USA to Launch Crime Channel

USA Networks Inc. said Monday that it will start a cable channel called Crime and has purchased the Web site created by the founder of the TV show “Cops.”

John Langley, owner of Crime.com, is also the co-founder of the Crime channel and will help provide programming for the channel, which is scheduled to start this fall.

“We are combining resources to create a network whose charter is to fully explore an essential genre that is evident on a multiplicity of disparate networks but is fully realized on none,” said Stephen Chao, president of USA Cable.

Among the original series set for Crime are “CrimeScene,” a weekly talk show looking at crime and its effect on society, and “Police Beat,” a reality series with a police detective giving an inside look at crime scene investigations.

Crime.com, which began last year, allows users to listen in on police scanners, check crime stats, look for criminal records and see most-wanted lists.