Crime shows can make investigations look fast, dramatic, and remarkably efficient.
A detective arrives at a crime scene, evidence is collected, a warrant is obtained, a suspect is questioned, and suddenly the case is moving toward an arrest.
But how much of that actually happens in a real investigation?
The answer is: some of it is surprisingly realistic. Some of it is definitely television.
Here are some things I always notice when watching crime shows.
1. Police Procedure
Real investigations involve procedures that may not make for exciting television.
Officers have to document what they find, follow protocols, preserve evidence, conduct interviews, and build a case step by step.
And there are some basic crime-scene procedures that television often skips entirely.
For example, you’ll sometimes see an investigator pick up an item of evidence with bare hands—or move it before anyone has photographed and documented it in place.
That’s not how you want evidence handled.
Preserving the scene and documenting evidence before it is disturbed are important parts of an investigation.
2. Everyone Walking Into the Crime Scene
Another one that always catches my attention?
The number of people casually walking around a crime scene.
In a real investigation, access to a crime scene is controlled. Personnel entering may need appropriate protective equipment, including shoe coverings or booties, to help prevent contamination and protect the scene.
On television, however, detectives often walk straight through a scene in their regular shoes while half the department seems to be coming and going.
It makes for good television.
It would make for a very different evidence-processing conversation in a real investigation.
3. The Medical Examiner
This is another detail that crime shows sometimes rush past.
A body at a crime scene isn’t simply something detectives can immediately move, search, or start checking.
Depending on the circumstances and jurisdiction, investigators may need to wait for the medical examiner or coroner to arrive and assess the body before it is moved or further examined.
That can include determining whether there are signs of trauma, documenting the position of the body, and examining evidence that could be lost if the body is moved too soon.
So when I see a television detective immediately reaching into a victim’s pockets, I notice.
4. Evidence
On television, one piece of evidence can seemingly solve an entire case.
In reality, investigators need to determine what the evidence means, where it came from, whether it can be trusted, and how it fits with everything else they know.
Evidence doesn’t always provide an answer.
Sometimes it creates more questions.
5. Warrants and Investigations
Crime shows also have a habit of making warrants and investigations look incredibly fast.
A detective needs information, makes a call, and moments later has permission to search a home, access a phone, or obtain records.
The reality can be much more complicated.
Investigators have to work within the law, establish the appropriate grounds, obtain authorization when required, and follow the proper procedures.
And even once they have that authorization, the investigation itself doesn’t magically move at television speed.
There may be records to obtain, evidence to process, people to locate, interviews to conduct, and leads to follow.
So, Are Crime Shows Realistic?
They can be.
The best crime shows often get the feel of an investigation right: detectives follow leads, evidence changes their theories, and one discovery can send the case in an entirely new direction.
But television has to tell a story, often wrapping an entire investigation into about an hour. Real investigations aren’t always neat, fast, or dramatic.
And that’s the challenge and joy of writing crime fiction. I want the investigation to feel authentic but I still strive to give readers the twists, tension, and momentum they expect from a thriller.
