BATON ROUGE — The Baton Rouge Metro Council voted on June 25 to approve a contract with a production company for BRPD to join the documentary-style reality television show, “On Patrol: Live.”
The show, featured on the Reelz network, captures live footage of police departments across the country. The footage is aired on a delay, allowing for profane and sensitive content to be edited out.
Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said he will have oversight on what officers are doing on the show, including which areas the officers are patrolling and what actions the officers are taking. Additionally, he says they have about 30 minutes to watch the show live, and can decide whether or not something airs.
“We have control to then say, ‘No, we’re not going to show that because it constitutes something wrong with our investigation or officer safety, or just because we don’t like it,'” Chief Morse said. “I’ve reached out to many other departments, and they’ve never had an issue with anything that they didn’t want to go on the show happening live.”
Details about when filming starts haven’t been released, but Morse said it could begin as early as July.
Original Story
BATON ROUGE — People around the country could soon get a first-hand glimpse of what Baton Rouge Police Officers do on a daily basis with a live show on BRPD. That’s only if the Baton Rouge Metro Council agrees to sign a contract with the live reality television show: “On Patrol: Live.”
The show is featured on the Reelz network and captures live footage of police departments around the country with in-person cameramen utilized during ride-alongs with officers.
The footage broadcasts on a delay, allowing for grizzly or profane content to be edited out before it goes to air.
“We’re at a pretty significant breaking point”
BRPD Chief TJ Morse believes the live show could be beneficial to recruiting in a time when the department is facing a shortage of around 155 officers, Morse explained.
“We’re at a pretty significant breaking point come the end of the year with the mayor’s Thrive Baton Rouge Plan and things like that,” Morse said.
“We need more resources so we can continue offering the same services that we’re asked to offer. Our overtime budget is pretty non-existent, but we’re still being asked to provide free security for all these special events and parades and things and sending out special forces for crime reduction, drag racing, and speeding enforcement.”
Aside from using the show to increase recruitment for the department, Morse said it’s also an opportunity for the department to showcase what they do, especially during a time when law enforcement around the country is being more scrutinized than any other time in American history.
“I want to be transparent about the great work our officers are doing. I am not worried in the least,” Morse said. “We have all this amazing technology and divisions that we don’t showcase enough. We don’t get to show the great work our officers do every day for the citizens of Baton Rouge, and this is going to give us the opportunity to do that.”
Neutral cost agreement
As part of the filming contract, BRPD will sign an “Insignia Fee” agreement with the production company allowing the department to be compensated for the use of its logo and name on TV.
Morse said the agreement will allow BRPD to recoup costs tied to the filming of the series such as overtime costs for officers, but claims the department will not make a profit off the show’s filming. Morse said that allows the show to be made at no cost to taxpayers, but said it’s also not a money grab for the department.
“We tell them it’s going to be this much per week for us to have officers either working overtime or for us to pay someone to work overtime to review the footage,” Morse said. “They’ll give us a check every week as a licensing fee for our logo and insignia. It’s definitely a way to make money, but we’re not going to be losing money either.”
BRPD on Live Television Show
Unlike shows like Cops, Morse said people questioned or featured on the broadcast will not have the ability to request their faces be blurred prior to going live on-air and will not be given the opportunity to sign any releases prior to filming.
He said the live show will be broadcast on a 30-minute delay and that’s when BRPD officers will be able to review the footage. In that time, BRPD will have the ability to request certain things be pulled from air if content could potentially endanger residents or officers or reveal the identities of people working undercover.
However, according to the show’s website, police departments that appear on the show do not have editorial control over content, “including both live footage and pre-taped content.”
Morse said he does have concerns about violating the rights of residents, who may be innocent and are featured on the program, but said cameras and live-streaming are just a part of life now.
“We live in a world right now with cameras everywhere. There are cameras on the officers that can be viewed through public record requests and the public can see anyone that our officers are interacting with and see that same stuff that’s being shown on TV,” Morse said.
Morse also said crews have strict rules about not filming inside people’s homes or businesses, which would require a consent form to be signed.
Other departments that the show has signed on with include: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Daytona Beach Police Department, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and even the Monroe Police Department in northern Louisiana.
The contract agreement between BRPD and “On Patrol: Live” will be introduced at Wednesday’s Metro Council Meeting with a public hearing and a vote on June 25th.
If the Metro Council approves the contract, Morse said filming could begin as early as July.
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