After 30 years on television, COPS has evolved into a constant messaging machine about policing in America. Running from COPS is the result of an 18-month investigation and delves deep into how the show actually gets made, how much control police departments really have over the final product, and the harrowing stories of the people who have ended up on camera. Subscribe for free and start listening April 23.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How real is the longest running reality show in TV history? We begin our investigation of COPS.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What is it like to watch yourself on COPS when you can’t remember getting arrested?

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

COPS producers claim every suspect on the show agrees in writing to appear on TV. Why would anyone sign that piece of paper? Plus: Who has final control over what airs on COPS, the producers or the police?

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An ex-cop breaks down some of the most shocking arrests we’ve watched on COPS and tries to imagine why police departments would want that footage out in the world. Plus, the next generation of COPS is LivePD — six hours a week of policing aired live. What could possibly go wrong?

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How does it feel to be hunted for months by police officers and camera crews, both of whom seem hellbent on putting you on TV?

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We get our hands on raw, unedited footage of COPS and finally answer the question we've been asking throughout our 18-month investigation: How real is COPS?

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.