I've been watching First 48 since it's inception. Each week, a different city is profiled. The show is about detectives working to solve a murder within the First 48 hours, hence the show title. Miami has been regularly featured on the murder series for a while now, and the episodes always take place in these neighborhoods: Overtown, Liberty City, and Little Haiti. Seldom will you have a First 48 episode take place in Miami Gardens (although there has been one show where a murder was profiled there). The bulk of Miami's violence can be traced to those 3 areas, so it makes sense to profile murders in those 3 neighborhoods. Let's be honest, do Overtown, Liberty City and Little Haiti residents object to their neighborhood being profiled? Negative. Having your city featured on First 48 is attaining superstardom, because outsiders know how hardcore your city is. The show does feature residents cooperating with the police to catch the murderer(s), so it must have a purpose. Luke makes good points, especially about the show doing nothing to show why inner-city blacks are shooting each other. It's not hard to figure out: Little or no education, poverty and hopelessness all contribute to black on black murder. Think about it, how many successful blacks go out and commit crimes? None, because there's too much to lose. Black Miami has been in trouble since the late 80's/early 90's, with drug gangs like Boobie Boys, Thomas Family and John Doe that wreaked havoc on the Miami streets. In closing, The First 48 does not make black Miami look bad. The show does a good job of showing what life is like for inner-city Miami residents.
