The First 48

My wife and I are addicted to a show called The First 48 which airs on A&E. The basic premise is that the first 48 hours of a homicide investigation are crucial, and if no solid leads develop in that time, solving it is more or less a lost cause.



Each episode follows two actual murder cases, each from a different city. Having watched 30 or so episodes from it's seven seasons, some patterns have appeared. At least in the cities they have visited, the following items are risk factors for being shot:

• Being involved in the drug trade, or having family/friends who are. A surprisingly large percentage of these cases involve drugs
• Renting rather than owning the place you live.
• Being a member of a minority group.

In all seriousness, it's disturbing how callous and stupid many of the perpetrators are. Take for example the woman who wanted to bail her boyfriend out of jail. What was her solution? She called a cab and had the cabbie drive her and some friends into a deserted part of town where they shot him for his fare money. How much money did they get? Less than $100 -- far less than they needed.

On a less somber (and more sophomoric) note, one of the detectives on the show is Officer Lusty. I kid you not. That would be a fantastic stage name for a male stripper. Even better than "Officer Naughty" who advertised in a local paper a few years ago.