Crime based television shows are extremely popular right now among many different age groups. It is not surprising that they are so popular-they are exciting, educational, entertaining, fast-paced and adrenaline inducing. Majority of them highlight the lives of cops, detectives, lawyers and judges and showcase their careers with one punctuated case after the next. Watching one of these shows would probably make anyone want to have a career in the criminal justice system. The unfortunate thing is the criminal justice system isn’t what these shows make it out to be. The true reality is that people in these careers work long hours often doing menial things. Many cops end up spending much of their time doing paperwork or tedious tasks and cases such as traffic violations and the like. Many lawyers work really long hours and have to judge on menial and somewhat boring cases such as simple misdemeanors and civil infractions. And let’s face it, getting a job such as a crime detective on television isn’t as easy as one would think and even so the life of a detective isn’t nearly as exhilarating.
In the end it is important to be realistic and not believe everything you see on television. Dont get me wrong the life of a cop, lawyer, judge or detective isn’t boring. There are certainly many exciting cases and exciting days that make it all worth while. It is just important to keep in mind that the daily lives for someone with one of these careers will most likely be a lot different from those potrayed on television.