Local Sheriff's Deputies To Be Featured On 'Live PD'

LAKE COUNTY, IL — Local law enforcement will be featured on a top-rated reality show next week, the Lake County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday. Starting the week of July 10, cameras from the A&E program "Live PD" will ride along with deputies from several divisions, including highway patrol, marine unit, warrants team, gang task force and criminal investigations.

The show airs on Friday and Saturday nights and premiered last October. Consisting of a mix of dash-cam footage, handheld and fixed rig cameras, the program is hosted by ABC legal analyst Dan Abrams and co-host Tom Morris Jr.

The show boasted more than 1.5 million weekly viewers during each of its last broadcasts, making it the top-rated weekend show on cable so far this summer.

Lake County officials said the partnership will give the community "an inside look at the many responsibilities" and "variety of calls" handled by deputies.

Sheriff Mark Curran is supportive of the idea of featuring his office on the show.

“I am proud and confident of the work performed by our sheriff’s personnel each day," Curran said. "I am an advocate of transparency and this is a terrific opportunity for our office to demonstrate our core values of integrity, respect, and professionalism in action as we serve and protect.”

The show promises to show it all, "from DUI checkpoint stops to high-speed chases, bar fights to gang shootings, domestic disputes to drug busts," according to its website. The show encourages viewer participation through social media.

"We've tapped into the cultural zeitgeist in a way no other show has before," said A&E's head of programming, describing it as "an unfiltered look at how our country is being policed" in a press release announcing its extension earlier this year.

But not everyone is a fan of television crews riding along with law enforcement officers. Chicago, for instance, has never allowed cameras to follow its officers for the long-running television show COPS or Live PD.

"We've never seriously even thought about it," Chicago Police Department Deputy Director of News Affairs Patrick Camden explained to Broadcasting & Cable magazine in 2005. “Police work is not entertainment. What they do trivializes policing."

Top photo: An image from a Live PD promotional video | via Youtube