back that trust by ensuring that rules are followed and by talking and listening to the people there. This, of course, is a simple hero narrative to patch up the distrust that has come from (somewhere).

Thirdly and most interestingly it believes that the police need to reform themselves. As the series progressed, the Captain put together a package of training, ethics and review panels and with some opposition got started on them. For a show about beating up drug dealers and terrorists, it had an interesting grasp on how to police a city, and a fairly clear idea of how racial and class tensions in LA impact that.

The show is still mostly tracking down and fighting criminals though. AS IT SHOULD BE.

Watch This: For a slightly more intelligent and clued up police action drama
Don’t Watch This: If you’re still not interested in police action drama
Also: The theme tune, still good