TV Review
Police: Suspect No.1
Welcome to this week’s TuesdayTip.
This week’s tip is another TV review. This time, it’s the turn of Channel 5’s Police: Suspect No.1.
For fans of true crime and policing shows on TV, there is no shortage of programmes to watch. However, the quality is variable, and it is important if you want to get accurate information for your books that you watch programmes relevant to what you are writing, including the correct jurisdiction.
It seems that the main UK terrestrial broadcasters each have a “flagship” fly-on-the-wall series. I’ve previously recommended Channel 4’s always excellent 24 Hours In Police Custody [Tip129] and the equally valuable Forensics: The Real CSI from the BBC [Tip184]. Police: Suspect No.1 is Channel 5’s offering.
You can watch the series on the catchup service https://www.channel5.com/police-suspect-no-1.
Like its stablemates, the show follows an investigation from the emergency call, with the first responders attending, the gathering of evidence at the scene and we meet the detectives, police officers and specialists right from the beginning. Bodyworn camera footage, cameras in the incident room and documentary crews following the teams give a real insight into the process as it unfolds. We see CCTV footage and watch specialists as they track phone data etc. As always those involved speak to the camera and explain what is going on. We also see the toll on the detectives and the distress and revulsion they often experience.
One difference here is that unlike some other programmes, the suspect is often tracked down quite quickly. We then see the detectives trying to find them, and when they are arrested or taken into custody, the focus shifts to trying to prove (or disprove) they have the right person and to unravel what really happened. This involves footage from inside interview suites and the team as they try to interpret forensic evidence and wade through witness accounts or trawl through CCTV. The custody clock is often an ever-present pressure as they race to convince the Crown Prosecution Service to agree to a charging decision.
As a writer of police procedural fiction, I find these programmes invaluable. I often learn little snippets that I can use later. In one episode the accused refuses to accept a solicitor, despite repeated offers. This hubris is their undoing and armchair detectives such as my wife and I watched in dark amusement as the smart-arse suspect made basic errors and said things that any competent duty solicitor would have strongly advised them not to say. Most telling was the detectives decision that without a solicitor to request disclosure of evidence, they weren’t going to give him anything before the interview to help him fabricate a more convincing lie. The suspect went into their interviews completely blind, with no clue what evidence the police had amassed against them. The dawning realisation that they had royally screwed up was grimly pleasurable to watch.
As always, there is the pay-off at the end when we find out the outcome when the accused have their day in court.
I heartily recommend this for fans of the genre and for writers seeking authenticity.
What are your thoughts on this show? Are there any other shows you would recommend in a similar vein?
As always, feel free to comment here or on social media.
Until next time,
Paul
PS: If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.
