COKE-SNORTING TV 'COPS' INFURIATE THE REAL-LIFE FORCE

Greater Manchester Police, who helped BBC writers and actors develop a new
drama series, are "extremely disappointed" by its scenes of cocaine-snorting
officers and brutality against citizens.

The Cops is set in the fictional northern town of Stanton and has been
filmed in a pseudo-documentary style by the team that created the cult legal
series, This Life, and the racy hospital drama, Cardiac Arrest. It is
expected to become one of the most controversial programmes of the decade.

The eight-part series, which begins on 19 October, aims to hold up the
mirror to the gritty world of modern policing. But this warts-and-all
portrayal of police work, with its particular emphasis on the warts, is
likely to compound the severe damage done to the image of the police in
recent months by disclosures made during the inquiry into the murder of
Stephen Lawrence.

News of the content of The Cops has already disconcerted members of the
Greater Manchester Police who helped with the research earlier this year.

Spokesman Stuart Render said the story line in the first episode was
"extremely disappointing" and that drama producers should recognise the
power they wielded.

"There is a lot that serious drama could do to reassure people about the
police force," he said. "A TV production company has a responsibility in our
eyes. But we are not embarrassed, we would always prefer to help
programme-makers because we realise that they are going to go ahead and make
the programme anyway.

"It does sound as if the first episode is going to be disappointing for us.
If we do find that the officers concerned are not dealt with in a realistic
way later on in the series, we will be even more disappointed."

In the film, a central character, a "rookie" female constable, is shown
taking cocaine at a wash basin in a nightclub. In response, Mr Render said
the Bolton police division, where the series was shot, did not have a drugs
history.

"Obviously when you are talking about a probationer, an officer who is in
their first or second year in the service, then they are likely to bring
with them various activities that are not appropriate if they wish to be a
police officer, and which, in real life, would soon be picked up."

Mr Render said Greater Manchester Police expected the fictional officers
seen committing crimes in The Cops to be reprimanded by their superiors. "If
these officers are not taken to task within the series we will be extremely
disappointed. If The Cops turns out to be way off-beam, as it looks as
though episode one will be, then we can only hope that the public will
realise it too."

He said the Bolton division, which was paid to help the production company,
would not have allowed actors and writers to go out with officers if they
were not confident the officers' behaviour would be appropriate. "I hope
these programme-makers are aware of the damage they can cause by
exaggerating just for the sake of a few more viewers. A little old lady
watching in Oldham could have her view of the police seriously affected," he
said.

The series is BBC 2's first police drama. It will go out after the 9pm
watershed and is a key ingredient of the channel's UKP80m autumn line-up. It
is the high-profile project chosen by drama producer Tony Garnett when he
decided to kill off This Life after two series. Mr Garnett's reputation for
producing controversial drama is built on early successes in the Sixties,
such as Up the Junction and Cathy Come Home. Latterly he has produced
Between the Lines and Cardiac Arrest.

Mark Thompson, the controller of BBC 2, is so confident about the success of
The Cops, which he has dubbed the modern equivalent of Z Cars, that he has
commissioned a second series.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst