Law enforcement has evolved greatly over the past many years, and that's not just in reference to the myriad of newer, better, quicker forensics to help investigate and solve crimes. It's referring to basically everything involved in law enforcement from the uniforms to the cars to the working conditions, assignments, rank, etc. Basically everything that is except the people who actually do the job. Over a total of near 20 years, the police officer is still in the Cro-Magnon' stage of development. There are some who have progressed further than others, but the higher life forms' in the job tend to somehow avoid rank that seems reserved for the non-evolved. What happens in a day in the life of a police officer? Much of it is probably not at all what the average citizen thinks. Not by a long shot. Real Cops Don't Pay For Lunch tries to outline " a day in the life " honestly (sometimes embarrassingly so), clearly, and often amusingly. The guy who couldn't complete a sentence when he was stopped for speeding because " someone just called my wife AND THEY JUST HUNG UP!" Another somewhat eccentric gentleman who was horrified to find he had a pocket full of change and proceeded to disburse said change across three of the six lanes of the highway he was on. Neither of them got a ticket.  Several women who opted for the crying routine, however, were ticketed. None of this yet even takes into account the brass and the caste system in place at many police departments; brass who have committed atrocities that fully earned them that hunk of limburger cheese on their manifold. This was completely unbeknownst to them, of course, but it certainly delivered the message. Real Cops covers all this and more. Barney Miller watch out!