How crime shows like Law & Order: SVU normalize bad police behavior

Mic

The nonprofit Color of Change's 152-page report released earlier this week showed how people of color are overrepresented in commiting crime on TV while being underrpresented in writers' rooms. But the report also showed how shows like SVU normalize bad police behavior via what it calls the “Good Guy Endorser” ratio. In past episodes of SVU, Detective Stabler would be shown illegally beating confessions out of suspects, whether they were guilty or innocent. But the bad behavior was justified in viewers' minds because of the framing of the series. “Almost all series depicted bad behavior as being committed by good people, thereby framing bad actions as relatable, forgivable, acceptable and ultimately good,” the Color of Change study states. “Remarkably, the data shows that scripted crime series depicted 'Good Guy' Criminal Justice Professionals committing wrongful actions far more than they depicted 'Bad Guys' doing so. The likely result? Viewers feeling that those bad behaviors are actually not so bad, and are acceptable (even necessary) norms.”