MPD Female Officers Star in TLC Series

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis Police Department has signed a contract for another television series. Next month The Learning Channel will begin filming in Memphis while following some of the city's finest female officers.

The name of the new show is "Police Women of Memphis." It's modeled off of 2 other shows TLC is doing. One of them, set in Arizona, premiers Thursday night.

The series spotlighting female officers in Broward County, Florida is about to be shared by Memphis Police.

"They showed us clips of what Broward County is doing right now and really expressed an interest in showing the best of Memphis," said MPD Spokesperson Karen Rudolph.

A contract has been signed between The Learning Channel and MPD. Next month cameras will begin following 4 female patrol officers.

"The 4 women are great officers," said Rudolph. "They know their jobs. They're sincere and dedicated."

The first season of "Police Women of Memphis" will be shot over 6 weeks. The shooting schedule is up to 8 hours a day.

TLC is traveling the country with its 'Police Women' concept. There's also a show on Sheriff's Deputies in Arizona.

This isn't MPD'S first rodeo when it comes to contracting with a TV series. For 4 years Memphis Homicide Detectives were profiled for A&E's "First 48."

"That was different. The First 48 was in bureaus and this is uniform officers," said Rudolph. "It's where it starts, uniform officers on first on the scene. The first representative, first contact. It's a good thing."

Filming for the "First 48" ceased in 2008 after Police Director Larry Godwin said he decided not to renew the contract with A&E to prevent future disruptions of MPD's goals.

About 50 female officers were interviewed for MPD's second try at a series. The department isn't getting paid, but says it's looking forward to the exposure once again.

Rudolph says the part of what TLC was looking for in its profile of a department was of the number of female officers. About 450 female officers make up MPD's total force of 2600.