Cops is een Amerikaans realityprogramma van de zender Paramount Network (voorheen Spike TV). De serie ging in première op 11 maart 1989.
Cops toont wekelijks politieagenten in actie. Er zijn veel achtervolgingen te voet en in de auto te zien. Vaak eindigt de actie in een arrestatie waarbij soms met grof geweld de arrestant op zijn buik op de grond gedwongen wordt en in de handboeien geslagen. Er zijn echter ook operaties te zien waarbij agenten zich uitgeven voor drugshandelaren of (ook mannelijke) prostituees.
In the 18th season premiere, deputies Marc Taub and Joseph Ensminger of the Travis County, TX, Sheriff's Office question the residents of a home that has been burglarized and we learn that someone went into the house and completely trashed it. However, there is no sign of forced entry and nothing is missing from the property. The complainant and his friend, who appear inebriated, explain that they think they know who did it, and they believe it occurred because they would not smoke enough pot with him. Deputies take fingerprints from an article in the kitchen and advise the residents to be careful about whom they hang out with. In another segment, Corporal Bev Genevish, Officer James Presley and Lt. J.T. Strickland of the Gwinnett County, GA, Police Department investigate a call about a car hitting person riding a bike. At the scene, the driver's car has run off the road, and while the vehicle's windshield and hood are both damaged, the driver claims to have no memory of hitting anyone. As the investigation continues, a bloodied young boy stumbles toward officers, but the injury has impaired his memory and he cannot remember how it happened.