The Kern County Sheriff’s Office is seeking approval from the Board of Supervisors to enter an agreement that would allow the agency to be featured in future episodes of the long-running television series “COPS,” KTLA sister station KGET reports.
Sheriff Donny Youngblood submitted a letter to the Board of Supervisors in the hopes the board will approve a proposed agreement between the sheriff’s office and Langley Productions, the producers of the series “COPS.”
The item is on the Board of Supervisors agenda for its meeting on Sept. 13.
The sheriff’s office is seeking that approval because the agreement between Langley and KCSO does not include a termination clause, an omission that conflicts with county policy.
Under the agreement, the letter states, KCSO would grant Langley Productions access to sheriff’s office personnel while on the job. The future episodes would appear on the Fox Nation streaming service at a later date.
In the letter, Youngblood says KCSO deputies appearing on the program would benefit the department for recruiting purposes and it would “enhance transparency” between the department and the community.
The proposed agreement also allows for KCSO to have approval of any content before it airs.
Youngblood said on 17 News at Sunrise this week the Kern County Sheriff’s Office currently has more than 400 vacancies it is looking to fill.
“COPS” was pulled off the air by Paramount Network in June 2020 in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd and related protests. The series debuted on the FOX television network in 1989 and is credited as some of the first reality-based television.
Fox News Media picked up the series and began streaming new episodes last October.