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30 The College of New Jersey Magazine Mitchell grew up in the Dallas suburb of Garland, Texas, where his devotion to shows such as Law and Order and CSI led him to get involved with the Dallas Police Explorers, a police academy for youth and young adults interested in law enforcement careers. "I was about 11 years old," Mitchell says. "I looked at police officers as superheroes. I saw them as going into dangerous situations, helping people in need. I was attracted to the entertainment, the excitement, the adrenaline rush — serving arrest warrants, investigating crime scenes, seeing cases adjudicated in court." That interest never wavered. After Mitchell graduated from Texas Southern University with a degree in administration of justice, he went to work as a corrections officer at the Dallas County jail, and later as a police officer in his hometown of Garland. But he found the daily reality of police work often conflicted with both his long-held perceptions and his academy training. He went on to earn a doctorate and pursue a career in academia. "Now, as an educator, I do the best I can to ensure that students and the public understand the realities of the entire criminal justice apparatus," he says. Michael Mitchell Professor of criminology and African American studies The police drama has been a popular staple of American television since Dragnet pioneered the way in the early 1950s. We are pulled to the investigative mysteries, the high-speed chases, the courtroom dramas, and even the real-life news stories that portray police officers — depending on events — as either heroes or villains. But as police have come under scrutiny in the 21st century, we wondered: How accurately do these shows reflect the reality of the job? We turned to our alumni network of law enforcement officers to explore what it means to be a police officer today. We also spoke to professor Michael Mitchell to help us understand what the cop shows get right and wrong.

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