Show Synopsis
New Cops is not some phony reality program. It"s the real deal - a unique, insider's view of what it means to be a cop and who the cops are.
For eight months we followed the 50 members of Class 332, Platoon B,through the rigorous training that transforms ordinary citizens into professional police officers. Now, they have been on the job for five years, and our cameras return to see how they are doing on the job and what the job has done to them.
Back in 2000, Police Commissioner John Timoney gave producer Ron Kanter unlimited access to the training program at the Police Academy. In verité style he followed the Recruit Officers from the paramilitary boot-camp known as Day One through the pride of Graduation Day - from raw recruit to polished police officer in 32 not-so-easy weeks.
Now, we have returned to do "ride-alongs" - jumping in and out of police cars to shoot video as the Not-so-New Cops go after the bad guys and take guns and drugs off the street. They have become experienced officers working some of the toughest assignments in the department.
Jeff Smith and Don Murdoch work Five Squad in the 25th District. The 25th includes the notorious drug-infested section know as the Badlands. Joe Luce and his partner, Andy Chan, are in the elite unit known as Highway Patrol. That means they can be assigned to work anywhere in the city, but it is always going to be where the action is.
The Philadelphia Police Department is a big organization with over six thousand officers. Some of the New Cops have vital jobs working with alleged criminals after they are taken off the street. Michelle Denard-Sherard is the Court Coordinator for Southwest and Rahim Henderson works the cell room in the 9th District. And the camera is there to see it all.
Come with us and catch up with the New Cops. Who turned in his badge? Who is still on the job? We"ll show you the difference between training to be a police officer at the Academy and learning to survive as a cop on the streets of Philadelphia?
