#5 Reasons why canceling Cops and Live PD is counter-productive

Canceling Cops and Live PD is an ignorant, counterproductive overreach

Wherever you stand politically, however you frame the various interactions between police and citizenry, there has to be a middle ground. It can’t be complete anarchy, where people take over entire portions of cities and rename them like a Family Guy episode. Conversely, no society works as completely authoritarian. Canceling Cops and Live PD serves no beneficial purpose.

Where we can meet in the middle is despising and fighting the ridiculous cancel culture that has created a scenario where people are seriously protesting cartoon dogs and disarming a cartoon character created in the 1930s. This is not The Onion; it’s real life. What follows are five reasons canceling Cops and Live PD is completely counterproductive.

1. It’s counterproductive because there is no good reason to cancel

First of all, canceling the show doesn’t help. Neither Live PD nor Cops was causing any issues. There wasn’t a large assortment of negative interactions filling the hours of programming.

Furthermore, canceling the show won’t stop crime.

There won’t be fewer murders. Drug dealers won’t suddenly start applying for 9-to-5 jobs. Drunk drivers won’t suddenly stop doing so because their chance to shine on television is gone. People won’t think, “Oh, Cops is canceled. I guess now I should comply with a lawful order, keep my hands off the officer’s taser, and stop breaking the law.”

2. It’s counterproductive because removal ignores real-life, actual crimes that others ignore

Guess what, folks. Actual crimes take place. Actual drug dealers ruin lives. Murders, arson, rape, manslaughter, kidnapping. All of it literally happens on a daily basis. Live PD and Cops were transparent views into crimes that are actually affecting the community.

Yes, a lot of it involved the black community. That, however, doesn’t point to some nefarious collection of evil police officers. It merely reflects the Bureau for Justice Statistics that proves a disproportionate amount of crime being committed in those neighborhoods.

3. It’s counterproductive because the shows displayed positive police interactions

Fact: The overwhelming percentage of police interactions are positive. Between 50 and 60 million interactions, every year occur, and less than one percent includes nonfatal force once the perpetrator’s perception is removed from the equation. And the number of people actually shot is roughly 0.00002% based on the total number of interactions.

Canceling either Live PD or Cops only removes multiple positive examples and only serves to reinforce the opinion—because all the facts say completely otherwise—that police violence and corruption is rampant. Somehow we’re in a bizarro world where everything a law enforcement officer does is repugnant or hateful, and people burning down buildings are freedom fighters. It’s ridiculous, and removing the shows will increase this incorrect perception.

4. It’s counterproductive because it literally can make crime harder to solve

The reality is, both of these shows have helped people find missing loved ones. Crowd-sourcing advantages are lessened. Both shows have led to further crimes being solved. An extension of John Walsh and Unsolved Mysteries, both Cops and Live PD led to a safer, better society because people watched, potentially called in clues or inside knowledge, and aided law enforcement in the difficult endeavor of finding and arresting dangerous criminals.

5. It’s counterproductive because law enforcement officers are 100% mandatory

Anarchy doesn’t work. Anyone who has seen Lord of the Flies knows what happens when rules cease to exist. So, canceling Cops or Live PD will not remove police officers from society. We should shudder at the thought.

Removing these shows doesn’t remove police. In fact, it won’t even remove the infinitesimal percentage of bad police officers. Pointless.

Unless something drastic changes, Live PD and Cops are done. Too bad, because Paramount and A&E have buckled not to common sense, but to counterproductive cancel culture.