No , not staged, just raw footage that is shot, is obtained by the city, which may or may not make it to air. I worked on a show in Albequerque in 2000 and shot a stabbing call (had 3 camera guys with me, because it was around the holidays and we wanted to get through our schedule to have time off to be with our families) So because I had 3 cameras rolling,(we had 3 various angles) what should have been a stabbing call and a harboring fugitive call, ended up being a domestic violence call(which was never actually declared a domestic violence call) that made it to air. Some cities do want want certain calls to be aired because of the decline in population, etc. Its sad but it is happening everyday. Some of those shows, when the police officers offer commentary, it is either the next day or some commentary is taken out. Its all in the editing.
I meant that some cities do NOT want certain call aired because of rise in crime and decreased populatin. Sorry.
Thank you for explaining some of the inside decision-making process in these reality cop shows.