North Las Vegas police recruits to star in pilot for reality show

The fresh-faced recruits joining the North Las Vegas Police Department could soon be thrust into the national spotlight.

The production company in charge of the reality programs “Las Vegas Law” and “Ghost Adventures” is turning its attention to a show that will follow North Las Vegas’ newest cops through training exercises and interactions with residents.

“I was thinking about what’s going on in the country right now with police departments and their communities, and I came up with an idea that will help people understand what really happens during training and why these men and women choose to get into this profession,” said Michael Yudin, president of MY Entertainment in New York.

“The people I work with suggested that I focus on North Las Vegas because there’s been some recent success with new housing and industrial businesses moving in, but the city has a long way to go,” Yudin said. “I think they have a great story to tell, and we want to help tell it.”

MY Entertainment will shoot a pilot later this month for the new reality show, tentatively titled, “Field Training Officer, North Las Vegas,” under a deal unanimously approved Wednesday night by the City Council.

Once the pilot is shot, Yudin and executive producer Wayne Root will shop the concept to television networks. If the series is picked up, then North Las Vegas stands to earn $4,000 per 30-minute episode and up to $6,000 for an hourlong show.

This won’t be the first cop show making reference to North Las Vegas. “Nasty Boys,” a scripted crime drama, ran for a brief 13 episodes in 1990, based on narcotics officers in the North Las Vegas Police Department. The department’s officers also have been featured in episodes of the “COPS” reality show.

North Las Vegas has 17 rookies undergoing training, police spokeswoman Ann Cavaricci said.

Yudin probably will follow the new recruits through the classroom lessons that are shared with other local law enforcement agencies, lasting 22 weeks at the Southern Desert Regional Police Academy at the College of Southern Nevada’s campus in Henderson.

After that, recruits attend an internal “advanced academy” for five weeks at North Las Vegas City Hall, where they learn about the department’s policies. From, there, the rookies spend up to six weeks of training in the field with a supervisor.

Police Chief Alex Perez has signaled “strong support” for the television show and its potential to inspire youths to join his department, Cavaricci said.

“He hopes that sharing that process will provide insight into what it takes to train a fresh recruit and mold them into a top-rate police officer,” Cavaricci said. “This show is an opportunity for the public to see the excellent level of training our officers get and the focus we have on community engagement as a means of assisting our citizens.”

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Find @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.