Editing Police procedural (section)

===Misrepresentation of reality===
Criticisms have been raised against the genre for its unrealistic depiction of crime. Particularly, police procedurals have been accused of possessing an unrealistic preoccupation with incidents such as [[homicide]] and [[terrorism]].<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Tasker |first1=Yvonne |title=Television Crime Drama and Homeland Security: From "Law & Order" to "Terror TV |journal=Cinema Journal |year=2012 |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=45–64 |doi=10.1353/cj.2012.0085 |jstor=23253576 |s2cid=144701090 }}</ref> In the United States, plot points involving murder investigations appear at more frequent rates than those involving [[theft]], [[substance abuse]], or [[domestic violence]],<ref name=":2" /> which citizens are more likely to personally experience.<ref>{{cite web |title=Crime in the U.S. – 2019 Preliminary Report |url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/preliminary-report/tables/table-4/table-4.xls/view |website=fbi.gov |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation}}</ref> Police procedurals have additionally portrayed attempted terrorism incidents at unrealistically high rates since the [[September 11 attacks]] and the start of the [[war on terror]], prompting accusations of [[racial profiling]] and [[fear-mongering]].<ref name=":2" />
 
The manner in which crime has been portrayed in the media has subsequently been linked with discrepancies both in popular perception of [[crime rates]], as well as [[sentencing]].<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |last1=Pfeiffer |first1=Christian|last2=Windzio |first2=Michael|last3=Kleimann |first3=Matthias |title=Media Use and its Impacts on Crime Perception, Sentencing Attitudes and Crime Policy |journal=European Journal of Criminology |date=2005 |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=259–285 |doi=10.1177/1477370805054099|s2cid=145153535}}</ref> In a 2005 study conducted on the [[Germans|German public]], it was found that despite a decline in total offences between 1992 and 2003, "the German public believes or assumes, on balance, that crime has increased".<ref name=":3" /> It has been further posited that the distorted public perception arising from the prevalence of police procedurals has been a factor in influencing sentencing rates. Countries such as the US, UK and Germany—while experiencing declines in crime rates—reported increases in the volume and severity of [[incarceration]].<ref name=":3" />