Plot

This early film by William Friedkin is a documentary about the American police force and the difficulties they face in combating escalating crime throughout the country.

An examination of the Rochester Police Department and its complex relationship with the community. Filmed two years after the 1964 Rochester race riot, this unflinching film features interviews with rank and file policemen walking the beat of a city struggling with issues of police accountability and abuse of power. The opening sequence deftly captures the dichotomy of Rochester, New York with its history of wealthy industries built next to neighborhoods cut off from economic prosperity. Vice Detective Jack Gerbino gives a rolling tour of these troubled neighborhoods from his patrol car and discusses the difficulties of enforcing the law in a community that distrusts law enforcement. The documentary interviews RPD administrators who address the recently established Civilian Review Board and various lawsuits brought against the police, issues the Rochester Police Department struggle with to this day. The film also addresses the dangers faced by law enforcement in an interview with the widow of Officer Harold Shaw, who was killed in the line of duty in 1959. In one of the more impactful sequences, director William Friedkin's camera brings the viewer into the world of Officer Tony Day as he patrols the city streets during his Friday overnight patrol. Friedkin's prying lens captures car accidents, intoxicated street vagrants, petty thieves and a suicide victim with starling clarity for this era. This made-for-television documentary seemingly acts as a precursor to the myriad law enforcement reality shows of today.