Yeah, that’s starting to get to me. “Oh my goodness, there was a murder? Of someone I know? Well, I’d love to help you, but I have to get to the most boring lecture on beetle dung you’ve ever heard, because if I miss as second of the lecture, I’l have to actually read the textbook.”
“Egads, a murder. Well, be quick, because I have to look like I’m doing my job or my boss will fire me. [wave at boss]”
Hee. I’m with you here. When my husband watches Hawaii Five-O I’m always thinking, “Oooh, Hawaii is so pretty… WHAT!? Another murdered/kidnapped/tortured tourist? Uh, no thanks” 
And of course the cops never press for details.
Suspect: If you want to talk to me, talk to my lawyer. [cops walk away without asking what the lawyer’s name is, though somehow they have that information by the next scene]
Similarly, “Yeah, the guy you’re looking for, he’s got an apartment on 14th street.”
Cut to 3921 14th street, apartment 3F… dun-dunn!
So, how many serial killers did Gil Grissom catch? And how many took a personal liking to him and starting sending clues directly to him first?
Actually, I liked Homicide: Life on the Streets.
My all-time favorite was an episode of L&O where Lenny Briscoe was in a suspect’s apartment who had left. So he picked up the Yellow Pages, dropped it on its spine, and it opened to the page the guy had opened it to previously.
While I’d be empathetic to someone who lost someone violently, if they’re at work, I’d expect them to, you know, work! :rolleyes:
It doesn’t even have to be at the office. The cops will drop by a home and it’s “Hey, the FBI needs to question me about my potential involvement in a murder but these cupcakes aren’t going to bake themselves…”
What? No way. New York–even with the precipitous drop in rate–has hundreds of murders annually.
Hmm. Never thought about it that way. Regardless of whether his name actually does mean that, it does sound kinda similar. Iiiinteresting.
I’ve done a little bit of temping and, if the office has the usual alphabetical filing system, and I know what name or company I’m looking for, it doesn’t take long at all. Besides, in current TV shows, they sometimes fail.
I think this may be a ‘dependant on tips’ culture.
When I worked in pubs in the UK the staff would very occasionally have to speak to the cops, and they just went somewhere private and talked to them. I can only think of two occasions where that wasn’t directly related to work, but in the TV shows, even when it is directly related to work (a regular customer might have been killed by another regular) they’re in a hurry to move off. In real life that would seem like suspicious behaviour.
Also, it’s far more interesting to let them speak to the cops and then ask them about it (if appropriate) or speculate amongs yourselves. You feel like you’re in Eastenders or something.
But their tips weren’t their main source of income, so that might explain the difference. I mean, obviously it’s dramatic license, but dramatic license is not equally valid in all jurisdictions.
But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you, Steve Sax…?
I thought Joker just killed him for fun.
If the cops came up to my office and said they needed a word, I’m sure my boss would have no problem letting me take 20 minutes to actually talk to them, instead of squeeze in a couple sentences and then get back to the [del]slave driving[/del] documentation writing. But I’m salaried in a professional job, so what do I know.
I can sort of understand an hourly employee in a service job not being able to take much of a break from waiting tables during the lunch rush, for example, but it doesn’t matter what’s going on. “Oh, I’d love to stay and help you, detective, but I’m walking my dog, and he wants to go down to the corner over there. No, you can’t walk along with us.”
I used to work at a testing lab where we had all kinds of rules about no visitors, not even family, because of secret formulas and client confidentiality and blah blah blah.
One day these two FBI agents showed up at the door and I happened to answer it. I had them wait, went and told my boss they were at the door, and said, “Can I send them away? They don’t have an appointment. They don’t have a warrant.” I just wanted the experience of sending FBI guys packing.
Silly I know, but then the boss said, “I don’t even know if we CAN send them away”. Well, I started to educate her about constitutional rights. But she let them in anyway.
In my experience, many TV detectives carry a strange disease that causes suspects to break out in bouts of spontaneous confessions.
This is a little off-topic, but it IS my thread…
WHY DO THEY RUN? The suspects run when they don’t have an ice cube’s prayer in hell of getting away.
Also WHY DO THE POLICE ANNOUNCE, “IT’S THE POLICE! STOP!” when they’re half a block away… and then act like they don’t expect the presumed bad guy to run?
Rhetorical questions, really…
I’ll just leave this here: http://comedians.jokes.com/john-mulaney/videos/john-mulaney---law---order/