TV & VIDEO - May 22, 1987

“Police are saying, ‘This is not the reality. This is where TV is hurting our image,’ ” said Mark Penn, of the polling firm Penn & Schoen Associates, which released a national survey Wednesday showing that many civilians believe the TV version of police work, and that most police officers don’t. Penn reported that 84% of the officers polled said that TV cop shows are “somewhat inaccurate,” and 48% called the shows “very inaccurate.” Penn said that the officers’ main complaints about cop shows were that they unrealistically portrayed use of deadly force, regard for constitutional rights and on-duty driving habits. “This is particularly true with favorites, such as ‘Hill Street Blues,’ ‘Cagney & Lacey’ and ‘Miami Vice,’ ” said Penn.