Reality TV set to ride with BRPD

The Baton Rouge Metro Council has approved for the Baton Rouge Police Department to be featured on the live documentary television series On Patrol: Live.

Airing on the Reelz network, the three-hour show follows officers from departments across the country during ride-alongs, capturing footage with in-person camera operators. Episodes are broadcast on a slight delay, ranging from a few minutes to 30 minutes, to allow editing of content unfit for TV, according to the show’s website. New episodes air every Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.

The Metro Council approved a motion allowing BRPD to enter into an access agreement with the show’s production company, Half Moon Pictures.

“It’s very flattering that they reached out to us and want us on the show, because they’re very selective …,” BRPD Chief Thomas Morse Jr. said Tuesday at the Chamber of Commerce of East Baton Rouge Parish luncheon. “They reached out to us and I really liked the idea for our branding and being able to push our message out.”

Morse said the show will showcase BRPD’s new technology, including drones in police cars used to track burglars, and could aid in recruiting new officers. The department is 150 officers short.

The agreement will allow On Patrol: Live to compensate BRPD for the right to use the department’s name and logo on TV.

The payment, referred to as an “insignia fee,” is intended to cover the costs associated with the department’s involvement in the show, ensuring the production remains “cost neutral.”

“We’re short, so we would have to adjust some officers’ hours, to work overtime, to be riding these patrols and do these things,” Morse said. “Any cost that is on us, they pay us for that.”

Departments in Las Vegas, Daytona Beach, Florida; Knox County, Tennessee; Clayton County, Georgia; and Monroe are among agencies currently partnered with the show.

With the approval, Morse said two camera crews could begin filming in Baton Rouge by mid-July.

This story was originally published by Daily Report on June 25. It has been updated. To keep up with Baton Rouge business news, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.