Here s how I know this to be true: Nick, and to a lesser degree Harris. ![]() And second, I too saw them as more pointing things out than excusing them, the same way Norman Lear did with a lot of his shows. It doesn't mean you condone them in modern times, but you can't change the past, and should be mindful of thoughts/attitudes that no longer fit in today's time. For starters, the show is a snapshot of a different time and different attitudes. As far as Wojo is concerned in the real NYPD a detective who is promoted to Sergeant goes back to uniform after training so it wouldn't be an issue! supervision as a sergeant or the new paperwork they fill out. I don't think most viewers want an in-depth exploration of leadership as a senior detective vs. I think the biggest reasons that there doesn't seem to be a difference in fiction is that the differences tend to be in the parts of the job that don't make for good story telling. I'm not an NYPD historian, but I do have some familiarity with the subject. Once you make the jump from uniform/beat cop to detective, I would imagine the rest of it is minimal as you move up the ranks, until you hit something like Captain. I would assume with police it would be similar. They choose your level based on testing, and the higher level you are, the more priority you have for transfers, promotions, etc. There are varying "levels" of some jobs, and the differences between them, save for pay and a few other perks, is minimal at best. I don't know about the police, but I do know some people who work for the state where I live. ![]() And when those characters got promoted they made a big deal about him being a street cop in his heart needing the action as a field supervisor. Meanwhile uniformed Sergeants made a big jump from the duties of patrolman. But then again every fictional NYPD Detective Sergeant except Olivia Benson on SVU seemed to have the exact same duties as plain detectives. The Inspector question reminds me of Wojo being dissatisfied when he finally made Sergeant and had the exact same duties he had as Detective 3. I'm not enough of a historian to know if that continued all the way through the Barney Miller era as it was a time of a lot of changes and reforms in the NYPD, but it was certainly the case throughout the 60's and into the early 70's and would have been there in any research they did and any stories the writers and producers heard.Ĭalling any NYPD historian. (Tactical Patrol Force) which was a riot-police/Anti-Crime/quick reaction force unit that was known for it's toughness which was another reason that detective squads served as backup/extra muscle. ![]() So instead of working murder, vice etc the detective squad seemed to be the local quick reaction force as well as taking over the paper work burden of the patrols and eyes on the street.Īnd "beyond the win a gun battle, get your shield" thing most of the NYPD's detectives came out of the T.P.F. so before the time of ESU and the SWAT teams when something went down the detective squad broke out the shotguns and took over from that officer on foot patrol. And while Captain Miller was rejecting the old blue line ways he was not going to directly confront the old guard InspectorĪs late as the most hated detective in the Law & Order franchise Nina Cassidy NYPD had a reputation, win a gun battle and get your detective shield. Inspector Lugar is a special case in that he thinks of Barney as among the generation of cops he mentored from the old days. He would encourage less formality thus "Barney" to his command, where as Miller would seem weird as if they were peers. I think it was more a change in society during the period, and Captain Miller was at the forefront of that as he rose through the ranks. To me, this was just something the series decided to be unrealistic about (really, they would have addressed him as "Captain") for the sake of the audience - because he was the title character of the series, and somebody thought it would be odd if his name was never heard. ![]() I associate the "surname-only" practice with military schools, or upper-class prep schools (especially the British ones I saw in TV and movies). I'm not doubting the truth of this, but it doesn't at all match my experience (in the same period) or that of people I got to know from other schools.
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