WOOD COUNTY, WI (OnFocus) – The long-running TV show COPS is filming several episodes in Wood County, with crews spending the next few weeks inside the county’s new jail facility.
Sheriff Shawn Becker said the opportunity came through professional networking.
“I went to a leadership training course in Georgia that was put on by Homeland Security. We’ve been sending people to this leadership course for several years now. It’s a couple weeks long with several different topics about leadership, and you network with law enforcement officers from all over the country,” Becker said.
He said Lieutenant Gene Harley from Chatham County Police Department in Georgia later reached out, letting him know that COPS was filming in the area and looking for more agencies interested in participating. Harley put Becker in touch with the show’s producers.
“They flew out here, met with us, toured the facility, and they were interested in doing several episodes here,” Becker said. “Today is the first day they’re starting to film.”
The filming will focus primarily on the jail, particularly the booking area, though crews may follow corrections officers to other parts of the facility if incidents occur.
“They’ll be here several weeks,” Becker said. “If there is an incident that might happen on a different floor, they would respond to it along with our corrections officers and deputies that needed to, and film that.”
Becker said he sees the project as a way to highlight the work of Wood County jail staff.
“The biggest thing that jumps out, two things really. One, growing up when COPS was on decades ago, it was an interest to me. It kind of brought me down the career path I chose back in the early 90s. On a personal level, I’m honored that they’d be willing to come here,” Becker said.
“But the more important is that this is an opportunity for people across the country to see our new facility and, more importantly, to see our staff. It’s not easy being a corrections officer, no matter what part of the country you live in. This gives people the opportunity to see how professional they are and how valuable they are to us.”
The sheriff said staff reactions have ranged from cautious to supportive, but he expects they’ll adjust quickly.
“Our staff already has body cameras, so there’s already so much video footage coming out of the jail. This is just an extra camera. I think once people get used to that, they’ll be more comfortable,” he said.
As for when the episodes will air, that timeline isn’t yet set, but OnFocus will update when an announcement is made!
Author: News Desk
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