在醫學中，所謂的關鍵時刻在犯罪調查中被稱為「黃金48小時」，這是每個警探都知道的事情。如果在48小時內沒有釐清頭緒，找出嫌疑犯或是將其逮捕歸案，破案的機率將會被腰斬成半。
本節目呈現的手法比起真人實境秀，更像是電視劇。跟著這些兇殺案警探的腳步，抓緊這些犯案後的黃金時期，一起和他們進行時間競賽。
在長達一小時的節目中，可以看到精選出來的兇殺組中不同的警探，在48小時分分秒秒無情地倒數中，他們破案的過程。
In medicine, they call it the 'critical hour', in criminal investigations, they call it The First 48 hours. Ask any detective - they will tell you that if they don't have a lead, a suspect or an arrest within 48 hours, their chances of solving the case are cut in half. In a visual style that feels more like a TV drama than a verite reality show, THE FIRST 48 follows homicide detectives duringthese initial critical hours as they race against time to solve their cases. The hour-long program follows various detectives of a few select homicide teams as they track breaking cases - eachwith a running clock that builds pace as the 48 hours inexorably expires.
