MovieChat Forums > Dragnet (1951) Discussion > Do police detectives really switch aroun...

Do police detectives really switch around like this?

posted 9 years ago by schappe1
2 replies | jump to latest

Friday and his partner switch around from department to department in each episode. Is this something detectives really do or is it a narrative device to allow the telling of stories surrounding different types of crimes? I would think they would want detectives to become expert in dealing with specific types of crimes and thus allow them to specialize rather that switching them around like this.

The past is a series of presents. The present is living history we are privileged to witness

[–] jamesbwill 9 years ago

I don't think any police officers switch units very often. Jack Webb wanted to show all aspects of police work: homicide, robbery, juvenile, community relations,,etc., and the best way to do that was to have Joe and his partner assigned to whatever unit would handle the crime of the week.

[–] ck1-5 9 years ago

Yeah, it would have gotten boring fast if all they ever did was try to catch people who were writing bad checks.