The Minneapolis Police Department is getting back into the reality-TV business.

The department will again be featured on the popular A&E reality police series, "The First 48," which provides a glimpse into the crucial hours after a murder, during which detectives work feverishly to find the killer before the trail goes cold.

A police news release released last week insisted that the presence of a camera crew "in no way hinders the work of detectives or the cases they compile."

"While they may be working 'inside the police tape,' a protocol and process has been developed to ensure these crews have access while giving investigators the space they need," the release said. "The MPD's Homicide Unit, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office and the City Attorney's Office have all been part of the aforementioned discussion."

Cameramen began shadowing several homicide detectives last Monday, said Scott Seroka, a police spokesman, less than 48 hours after the city recorded its 25th and 26th homicides of the year.

He added that the footage shot by the crews won't air until the cases they deal with have been cleared in court.

The department was previously featured in the show, now in its 14th season.

In one episode, which first aired on May 15, 2008, followed Sgt. Rick Zimmerman (now lieutenant and the head of the homicide unit) and Sgt. Tammy Diedrich as they searched for the suspect in the killing of a young woman who had been strangled and was found in a partially-burned car. Another time, detectives tried to solve the murder of a man who was killed while meeting with a girl he had met earlier on the bus.