The First 48 (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The First 48 is an American Documentary television series on A&E. Filmed in various cities in the United States, the series offers an insider's look at the real-life world of homicide investigators. While the cinema-verite series often follows the investigations to their end, it usually focuses on their first 48 hours, hence the title. Each episode picks one or more homicides in different cities, covering each alternately, showing how detectives use forensic evidence, witness interviews and other advanced detective skills to identify suspects.While most cases are solved within the first 48 hours, some go on days, weeks, or months after the first 48. The shortest investigation was led by Det. Brenda Wescott, who arrested a suspect, just 6 hours into the investigation. Dion Graham is featured as the narrator, and is the only member of the cast to be in every one of the episodes.

In 2006, the series was nominated for a Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award, in the Continuing Series category, by the International Documentary Association, eventually losing out to American Experience. By season 6, The First 48 had become the highest rated non-fiction justice series on American television, and had gained considerable critical acclaim along with controversy. The season 8 premiere on January 1, 2009, garnered a domestic audience of 2.3 million viewers making it the series' most watched episode, thus far.

Title sequence

Until the 12th season, The First 48's opening title sequence featured the conceptual statement: "For homicide detectives, the clock starts ticking the moment they are called. Their chance of solving a murder is cut in half if they don't get a lead within the first 48 hours." The original soundtrack, composed by both Chuck Hammer (2004"2005) and Brian and Justin Deming (2006"2008), is a combination of dark ambient music integrated with sound design.

Episodes

Season	Number of episodes
1	13
2	13
3	13
4	16
5	13
6	18
7	29
8	13
9	15
10	20
11	41
12	30

Spin-offs

The series has aired several follow-up episodes entitled After the First 48, which detail the trials of those accused in previous episodes, and the aftermath of victims' survivors. There is also another spin-off, The First 48: Missing Persons, which follows the same story format as the original series. The newest spin-off of the series is, The Killer Speaks, which depicts convicted felons as they describe their crimes through their first-hand accounts.

Officers featured

Controversy

On May 16, 2010, a 7-year-old Detroit girl named Aiyana Jones was shot and killed during a SWAT raid that was filmed by The First 48 cameras. Detroit SWAT unit raided the duplex while searching for a homicide suspect. On October 5, 2011, prosecutors charged the Detroit police officer with the involuntary manslaughter of Jones. Allison Howard, an A&E Television Network camera operator who was filming that night, was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice after lying under oath.

The show's unprecedented access to police departments has generated some controversy because such access is not typically given to traditional local news media. Moreover, the show has been criticized for putting witnesses in danger by revealing their faces and their voices on a nationally televised program and for not being sensitive to what might happen to them in the form of retaliation.

Cities

The First 48 has featured or plans to feature detective units in the following North American cities:

• Birmingham, Alabama
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Dallas, Texas
• DeKalb County, Georgia
• Detroit, Michigan
• Edmonton, Alberta
• Houston, Texas
• Harris County, Texas
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Kansas City, Kansas
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Las Vegas, Nevada

• Louisville, Kentucky
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Miami, Florida
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• New Haven, Connecticut
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Rochester, New York
• San Antonio, Texas
• Tucson, Arizona
• Toronto, Ontario

See also

• The First 48: Missing Persons
• After the First 48
• The Killer Speaks

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