COPS is an American documentary television series that follows police officers, constables, and sheriff's deputies during patrols and other police activities. It is one of the longest-running television programs in the United States and the second longest-running show on Fox, and along with America's Most Wanted, the first of the longest unchanged nightly schedule (Fox's Saturday night) currently on American broadcast television. Created by John Langley and Malcolm Barbour, it premiered on Saturday March 11, 1989, and has aired 750 episodes as of March 21, 2009. It won the American Television Award in 1993, and has earned four Emmy nominations. The Official COPS Website COPS began its 22nd season on September 12, 2009.

COPS is broadcast by Fox (with repeats from earlier seasons syndicated to local television stations, and other cable networks, including truTV (formerly CourtTV) and G4), and follows the activities of police officers by embedding camera crews with police units. The show's formula follows the cinéma vérité convention, with no narration or scripted dialog, depending entirely on the commentary of the officers and on the actions of the people with whom they come into contact.

The show has followed officers in 140 different cities in the United States, and in Hong Kong, London, and the former Soviet Union. Each episode is approximately 22 minutes in length, and typically consists of three segments, with each segment being one or two self-contained police incidents.