The reality television show follows detectives as they investigate murder cases. As the title indicates, it focuses on the crucial first 48 hours of an investigation. By its very nature, the show is based in violent cities: New Orleans, Memphis, Atlanta, Detroit.

There was a time not long ago when Dotson took a different tack toward the city’s crime problem. Three years ago, as the city was rising in national statistics to the top spot in some “most dangerous city” rankings, the chief and his counterpart in the county, Tim Fitch, suggested turning the city and county into what some were calling a “statistical city.”

The idea was to combine the city’s crime stats with the county, as though the region were one city (which it should be anyway). The result would be a significant fall in the national crime rankings.

Perception would change. Businesses and parents looking for a safe place to send their children to college would see St. Louis differently, Dotson said.

Now, apparently, he wants them to see the violence for what it is in all its raw humanity.

Dotson says the show will humanize the city’s detectives.