K9 Cops
By Emily Ashby,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Police dogs in action are fine for older kids.
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What's the Story?
K9 COPS is a reality-based docuseries that follows members of the K9 unit of the police force in St. Paul, Minnesota. Camera crews ride along as officers respond to calls and perform routine patrols in the city, capturing the drama when the cops and their dogs secure crime scenes and arrest suspects. The show illustrates how police dogs are also used to locate explosives, sniff out drugs, and track alleged criminals on the run.
Is It Any Good?
The original Cops series has inspired its fair share of look-alikes, and K9 Cops is cut from the same basic cloth: Close-up imagery of tense encounters between the city's finest and those who threaten public safety, and follow-up confessionals with the officers once the danger is neutralized. But here the cops share the limelight with their dog partners, who prove equally heroic as are their human handlers.
It's always a stirring sight to see a public servant in action, and K9 Cops does a great job of inspiring awe in the courageous jobs these officers perform. But while the violence quotient is significantly less than in, say, Cops -– likely due to the involvement of the dogs, whose mere presence often intimidates the suspects into compliance -– this still isn't a show for most young kids. What you see on the screen is real life, and the altercations are the result of actual crimes, and often brutal ones at that. Ultimately this show is better reserved for viewers who can differentiate between real-life TV and the reality of their own lives.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the impression this series gives about police work. Do you think these clips represent typical days on the job? Does the work look exciting? Dangerous? Fulfilling?
Why are reality-based shows like this one so popular with viewers? Is real-life drama more interesting than fictionalized stories? In what ways does it let us glimpse others' lives in unique ways? How, if at all, does this influence how we view our own lives?
Tweens: Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? How are your goals shaped by your desire to help people? What else do you hope to achieve in your job?
TV Details
- Premiere date: October 1, 2008
- Network: Animal Planet
- Genre: Reality TV
- Topics: Cats, Dogs, and Mice
- TV rating: NR
- Last updated: March 2, 2022
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