Lights, Camera, Crime

Within the confines of a small blue room—whistling and singing to the tune of “Hollywood”—a jovial Frank T. Pasquarello awaits the countdown that will beam his image over local television to homes throughout Cambridge.

“Well, good evening and welcome to ‘Crime Time,’” says Pasquarello, the Cambridge Police Department’s (CPD) spokesman. “The most popular show on CCTV in all of Cambridge—and Massachusetts—I imagine.”

Pasquarello is not kidding—after 10 years on the air, it is the longest running show on Cambridge Community Television (CCTV). He boasts that a slew of Harvard students tune in faithfully every Thursday night.

“I always kid them, ‘were you that lonely on a Thursday night to watch my show?’” Pasquarello says.

The show, which features discussions of neighborhood crime and allows viewers to call in with questions, runs for half-an-hour beginning at 6:30 p.m. It follows a religious segment hosted by a reverend preaching from the Bible.

“He’s saving them and we’re arresting them,” Pasquarello jokes.

CCTV is not required to follow normal television guidelines regulating language or obscenity. As a result, “Crime Time” is often aired between segments with nudity or swearing, according to Pasquarello.

“There have been some shows that are really sketchy,” says Pasquarello. “Some guy grabbed a woman’s breast. Two people did a show naked. They pay us to keep our clothes on.”

While “Crime Time” may seem more modest than other CCTV programming, Pasquarello says that even his show has its more absurd moments.

For instance, Pasquarello says that an animal-rights advocate once called in to report that a stray turkey was meandering on Brattle Street—eliciting him to quip “about getting some cranberry sauce.”

But he adds that even people he has arrested have called up during the show, often thanking him for his fair treatment.

On this Thursday, Pasquarello and his guest, CPD Administrative Sargeant James A. DeFrancisco, tackle the issue of child safety seats, alerting viewers that 90 percent of safety seats are improperly installed. The segment came in response to the death of two young children in a Cambridge car accident earlier in the week.

Despite his more serious moments, comedy is Pasquarello’s main method of attracting viewers, incorporating everyone in the studio into his routine.

“We have a guest out in the audience from The Harvard Crimson,” Pasquarello tells his viewers. “Is it going to ruin our reputation to mention The Harvard Crimson?”

While he claims the show is popular, Pasquarello admits many of his own relatives inflate the rating numbers. This show, one caller offers a more personal message.

“I won’t pick on your mother ’cause I love her,” the caller says in a thick Boston accent.

But Pasquarello insists that by putting a human face on Cambridge Police, his brand of informative humor keeps audience members, from senior citizens to crime buffs, coming back every week.

—Staff writer Robin M. Peguero can be reached at peguero@fas.harvard.edu.