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155-411: The Bill is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, Woodentop , broadcast on 16 August 1983. ITV were so impressed with the drama that a full series was commissioned. The title originates from "Old Bill", a slang term for the police and show creator Geoff McQueen 's original title for

310-549: A Commonwealth police superintendent or chief superintendent . It may also be a title held by a supervisor of detectives. In the New York City Police Department , a deputy inspector is one grade above captain, wearing the insignia of a military major, and an inspector is another grade higher, wearing the insignia of a military colonel. In the Philadelphia Police Department , a staff inspector

465-574: A divisional or personal identification number . Instead they feature Order of the Bath stars, informally known as "pips", being the same insignia as those of a lieutenant in the British Army . In the Metropolitan Police, the rank was formerly officially known as station inspector to distinguish it from the more senior rank of sub-divisional inspector (abolished in 1949). A station inspector wore

620-618: A "serialised, almost soap-opera style" with episodes focusing more on the officers' personal lives. Marquess also wrote out a number of characters during a fire in the station . He then introduced several new characters to the show, including PC Kerry Young ( Beth Cordingly ), Inspector Gina Gold ( Roberta Taylor ), and Ken Drummond ( Russell Floyd ). The longest serving cast members were Trudie Goodwin and Jeff Stewart (PC Reg Hollis ), who starred in over 900 episodes, and Graham Cole (PC Tony Stamp ) who starred in 1,112 episodes. The following list contains characters whose roles transformed

775-502: A fictional treatment for multiple sclerosis , leading the MS Society to brand the plot "grossly irresponsible". The Bill spawned several spin-off productions, as well as related series in German and Dutch. Starting in 1985, author John Burke wrote a series of novelisations of select episodes. Police procedural As its name implies, the defining element of a police procedural

930-439: A fire engulfs Sun Hill. The episode attracted over nine million viewers, and was only the second time Computer-generated imagery had been used on the show, as creating a real fireball ripping through the station corridors was not possible. A series of episodes titled The Bill Uncovered were produced to reflect the stories of select characters and events. The first was The Bill Uncovered : Des and Reg (2004) – The story of

1085-709: A grade below captain, instead of at least one grade above. New York State Police staff inspectors are senior commissioned officers holding the rank above major and below lieutenant colonel. The North Carolina Department of Transportation's Division of Motor Vehicles License and Theft Bureau uses the title of inspector for its sworn state law enforcement agents/investigators. The inspectors of this agency investigate motor vehicle theft, title and odometer frauds, state issued identification and driver's license frauds, as well as regulate and inspect motor vehicle dealerships, repair shops, tow and storage facilities, and emissions and safety inspection centers. The NC DMV License and Theft Bureau

1240-468: A high profile, some of whom appeared as child actors. These include Keira Knightley , James McAvoy , Ray Winstone and Sean Bean . The original one-off episode Woodentop followed a day in the life of PC Jim Carver ( Mark Wingett ). It also featured WPC June Ackland ( Trudie Goodwin ). When a full series of The Bill was commissioned, producers wanted to replicate the "Day in the Life" feature and made sure

1395-421: A major revamp, was reduced to broadcasting once a week. The Bill ceased broadcasting on 31 August 2010 after 2,425 episodes, due to a decline in ratings. In 2000, ITV broadcast a one-off episode called "The Trial of Eddie Santini" which concluded a long-running storyline between PC Eddie Santini ( Michael Higgs ) and WPC Rosie Fox ( Caroline Catz ). The following year, another one-off episode called "Beech on

1550-490: A man called Mark ( Charles Dale ) in a van in the station yard. The episode was watched by around 10 million viewers. "Fatal Consequences" was released onto DVD in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2011, as part of Network DVD's "Soap Box: Volume 1". The second live episode " Confessions of a Killer " aired on 22 September 2005 to celebrate the 50th birthday of ITV. The episode features the departures of three officers, as

1705-461: A more original approach. Still others, like Eddie Sullivan's and Charlie Schmidt's Radio Patrol and Will Gould's Red Barry , steered a middle course. One of the best post- Tracy procedural comics was Kerry Drake , written and created by Allen Saunders and illustrated by Alfred Andriola . It diverged from the metropolitan settings used in Tracy to tell the story of the titular Chief Investigator for

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1860-723: A much more serialised approach and a revamp in 2002 led to more of a soap-opera feel to many of its stories. The Bill began with a regular cast of 13 members with only two of these being uniformed women. In total 174 actors have formed part of the series' main cast. Throughout its 26-year run, the programme was always broadcast on the main ITV channel. In later years, episodes of the show were repeated on ITV3 on their week of broadcast. The series has also been repeated on other digital stations, including UKTV Gold and Drama . It has been broadcast in over 55 countries. The series has attracted controversy on several occasions. An episode broadcast in 2008

2015-627: A necessary decision made in the general interest . A report by Color of Change Hollywood and the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center revealed that police procedural shows were normalizing unjust practices such as illegal searches , surveillance , coercion , intimidation , violence , abuse , and racism . Criticisms have been raised against the genre for its unrealistic depiction of crime. Particularly, police procedurals have been accused of possessing an unrealistic preoccupation with incidents such as homicide and terrorism . In

2170-398: A new theme and title sequence debuted. On 20 February 2001, starting with "Going Under", the 14th episode of the show's 17th series, the opening and closing sequences were scrapped to make way for a completely new sequence and theme. This time, the opening sequence consisted of a montage image of the entire cast, backed by a darker, slower version of "Overkill". Vicky Frost of The Guardian

2325-554: A police circle, which comprises two or more police stations. In this capacity, they are known as circle inspectors (CI). Inspectors oversee investigations and co-ordinate law enforcement operations in their respective jurisdictions, and may also head special units. Their insignia is three stars with a ribbon that is half red and half blue. The rank is above sub-inspector and below additional superintendent of police and deputy superintendent of police . Inspectors, along with sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors, comprise around 13% of

2480-505: A police officer was in every single scene. When the series began there were 13 regular cast members. Only two of these were uniformed women – WPCs June Ackland and Viv Martella ( Nula Conwell ). There were no female characters in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The show's first black police officer PC Abel Lyttleton ( Ronny Cush ) was introduced in 1985. In 2002, new executive producer Paul Marquess introduced

2635-494: A post-watershed slot to allow it to cover grittier storylines. It was reported that it was the first time in British Television that ITV had broadcast a drama all year in the 9 pm slot. The changeover happened at the end of July 2009. Before the move, the program was averaging 5 million viewers between the two episodes each week. BARB reported that the week of 12–18 October 2009 saw 3.78 million viewers watch

2790-513: A rookie police officer learns to cope with the physical, emotional, and mental stresses of law enforcement during her first patrol assignment. With superheroes having long dominated the comic book market, there have been some recent attempts to integrate elements of the police procedural into the universe of costumed crime-fighters. Gotham Central , for example, depicts a group of police detectives operating in Batman 's Gotham City , and suggested that

2945-572: A similar British TV series, Fabian of the Yard , Creasey decided to try a more down-to-earth series of cop stories. Adopting the pseudonym "J.J. Marric", he wrote Gideon's Day , 1955, in which George Gideon , a high-ranking detective at Scotland Yard, spends a busy day supervising his subordinates' investigations into several unrelated crimes. This novel was the first in a series of more than twenty books which brought Creasey his best critical notices. One entry, Gideon's Fire , 1961, won an Edgar Award from

3100-461: A single star on his epaulettes until 1936, when this changed to a star over two bars to accommodate the new rank of junior station inspector (wearing a star over one bar). In the United States, the term inspector can have very different meanings depending on the law enforcement agency. An inspector in a US municipal police department is more likely to be a senior executive officer, analogous to

3255-561: A slightly fictionalized New York City, have been filmed in settings outside New York, even outside the US. Akira Kurosawa 's 1963 film, High and Low , based on McBain's King's Ransom (1959), is set in Yokohama . Without Apparent Motive (1972), set on the French Riviera , is based on McBain's Ten Plus One (1963). Claude Chabrol 's Les Liens de Sang (1978), based on Blood Relatives (1974),

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3410-427: A spell of declining viewership and negative public and media reception, executives at ITV announced that the network did not intend to recommission The Bill and that filming would cease on 14 June 2010. The final episode titled " Respect " aired on 31 August 2010. The Bill was the longest-running police procedural television series in the United Kingdom, and among the longest running of any British television series at

3565-517: A strong focus on the lead character, but the novels have always included subordinate members of his staff as supporting characters. Simenon, who had been a journalist covering police investigations before creating Maigret, gave the appearance of an accurate depiction of law enforcement in Paris. Simenon influenced later European procedural writers, such as Sweden's Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö , and Baantjer . Perhaps ranking just behind McBain in importance to

3720-540: Is Hillary Waugh 's Last Seen Wearing... 1952. Even earlier examples from the 20th century, predating Treat, include the novels Vultures in the Dark , 1925, and The Borrowed Shield , 1925, by Richard Enright , retired New York City Police Commissioner , Harness Bull , 1937, and Homicide , 1937, by former Southern California police officer Leslie T. White , P.C. Richardson's First Case , 1933, by Sir Basil Thomson , former Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard , and

3875-489: Is Back . Sansome had been in talks with various cast members during a 2020 reunion and discussed possible appearances for show legends Mark Wingett ( Jim Carver ), Trudie Goodwin ( June Ackland ) and Graham Cole ( Tony Stamp ). However, no official date had been set for a return, nor had the mooted Sun Hill project been picked up by any TV network. On 18 April, Mark Wingett confirmed this on his Twitter account, stating they had been "approached" by production companies but

4030-510: Is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the next senior rank from senior sergeant and is less senior than a superintendent (in the cases of the Queensland Police and Western Australia Police ) in the other Australian police forces . Members holding the rank usually wear an epaulette featuring three silver pips,

4185-511: Is a civil service rank. It is the lowest and therefore the entry rank of the gehobener Dienst (upper service) requiring a degree from a three-year administrative college. The rank is not used in the German police services; there the equivalent of inspector is Kommissar . In earlier times the upper service track was called Inspektorenlaufbahn (inspectors service track) ranging from Inspektor , Oberinspektor (senior inspector), Amtmann , Amtsrat to Oberamtsrat (senior supervisor). The title

4340-620: Is a grade above captain and an inspector is another grade higher, with the insignia of a lieutenant colonel. An inspector is also two grades above a captain in the Baltimore Police Department , Nassau County Police Department and Suffolk County Police Department . Inspector is more rarely used as a rank that is one grade above captain , such as in the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia . This

4495-517: Is a rank senior to station sergeant but junior to chief inspector , leading a sub-unit between 30 and 80 people in day-to-day policing. The rank badge for probationary inspector is one silver pip on his or her epaulette; two silver pips for inspector of police; and two silver pips and one bar for senior inspector of police. The epaulettes rank badge for chief inspector is three silver pips. The epaulettes of all inspectors do not show their unique identification number. Plainclothes detective inspectors have

4650-403: Is considered to be a male-dominant genre which very often portrays the masculine hero dedicated to the professional realm. The introduction of women as protagonists is commonly attributed to either adding sexual appeal , introducing gendered issues like investigating sex crimes , or delving into the personal relationships of the characters. It also often portrays rape myths , such as that rape

4805-523: Is equivalent to a major or commander in other departments. The Los Angeles Police Department formerly had a rank of inspector for this purpose. It was changed to commander in 1974. In the police departments of Hayward , California, Oklahoma City and formerly in Berkeley , California, inspector was the rank held by a senior detective. In the San Francisco Police Department , inspector

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4960-633: Is generally the next senior rank from senior sub-inspector (SSI) and is less senior than a deputy superintendent of police (DSP). Members holding the rank usually wear an epaulette featuring one pair of crossed kukri , the same rank badge as an inspector in the Armed Police Force . In the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary , the rank of inspector is one level above chief sergeant and below senior inspector. Officer cadets normally graduate and automatically become an inspector. In

5115-404: Is given as '2 Sun Hill Road, Sun Hill, Canley E1 4KM ), which corresponds to the real-life areas of Whitechapel and Stepney . When filming The Bill , some outdoor scenes were re-enacted indoors with microphones surrounding the actors and the extra sounds being "dubbed" on later. Some of the more aggressive scenes were also filmed indoors either for dubbing or safety reasons. The sirens used in

5270-523: Is in the senior police officer category. For National Servicemen , outstanding policemen may be appointed as a National Service probationary inspector. In the National Police Cadet Corps , the rank of probationary inspector is given to officer cadet trainees who have successfully completed their Officers' Basic Training Course or Honorary Officers' Basic Training Course. Probationary inspectors who pass their probationary period will then attain

5425-434: Is less to show how cops work on the job, than how the job works on cops. It is difficult to disentangle the early roots of the procedural from its forebear, the traditional detective novel, which often featured a police officer as protagonist. By and large, the better known novelists such as Ngaio Marsh produced work that falls more squarely into the province of the traditional or "cozy" detective novel. Nevertheless, some of

5580-715: Is located in the fictional London borough of Canley in the East End , north of the River Thames (Canley is a real suburb in Coventry ). The Borough of Canley is approximately contiguous to the real-life London Borough of Tower Hamlets , and in the first few years of The Bill , Sun Hill police station was actually stated as being located in Wapping in Tower Hamlets. Sun Hill has a London E1 postcode (the 'address' of Sun Hill police station

5735-405: Is more often committed by strangers rather than a known acquaintance of the victim, that the majority of rape claims are false, and that rapes only happen to "bad girls". The portrayal of the criminal justice system also under-represents issues of race and institutional racism . A report by Color of Change Hollywood and the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center identified that in these shows there

5890-472: Is not "editorially bound" to the police. Despite better relations with the police, The Bill was still not without controversy. It was sometimes criticised for the high levels of violence, especially prior to 2009, when it occupied a pre-watershed timeslot. Specific story lines also came under fire in the media, such as that involving a gay kiss in 2002, as well as an episode broadcast in March 2008 which featured

6045-416: Is reserved for college or police academy educated staff, with six ranks based on seniority (junior police inspector, police inspector, police inspector I class, independent police inspector, senior police inspector, senior police inspector I class and chief police inspector). Although supervisory staff in uniformed police units also hold various police inspector ranks, in common parlance, the title of inspector

6200-607: Is senior to sub-inspector and junior to chief inspector . In many towns, inspectors would be the officer in charge (OIC) at most police stations . The rank insignia for a police inspector is two stars. All those officers are deemed to be gazzated officers and staff grade officers of public service. In addition to the police, the term inspector is used in other government departments for posts such as chief inspector of excise , inspector of excise , chief inspector of customs , inspector of customs , co-operative inspector , fisheries inspector , public health inspector . Within

6355-872: Is set in Montreal . Even Fuzz (1972), based on the 1968 novel, though set in the US, moves the action to Boston . Two episodes of ABC's Columbo , set in Los Angeles, were based on McBain novels. A prolific author of police procedurals, whose work has fallen out of fashion in the years since her death, is Elizabeth Linington writing under her own name, as well as "Dell Shannon" and "Lesley Egan". Linington reserved her Dell Shannon pseudonym primarily for procedurals featuring LAPD Central Homicide Lieutenant Luis Mendoza (1960–86). Under her own name she wrote about Sergeant Ivor Maddox of LAPD's North Hollywood Station, and as Lesley Egan she wrote about suburban cop Vic Varallo. These novels are sometimes considered flawed, partly due to

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6510-413: Is the attempt to accurately depict law enforcement and its procedures, including police-related topics such as forensic science , autopsies , gathering evidence , search warrants , interrogation , and adherence to legal restrictions and procedures. While many police procedurals conceal the criminal's identity until the crime is solved in the narrative climax (the so-called whodunit ), others reveal

6665-519: Is the normal title for a detective. Unlike detectives in most other departments, inspectors in San Francisco always have supervisory duties. This is one of the few modern remaining cases of inspector being used as a title for detectives. A few other police or sheriff's departments, such as the Portsmouth, Rhode Island police department, also use the title in that capacity. Inspector is sometimes used as

6820-461: Is the state's oldest law enforcement agency and was formed in 1921 to combat vehicle theft with the rising sales of Ford's Model T. The agency has kept the title designation of inspector for traditional purposes. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission uses the title of inspector for sworn law enforcement agents who investigate violations of the Liquor Control Act and other related crimes. In

6975-420: Is used on many professional areas that require an inspection service, like Brandinspektor (fire inspector in the fire department), Steuerinspektor (tax inspector in the financial department) and Bauinspektor (building inspector in building control) that are in a supervision position of their department. In many administrations, a corresponding position exists like Regierungsinspektor (government inspector on

7130-602: Is usually immediately below the rank of superintendent . Depending on the police force, an inspector may be considered senior management. The rank insignia of an inspector in Canada is usually a crown on the epaulettes, the insignia of a major in the army. In some police services such as the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary or the Vancouver Police Department , the rank insignia are three pips, similar to

7285-454: Is usually used referring to police officers working in plainclothes in criminal investigation units, equivalent to detective in some countries. There are also numerous civilian inspector titles, fitting various inspection and supervision roles within governmental structure of Montenegro (health inspector, tax inspector, tourism inspector, etc.) In the Nepal Police , the rank of inspector

7440-480: The 87th Precinct series beginning with Cop Hater , published in 1956. Hunter continued to write 87th Precinct novels almost until his death in 2005. Although these novels focus primarily on Detective Steve Carella, they encompass the work of many officers working alone and in teams, and Carella is not always present in any individual book. As if to illustrate the universality of the police procedural, many of McBain's 87th Precinct novels, despite their being set in

7595-572: The BBC launched several rival series, with varying degrees of success: The first was in 1990–91 when two series of Waterfront Beat were produced for the BBC by Phil Redmond . In 1995–96, two series of Out of the Blue were produced, but failed to gain significant ratings. In 1998 came City Central , which lasted for three series, until being cancelled in 2000. Next was Merseybeat , which began airing in 2001, but

7750-515: The Big Boy , was based on Ness's real-life nemesis Al Capone. Other members of Tracy's Rogues Gallery , like Boris Arson, Flattop Jones , and Maw Famon, were inspired, respectively, by John Dillinger , Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd , and Kate "Ma" Barker . Once Tracy was sold to the Chicago Tribune syndicate, Gould enrolled in a criminology class at Northwestern University , met with members of

7905-519: The British police , inspector is the second supervisory rank . It is senior to that of sergeant , and junior to that of chief inspector . The rank is mostly operational, meaning that inspectors are directly concerned with day-to-day policing. Uniformed inspectors are often responsible for supervising a duty shift made up of constables and sergeants, or act in specialist roles such as supervising road traffic policing . The rank of inspector has existed since

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8060-595: The Chicago Police Department , and did research at the department's crime lab, to make his depiction of law enforcement more authentic. Ultimately, he hired retired Chicago policeman Al Valanis, a pioneering forensic sketch artist, as both an artistic assistant and police technical advisor. The success of Tracy led to many more police strips. While some, like Norman Marsh's Dan Dunn were unabashedly slavish imitations of Tracy , others, like Dashiell Hammett 's and Alex Raymond 's Secret Agent X-9 , took

8215-551: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), an inspector is a special agent whose main duty is inspecting local field offices and resident agencies to make sure they are operating efficiently. Since FBI inspectors are not tied to any particular field office, they have, in the past, also been used as troubleshooting investigators on major cases. Joseph Sullivan was perhaps the best-known of the Bureau's major case inspectors and served as

8370-551: The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department who carry out investigations and prosecutions on sanitary nuisances and food business irregularities under relevant ordinances. They are characterised by golden stars and yellow rank badges. An inspector of police in India is typically the officer in charge of a police station , and may be designated station house officer (SHO). In rural areas of some states, an inspector of police may be in charge of

8525-620: The French National Police , inspecteur is a former rank of members of the Command and Management Corps. There were several grades of inspecteur , with senior detectives holding the various grades of commissaire . See French National Police for current ranks. In the French customs , inspecteur is the first rank of members of the Command and Management Corps. Currently, in Germany, Inspektor

8680-493: The London Metropolitan Police . The West novels were, for the era, an unusually realistic look at Scotland Yard operations, but the plots were often wildly melodramatic, and, to get around thorny legal problems, Creasey gave West an "amateur detective" friend who was able to perform the extra-procedural acts that West, as a policeman, could not. In the mid-1950s, inspired by the success of television's Dragnet and

8835-500: The Mystery Writers of America for Best Mystery Novel. The Gideon series, more than any other source, helped establish the common procedural plot structure of threading several autonomous story lines through a single novel. Hillary Waugh , in 1952, wrote Last Seen Wearing ... , a commercial and critical success, exploring detailed and relentless police work. Ed McBain, the pseudonym of Evan Hunter , wrote dozens of novels in

8990-668: The Philippines , inspector is a rank in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Fire Protection . It is above senior officer 4 (executive master sergeant) and below senior inspector (captain). It is regarded as an equivalent of a lieutenant in the army. It was formerly also used by the Philippine National Police . In Poland , inspector ( inspektor ) is a high rank (above podinspektor and młodszy inspektor , but below nadinspektor ), comparable to colonel of

9145-616: The Sun Hill project had not been given the green light. Throughout the series, there have been three filming locations for Sun Hill police station. From the first series, the police station consisted of a set of buildings in Artichoke Hill, Wapping , East London. However, these buildings were next to the News International plant and during the winter of 1985–86 there was much industrial action which resulted in some altercations between

9300-445: The Sun Hill fire during 2002. Marquess stated that the clearout was necessary to introduce "plausible, powerful new characters". As part of the new serial format, much more of the characters' personal lives were explored but, as Marquess put it, the viewers still "don't go home with them". The change also allowed The Bill to become more reflective of modern policing, with the introduction of officers from ethnic minorities, most notably

9455-577: The "changing tastes" of viewers. The last episode of The Bill was filmed in June 2010 and broadcast on 31 August 2010 followed by a documentary titled Farewell The Bill . Fans of the show started a 'Save the Bill' campaign on social networking website Facebook to persuade ITV to reconsider the cancellation, and BBC Radio 1 's Chris Moyles promoted the campaign on air. At the time the series ended in August 2010, The Bill

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9610-577: The 1981 reorganization and demilitarization of the corps; an Ispettore is thus a sergeant of several sorts, above the rank of Sovrintendente ( superintendent , which is somewhat equal to a senior corporal ) and under the rank of Commissario (commissioner). There are three four inspector ranks in the Polizia di Stato : Vice Ispettore (assistant inspector), Ispettore (inspector), Ispettore Capo ( chief inspector ) and Ispettore Superiore (special inspector, or superior inspector), roughly equivalent to

9765-712: The 2003 live episode attracted 10 million viewers – 40% of the UK audience share. Immediately following The Bill' s revamping and time slot change, it was reported that the programme had attracted 4.5 million viewers, 19% of the audience share, but it lost out in the ratings to the BBC 's New Tricks , with the Daily Mirror later reporting that ITV's schedule change was behind a two million viewer drop in ratings. In 2001, prior to Paul Marquess 's appointment as executive producer, ratings had dropped to approximately six million viewers, and advertising revenues had fallen, in part due to

9920-406: The 20th anniversary of the pilot, Woodentop . The episode was produced with a crew of 200 staff including seven camera crews. It was reported to be the first live television broadcast of a programme where filming was not largely confined to a studio. The storyline centres on Detective Constable Juliet Becker ( Rae Baker ) and Constable Cathy Bradford ( Connie Hyde ) who are being held hostage by

10075-609: The Barlby Road site ordered The Bill out, due to their redevelopment plans for the area. After an extensive search, two sites were selected, the favourite being a disused hospital in Clapham . However, this fell through and the second option was chosen—an old wine distribution warehouse in Merton , South West London. The move was made in March 1990 and was disguised on screen by the "ongoing" refurbishment of Sun Hill police station and then finally

10230-518: The District Attorney of a small-town jurisdiction. Later, following a personal tragedy, he leaves the DA's Office and joins his small city's police force in order to fight crime closer to the grass roots level. As both a DA's man and a city cop, he fights a string of flamboyant, Gould-ian criminals like "Stitches", "Bottleneck", and "Bulldozer". Other syndicated police strips include Zane Grey 's King of

10385-485: The Metropolitan Police. One semidocumentary, He Walked By Night (1948), released by Eagle-Lion Films , featured a young radio actor named Jack Webb in a supporting role. The success of the film, along with a suggestion from LAPD Detective Sergeant Marty Wynn, the film's technical advisor , gave Webb an idea for a radio drama that depicted police work in a similarly semi-documentary manner. The resulting series, Dragnet , which debuted on radio in 1949 and made

10540-457: The Mystery Writers of America in 1971. The books were translated from Swedish into 35 different languages, and have sold roughly ten million copies. Sjöwall and Wahlöö used black humour extensively in the series, and it is widely recognised as one of the finest police procedural series. Tony Hillerman , the author of 17 novels involving Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, wrote procedurals in which

10695-565: The National Murder Squad, and the realistic depiction, as well as criticism of the Swedish welfare state at the time whilst the tedium of the police procedural continues in the background, is something still widely used today, with authors such as Jo Nesbø and Stieg Larsson . The books gave rise to the Swedish noir scene, and The Laughing Policeman earned a "Best Novel" Edgar Award from

10850-483: The Royal Mounted , depicting police work in the contemporary Canadian Northwest, Lank Leonard's Mickey Finn , which emphasized the home life of a hard-working cop, and Dragnet , which adapted stories from the pioneering radio-TV series into comics. Early comic books with police themes tended to be reprints of syndicated newspaper strips like Tracy and Drake . Others adapted police stories from other mediums, like

11005-761: The Run" was filmed and set in Australia. It follows Claire Stanton 's ( Clara Salaman ) pursuit of DS Don Beech (Billy Murray), who is wanted for the murder of DS John Boulton (Russell Boulter). Further episodes filmed overseas include 1999's "Foreign Body", which was filmed in France, and the two-part crossover episode " Proof of Life " with the German series Leipzig Homicide , which was filmed in Germany and broadcast in November 2008. The Bill has broadcast two live episodes. The first " Fatal Consequences " aired on 30 October 2003 to celebrate

11160-570: The United States, plot points involving murder investigations appear at more frequent rates than those involving theft , substance abuse , or domestic violence , which citizens are more likely to personally experience. Police procedurals have additionally portrayed attempted terrorism incidents at unrealistically high rates since the September 11 attacks and the start of the war on terror , prompting accusations of racial profiling and fear-mongering . The manner in which crime has been portrayed in

11315-467: The ageing demographic of its viewers, leading ITV to order a "rejuvenation", which saw the series adopt a serial format. In 2002, The Independent reported that The Bill 's Thursday episode was viewed by approximately 7 million people, a fall of approximately 3 million viewers in the space of six months. After the cast clearout resulting from the Sun Hill fire in April 2002, BBC News reported that

11470-606: The armed forces. In the Romanian Police , inspector is a rank senior to subinspector and junior to inspector principal and corresponds to the former rank of police lieutenant ( see Romanian Police § Ranks ). In the Singapore Police Force , there are several ranks that have the title of inspector in it. In the junior police officer category, there is the rank of station inspector, senior station inspector and senior station inspector (2). The title of inspector

11625-399: The arms of Inspector Smith ( Alex Walkinshaw ) after being stabbed. Jasmine is then gang raped because she talked to the police, and when Callum Stone ( Sam Callis ) found the person responsible he was held at gunpoint. Of the finale's title, executive producer Jonathan Young said "It's called "Respect" and we hope it will respect the heritage of the show". The finale episodes featured all

11780-484: The author's far-right political viewpoint (she was a member of the John Birch Society ), but primarily because Miss Linington's books, notwithstanding the frequent comments she made about the depth of her research, were all seriously deficient in the single element most identified with the police procedural, technical accuracy. However, they have a certain charm in their depiction of a kinder, gentler California, where

11935-524: The caped crime-fighter is disliked by many Gotham detectives for treading on their toes. Meanwhile, Metropolis SCU tells the story of the Special Crimes Unit, an elite squad of cops in the police force serving Superman 's Metropolis . The use of police procedural elements in superhero comics can partly be attributed to the success of Kurt Busiek 's groundbreaking 1994 series Marvels , and his subsequent Astro City work, both of which examine

12090-483: The cast and the final scene was specially written so all cast members would be featured. The final character on screen was Superintendent Jack Meadows ( Simon Rouse ), by then the show's longest serving character, having first appeared in 1990; he is shown exiting the front door, getting in his car and driving off. Following the final episode, ITV aired a documentary entitled Farewell The Bill which featured interviews from past and present cast and crew members. The finale

12245-439: The center of the story, showing exclusively their vision of the world. This approach has been denounced as enforcing the idea that the life and views of policemen are more important than the ones of the communities being policed. In police procedurals, police officers are more often than not presented as the "good guys" or even close to superhuman, leading to a potentially biased narrative. Illegal practices are often presented as

12400-582: The detectives in Powers were "normal" (unpowered) humans dealing with super-powered crime, Alan Moore and Gene Ha 's Top 10 mini-series, published by America's Best Comics in 2000–01, centered around the super-powered police force in a setting where powers are omnipresent. The comic detailed the lives and work of the police force of Neopolis, a city in which everyone, from the police and criminals to civilians, children and even pets, has super-powers, colourful costumes and secret identities. The police procedural

12555-618: The development of the police procedural. Dragnet marked a turn in the depiction of the police on screen. Instead of being corrupt laughingstocks, this was the first time police officers represented bravery and heroism . In their quest for authenticity, Dragnet 's producers used real police cars and officers in their scenes. However, this also meant that in exchange, the LAPD could vet scripts for authenticity. The LAPD vetted every scene, which would allow them to remove elements they did not agree with or did not wish to draw attention to. Over

12710-456: The development of the procedural as a distinct mystery subgenre is John Creasey , a prolific writer of many different kinds of crime fiction, from espionage to criminal protagonist. He was inspired to write a more realistic crime novel when his neighbor, a retired Scotland Yard detective, challenged Creasey to "write about us as we are". The result was Inspector West Takes Charge , 1940, the first of more than forty novels to feature Roger West of

12865-419: The entry level – it is followed by Revierinspektor (precinct inspector), Gruppeninspektor (group inspector), Bezirksinspektor (district inspector), Abteilungsinspektor (section inspector), Kontrollinspektor (control inspector) and Chefinspektor (chief inspector). In most Canadian police services the rank of inspector is the first officer/commissioned officer rank, above that of staff sergeant . It

13020-596: The episode "Demolition Girl" was filmed in The Gorbals, Glasgow . The set of Sun Hill police station at Wimbledon Studios remained until mid 2013 when it was finally dismantled. The Bill is set in and around Sun Hill police station, in the fictional "Canley Borough Operational Command Unit " in East London. Geoff McQueen , creator of The Bill , claimed that he named Sun Hill after a street name in his home town of Royston, Hertfordshire . The fictional Sun Hill suburb

13175-760: The explosion of a terrorist car-bomb in the station car-park, which ended up killing PC Ken Melvin . Filming for the series took place all over London, mainly in South London and particularly the London Borough of Merton , where the Sun Hill set was located. Locations used when the show was filmed on a housing estate included: Scenes were often filmed in east London, most notably the London Docklands , with other scenes filmed in Tooting , Greenwich and Croydon . In 2008,

13330-533: The federal level), Stadtinspektor / Stadtverwaltungsinspektor (city administration inspector), Kreisinspektor / Kreisverwaltungsinspektor (county administration inspector) that serve in supervision of the department. In some regions Inspektor is a colloquial name for any police officer, just like in Austria. In the Hong Kong Police Force , inspector (including probationary inspector, ( senior inspector )

13485-510: The first episode "Funny Ol' Business – Cops & Robbers". The sequence consisted of two police officers, one male and one female, walking down a street while images of Sun Hill were interspersed between them. The theme tune is called "Overkill" and was composed by Charlie Morgan and Andy Pask . The theme is notable for its use of septuple meter . It also features a guitar riff, with synthesizer , bass and drum accompaniment, with "middle-eight" sections performed on synthesizers. The end titles of

13640-489: The first three series. The first episode of the full series was "Funny Ol' Business – Cops & Robbers". With serialisation, the name of the show changed from Woodentop to The Bill . Series one had 11 episodes and was broadcast in 1984, series two and three had 12 episodes each and were broadcast in 1985–1986 and 1987 respectively. With a full ensemble cast to explore new characters not featured or just mentioned in Woodentop ,

13795-418: The focus of the storylines soon shifted away from new recruit Carver and towards Detective Inspector Roy Galloway ( John Salthouse ) and Sergeant Bob Cryer ( Eric Richard ). The series then changed to two 30-minute episodes per week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays in 1988 (from July 1988 onwards, and began being broadcast all year round without a summer break), increasing to three a week beginning in 1993, with

13950-400: The form, like Hillary Waugh , Ed McBain , and John Creasey started to appear regularly. In 1956, in his regular New York Times Book Review column, mystery critic Anthony Boucher , noting the growing popularity of crime fiction in which the main emphasis was the realistic depiction of police work, suggested that such stories constituted a distinct subgenre of the mystery, and, crediting

14105-631: The foundation of the Metropolitan Police , formed in 1829 , when it was used to designate the rank immediately below that of superintendent , and many Commonwealth police forces also use the term. Plainclothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix " detective " identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The epaulettes of uniformed inspectors, unlike those of constables and sergeants, do not show

14260-402: The genre has been facing increased scrutiny. As a result, some television networks have been making an effort to address and correct the aforementioned criticism. In August 2020, it was announced that CBS writing staff would partner with 21CP Solutions, an advisory group on public safety and law enforcement , on the network's legal dramas and police procedurals. CBS producers stated that

14415-438: The hands of criminals after the programme's production ceased. The Bill is unique amongst police dramas in that it takes a serial format, focusing on the work and lives of a single shift of police officers, rather than on one particular area of police work. Also unique is that The Bill adapted to this format after several series, whereas comparable series started with the serial format. During its initial broadcast, The Bill

14570-468: The insignia of an army captain, while in others including the Toronto Police Service and Peel Regional Police , the insignia consists of two maple leaves, similar to an army lieutenant's insignia. Provincial police services and the majority of municipal police services, such as the Toronto Police Service have a staff inspector rank, which ranks above inspector and below superintendent. In

14725-597: The last two-part episode " Respect ". The Bill had a large regular cast to support the number of episodes that were produced each year. Working on The Bill became something of a rite of passage in British acting, with 174 actors having formed part of the series' main cast since the series began. The constant need for minor characters, normally appearing in only a single episode, inevitably led to numerous guest roles in The Bill being played by actors and actresses who later achieved

14880-435: The lives of homicide detectives as they investigated superhero-related cases. Bendis's success has led both Marvel Comics and DC Comics to begin their own superhero-themed police procedurals ( District X and the aforementioned Gotham Central ), which focus on how the job of a police officer is affected by such tropes as secret identities, superhuman abilities, costumes, and the near-constant presence of vigilantes . While

15035-550: The majority of the Police Federation were opposed to the programme, claiming that it portrayed the police as a racist organisation, but feelings towards the programme later mellowed, to the extent that, in 2006, executive producer Johnathan Young met Sir Ian Blair , then Commissioner of the Met , and it was decided that the editorial relationship between the police and the programme was sufficient. However, Young stressed that The Bill

15190-461: The media has subsequently been linked with discrepancies both in popular perception of crime rates , as well as sentencing . In a 2005 study conducted on the German public , it was found that despite a decline in total offences between 1992 and 2003, "the German public believes or assumes, on balance, that crime has increased". It has been further posited that the distorted public perception arising from

15345-613: The mid-1880s. Wilkie Collins 's novel The Moonstone (1868), a tale of a Scotland Yard detective investigating the theft of a valuable diamond, has been described as perhaps the earliest clear example of the genre. As detective fiction rose to worldwide popularity in the late 19th century and early 20th century, many of the pioneering and most popular characters, at least in the English-speaking world, were private investigators or amateurs. See C. Auguste Dupin , Sherlock Holmes , Sam Spade , Miss Marple and others. Hercule Poirot

15500-420: The model for Inspector Lew Erskine, the fictional character played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in the 1965–1974 ABC TV series The FBI . Samuel P. Cowley was an FBI inspector in the late 1920s and 1930s who assisted in bringing down notorious gangsters such as John Dillinger in the early 1930s, before his death in November 1934 in a gun battle with Baby Face Nelson . The United States Marshals Service and

15655-457: The new superintendent, Adam Okaro ( Cyril Nri ). It also allowed coverage of the relationship of homosexual Sergeant Craig Gilmore ( Hywel Simons ) and PC Luke Ashton ( Scott Neal ), a storyline which Marquess was determined to explore before rival Merseybeat . In 2005, Johnathan Young took over as executive producer. The serial format was dropped and The Bill returned to stand-alone episodes with more focus on crime and policing than on

15810-554: The next few years, the number of novelists who picked up on the procedural trend following Dragnet 's example grew to include writers like Ben Benson, who wrote carefully researched novels about the Massachusetts State Police , retired police officer Maurice Procter , who wrote a series about North England cop Harry Martineau , and Jonathan Craig, who wrote short stories and novels about New York City police officers. Police novels by writers who would come to virtually define

15965-443: The officers' personal lives. The year 2007 saw the reintroduction of episode titles, which had been dropped in 2002. In 2009, The Bill moved back to the 9 pm slot it previously held, and the theme tune, "Overkill", was replaced as part of a major overhaul of the series. On 26 March 2010, ITV announced that it would be cancelling the series later that year after 27 years on air in 26 series. ITV said that this decision reflected

16120-674: The original week of their broadcast, the show has regularly been repeated on other digital stations. Re-runs of the series began on 1 November 1992, when new digital channel UKTV Gold began broadcasting. The channel broadcast repeats of the series for nearly 16 years, until 6 October 2008, when the channel was given a revamp by the owners of the network. During the 16-year period, re-runs of the series covered every episode broadcast between 16 October 1984, and 8 March 2007. Episodes have also been broadcast on British drama channel Alibi until 23 December 2009. On 27 January 2010, UKTV relocated The Bill to its entertainment channel Watch . In July 2013,

16275-422: The perpetrator's identity to the audience early in the narrative, making it an inverted detective story . The police procedural genre has faced criticism for its inaccurate depictions of policing and crime, depictions of racism and sexism, and allegations that the genre is " copaganda ", or promotes a one-sided depiction of police as the "good guys". The roots of the police procedural have been traced to at least

16430-507: The plodding nature of the investigators. For details see the PhD dissertation by Antony Stephenson (2019). The comic strip Dick Tracy is often pointed to as an early procedural. Tracy creator Chester Gould seemed to be trying to reflect the real world. Tracy himself, conceived by Gould as a "modern-day Sherlock Holmes ", was partly modeled on real-life law enforcer Eliot Ness. Tracy's first, and most frequently recurring, antagonist,

16585-566: The police were always "good guys" who solved all the crimes and respected the citizenry. Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö planned and wrote the Martin Beck police procedural series of ten books between the 1960s and 1970s, set in Sweden . The series is particularly renowned for its extensive character development throughout the series. Beck himself is gradually promoted from detective in a newly nationalised Swedish police force to Chief Inspector of

16740-539: The popularity of a number of American films which dramatized and fictionalized actual crimes. Dubbed " semidocumentary films" by film critics, these motion pictures, often filmed on location, with the cooperation of the law enforcement agencies involved in the actual case, made a point of authentically depicting police work. Examples include The Naked City (1948), The Street with No Name (1948), T-Men (1947), He Walked by Night (1948), and Border Incident (1949). Films from other countries soon began following

16895-510: The prefix "detective" identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or Organised Crime Triad Bureau (OCTB). Several of the HKP's past and current commissioner of chiefs joined the force as a probationary inspector. The Customs and Excise Department also has an inspector rank but with bronze stars and bars rank badges instead. In addition, there are health inspectors from

17050-476: The presence of a commissioner; when this happens, the officer is named Ispettore Superiore – Sostituto Commissario (special inspector – substitute commissioner). Inspectors can serve either in uniformed patrol duties, plainclothed patrol duties, or as detectives. The inspector ranks are the highest that an Italian police officer can reach without having a university degree. In the Royal Malaysia Police ,

17205-408: The prevalence of police procedurals has been a factor in influencing sentencing rates. Countries such as the US, UK and Germany—while experiencing declines in crime rates—reported increases in the volume and severity of incarceration . Alongside protests against police brutality in the United States and abroad, and debates on the role of entertainment in the portrayal of law enforcement in society,

17360-565: The procedures were those of the Navajo Tribal Police . Though not the first police officer to write procedurals, Joseph Wambaugh 's success has caused him to become the exemplar of cops who turn their professional experiences into fiction. The son of a Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , policeman, Wambaugh joined the Los Angeles Police Department after a stint of military duty. In 1970, his first novel, The New Centurions ,

17515-414: The programme underwent a major overhaul, the opening sequence and theme tune were heavily changed. This time, the classic "Overkill" theme was completely removed, and a new theme created by Simba Studios was used. However, producer Jonathan Young stated that echoes of "Overkill" can still be heard in the theme. The opening sequence featured a patrol car driving through the streets of Sun Hill. When The Bill

17670-431: The radio-inspired anthology comic Gang Busters , Dell's 87th Precinct issues, which adapted McBain's novels, or The Untouchables , which adapted the fictionalized TV adventures of real-life policeman Eliot Ness. More recently, there have been attempts to depict police work with the kind of hard-edged realism seen in the novels of writers like Wambaugh, such as Marvel's four-issue mini-series Cops: The Job , in which

17825-637: The rank of Brigadir Polisi Kepala (chief police brigadier). In the Garda Síochána in the Republic of Ireland , inspectors ( Irish : cigire ) are senior to sergeants and junior to superintendents . Inspectors may be either detectives or in uniform. There is no rank of chief inspector in the Garda . In the Polizia di Stato , the position of Ispettore (inspector) replaced the rank of Maresciallo (marshal) after

17980-457: The rank of inspector is one level above sub-inspector and one level below assistant superintendent. There are two stages: probation inspector (probation lasts within three years) and inspector. Inspectors are recruited differently from normal police constables, requiring at least a degree, and their training is longer. In the Police of Montenegro , the title of police inspector ( policijski inspektor )

18135-624: The rank of inspector. The rank insignia of probationary inspector and inspector is two pips, with the letters NPCC below it, so as to differentiate NPCC inspectors from Singapore Police Force personnel. In Spain , the rank of inspector exists in the National Police Force of Spain ( Cuerpo Nacional de Policía ), the Catalan Police Force , and several municipal police forces. In the Sri Lanka Police , inspector of police (IP)

18290-457: The ranks ranging from junior sergeant to second lieutenant . A fifth position, called Ispettore Superiore S.U.P.S. , where the acronym stands for Sostituto Ufficiale di Pubblica Sicurezza (special inspector – substitute public safety commissioned officer), is used to designate those inspectors which can act as substitutes for commissioners in the chain of command under certain situations, or in police detachments that are too small to require

18445-408: The same rank badge as a captain in the army . In addition to the general rank of inspector, some police forces use other ranks such as detective inspector and district inspector. In Austria a similar scheme was used as in Germany. At some point the police inspector was completely removed from the list of service ranks. The current police service has an inspectors service track with Inspektor being

18600-515: The semi-documentary trend. In France , there was Quai des orfevres (1947), released in the United States as Jenny Lamour . In Japanese cinema , there was Akira Kurosawa 's 1949 film Stray Dog , a serious police procedural film noir that was also a precursor to the buddy cop film genre. In the UK , there were films such as The Blue Lamp (1950) and The Long Arm (1956) set in London and depicting

18755-421: The series simply showed the feet of the two police constables pounding the beat. From the fourth series onwards, the opening sequence was kept generally the same, but the clips used were regularly updated to remove departed characters. In the 1997 sequence, a new version of "Overkill" was used, also composed by Pask and Morgan. On 6 January 1998, starting with "Hard Cash", the third episode of the show's 14th series,

18910-454: The series were added later in the dubbing suite as The Bill did not have permission to use them while on location. However, the police uniforms used in the series were genuine, again making The Bill unique amongst police dramas. When the series ended, London's Metropolitan Police Service, after talks with the production company, bought 400 kilograms of police-related paraphernalia, including uniforms and body armour, to prevent them falling into

19065-525: The series, and characterised the special as a "cheerless outing" covering The Bill 's "travesties of plot". All four editions of The Bill Uncovered were released on DVD in Australia as part of The Bill Series 26 DVD boxset on 30 April 2014. To celebrate the show's 25th anniversary, a special programme The Bill Made Me Famous was broadcast in November 2008. Narrated by Martin Kemp , it features former actors and special guest stars discussing their time working on

19220-462: The series, and in some cases led to spin-offs, as well as characters who hold individual accolades for their time on the series. The Bill was a popular drama in the United Kingdom and in many other countries, most notably in Australia. The series attracted audiences of up to six million viewers in 2008 and 2009. Ratings during 2002 peaked after the overhaul of the show which brought about the 2002 fire episode , in which six officers were killed, and

19375-405: The series. The Bill focuses on the lives and work of one shift of police officers of all ranks, and the storylines deal with situations faced by uniformed officers working on the beat, as well as plainclothes detectives. Producers initially wanted to replicate the "Day in the Life" feature of Woodentop and made sure a police officer was featured in every single scene. The series later adopted

19530-473: The short story collection Policeman's Lot , 1933, by former Buckinghamshire High Sheriff and Justice of the Peace Henry Wade . The procedural became more prominent after World War II , and, while the contributions of novelists like Treat were significant, a large part of the impetus for the post-war development of the procedural as a distinct subgenre of the mystery was due, not to prose fiction, but to

19685-464: The show and how it changed their lives, including Paul O'Grady , Les Dennis , Michelle Collins , Pauline Quirke and Darren Day . Immediately following the final episode, a one-hour special titled Farewell The Bill was broadcast on 31 August 2010. The special explored the history of the series and gave viewers a behind the scenes look at the filming of the last episode. This special was later released on DVD in Australia on 5 October 2011, along with

19840-406: The show attracted 8.6 million viewers, the highest figure for the year to that point, and by October 2003, the program had around 8 million viewers each week. In 2005, The Bill was averaging around 11 million viewers, in comparison to Coronation Street , which was attracting around 10 million viewers. In 2009, The Daily Mirror reported that The Bill was to be moved to

19995-401: The show began broadcasting on Drama , starting with episodes from 1998. Drama planned to air every episode from the beginning in 2017, but after a few weeks, the channel jumped to series 14. Every series of The Bill was later added to the video-on-demand platform UKTV Play in 2024. The Bill has been broadcast in over 55 countries. The first opening sequence of The Bill was featured in

20150-636: The show. The Bill has achieved a number of awards throughout its time on air, ranging from a BAFTA to the Royal Television Society Awards. and the Inside Soap Awards, particularly the Best Recurring Drama category. In 2010, The Bill was nominated for a Royal Television Society award for Best Soap/Continuing Drama, beating both Coronation Street and Emmerdale onto the nominations list. The only soap to be nominated

20305-404: The story of DC Jim Carver ( Mark Wingett ) – from his first day at Sun Hill (in the pilot "Woodentop"). The last was The Bill Uncovered: On The Front Line (2006), in which Superintendent Adam Okaro ( Cyril Nri ) recounts the extraordinary events that have surrounded Sun Hill over his time in charge. A review of the second of these specials criticised the "increasingly degenerative plotlines" of

20460-467: The strikers and what they thought were the real police but were actually actors working on The Bill . Working conditions got so dire, that the production team realised they needed to find another base to set Sun Hill police station. The second location was an old record distribution depot in Barlby Road, North Kensington in North West London. Filming began here in March 1987. In 1989, the owners of

20615-668: The success of Dragnet for the rise of this new form, coined the phrase "police procedural" to describe it. As police procedurals became increasingly popular, they maintained this image of heroic police officers who are willing to bend the rules to save the day, as well as the use of police consultants . This would allow Hollywood to form a friendly relationship with law enforcement who are also responsible for granting shooting permits. This, however, has garnered criticisms. French roman policier (fr) value induction over deduction, synthesis of character over analysis of crime. The Inspector Maigret novels of Georges Simenon feature

20770-439: The team, including civil rights experts, lawyers and police veterans, would fix issues with CBS police procedurals to make them more realistic and accurate. As a result, the main objectives and partnership's attention is supposed to focus on an increase of inclusivity, diversity and authenticity in the production of police procedurals. Detective Inspector Inspector , also police inspector or inspector of police ,

20925-516: The third episode being broadcast on Fridays. In 1998, The Bill returned to hour-long episodes, which later became twice-weekly, with the Friday episode being dropped, at which point the series adopted a much more serialised approach. When Paul Marquess took over as executive producer in 2002, as part of a drive for ratings, the series was revamped, bringing more of a soap-opera feel to many of its stories. Many veteran characters were written out, leading to

21080-404: The time of its cancellation. The Bill was originally conceived by Geoff McQueen in 1983, then a new television writer, as a one-off drama . McQueen had originally titled the production Old Bill . It was picked up by Michael Chapman for ITV franchise holder Thames Television , who retitled it Woodentop as part of Thames's "Storyboard" series of one-off dramas and broadcast on ITV under

21235-491: The title Woodentop on 16 August 1983. Woodentop starred Mark Wingett as PC Jim Carver and Trudie Goodwin as WPC June Ackland of London's Metropolitan Police , both attached to the fictional Sun Hill police station . Although originally only intended as a one-off, Woodentop so impressed ITV that a full series was commissioned, first broadcast on 16 October 1984 with one post-watershed episode per week, featuring an hourlong, separate storyline for each episode of

21390-597: The title for internal affairs investigators within a police or sheriff's department, including in Florida's Alachua County Sheriff's Office . In the Wisconsin State Patrol , and others, inspectors are state troopers assigned to the motor carrier safety inspection unit where they enforce trucking laws and regulations. The Michigan State Police recognizes inspector as a formal rank. Unlike municipal or county police/sheriffs' inspectors, Michigan State Police inspectors are

21545-523: The total police personnel in India. In the Indonesian National Police , there are four levels of inspector, which are Inspektur Polisi Satu (first police inspector), Inspektur Polisi Dua (senior police inspector), Ajun Inspektur Polisi Satu (first police inspector adjutant ), and Ajun Inspektur Polisi Dua (second police inspector adjutant). Those ranks are below the rank of Ajun Komisaris Polisi (police commissioner adjutant) and above

21700-476: The transition to television in 1951, has been called "the most famous procedural of all time" by mystery novelists William L. DeAndrea , Katherine V. Forrest and Max Allan Collins . The same year that Dragnet debuted on radio, Pulitzer Prize -winning playwright Sidney Kingsley 's stage play Detective Story opened on Broadway . This frank, carefully researched dramatization of a typical day in an NYPD precinct detective squad became another benchmark in

21855-463: The typical superhero universe from the viewpoint of the common man who witnesses the great dramas from afar, participating in them tangentially at best. In the wake of Busiek's success, many other writers mimicked his approach, with mixed results – the narrative possibilities of someone who does not get involved in drama are limited. In 2000, however, Image Comics published the first issue of Brian Michael Bendis 's comic Powers , which followed

22010-406: The unusual friendship between PC Des Taviner ( Paul Usher ) and PC Reg Hollis ( Jeff Stewart ), traversing their history from Des's first day at Sun Hill to his death in a Sun Hill cell. The second was The Bill Uncovered: Kerry's Story (2004), the story of PC Kerry Young ( Beth Cordingly ), who met her death outside Sun Hill. The third special was The Bill Uncovered : Jim's Story (2005),

22165-426: The work of authors less well known today, like Freeman Wills Crofts 's novels about Inspector French or some of the work of the prolific team of G.D.H. and Margaret Cole , might be considered as the antecedents of today's police procedural. British mystery novelist and critic Julian Symons , in his 1972 history of crime fiction, Bloody Murder , labeled these proto-procedurals "humdrums", because of their emphasis on

22320-460: Was EastEnders and the results were announced on 16 March 2010. In 2009 an episode of The Bill won the Knights of Illumination Award for Lighting Design- Drama. It has been compared to Hill Street Blues due to the similar, serial, format that both series take. However, The Bill saw little direct competition on British television in the police procedural genre over its 25-year history, though

22475-503: Was a severe lack of portrayal of racial bias in the criminal procedure, discussion about criminal justice reform , and victims who are women of color. There is also little representation of people of color in the creation of these shows. The police procedural genre is becoming increasingly popular and has accounted for about 22% of all scripted shows on US broadcast network in the last 10 years. This prevalence implies that viewers are often facing TV series that place police officers at

22630-449: Was also used for both the opening and closing sequences. On 3 January 2007, starting with Episode No. 471, the opening and closing sequences were once again changed. This time, the opening sequence, for the first time, features an image of the Sun Hill sign, and returns to featuring images of officers in action. This sequence also featured a further new arrangement of "Overkill", once again arranged by Lawrence Oakley. On 23 July 2009, after

22785-483: Was always shown on ITV . In 2009, STV , ITV's regional franchise in Central and Northern Scotland, opted out of broadcasting the series along with a number of other dramas, a decision that later became the subject of legal proceedings between STV and the main ITV network. The legal dispute was settled on 27 April 2011, with ITV receiving £18 million from STV. Aside from repeats of episodes on ITV3 , which occurred on

22940-421: Was cancelled in 2004 due to poor ratings and problems with the cast. HolbyBlue , launched in 2007, was a spin-off of successful medical drama Holby City (itself a spin-off of the long-running Casualty ). It was scheduled to go "head to head" with The Bill , prompting a brief "ratings war" but, in 2008, HolbyBlue was also cancelled by the BBC, again, largely due to poor ratings. When The Bill started,

23095-437: Was critical of the titles, writing "I remain to be convinced about these opening titles from 2001, with their jazzed-up theme tune, and shards of faces." On 26 February 2003, starting with Episode No. 091, the opening and closing sequences were once again updated. This time, the opening sequence consisted of several generic police images, such as a police car and uniform. A new arrangement of "Overkill", composed by Lawrence Oakley,

23250-451: Was criticised for featuring fictional treatment for multiple sclerosis . The series has also faced more general criticism concerning its levels of violence, particularly prior to 2009, when it occupied a pre-watershed slot. The Bill , its cast and crew have won and been nominated for a number of awards , including BAFTAs and a Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award. In March 2010, following

23405-575: Was described as a veteran of the Belgian police, but as a protagonist he worked independently. Only after World War II would police procedural fiction rival the popularity of PIs or amateur sleuths. Lawrence Treat 's 1945 novel V as in Victim is often cited as the first police procedural, by Anthony Boucher (mystery critic for the New York Times Book Review ) among others. Another early example

23560-507: Was first commissioned as a series by ITV, it started with 12 episodes per year, each an hour long with a separate storyline. In 1988, the format changed to a year-round broadcast with two 30-minute episodes per week. In 1993, this expanded to three 30-minute episodes per week. In 1998, the broadcast format changed to two one-hour episodes each week, also recording in 16:9 widescreen Digibeta . In 2009, The Bill began broadcasting in HD and as part of

23715-480: Was published. This followed three police officers through their training in the academy, their first few years on the street, culminating in the Watts riots of 1965. It was followed by such novels as The Blue Knight , 1971, The Choirboys , 1975, Hollywood Station , 2006, and acclaimed non-fiction books like The Onion Field , 1973, Lines and Shadows , 1984, and Fire Lover , 2002. Wambaugh has said that his main purpose

23870-480: Was the United Kingdom's longest-running police drama and was among the longest-running of any British television series. The series finale , entitled " Respect ", was aired in two parts and was dedicated to "the men and women of the Metropolitan Police Service past and present". The finale storyline concerned gang member Jasmine Harris being involved in the murder of fellow member Liam Martin who died in

24025-569: Was watched by 4.4 million viewers, with Farewell The Bill averaging 1.661 million viewers. On 17 April 2021, various media outlets began reporting that the series may be set for a reboot. Writer Simon Sansome was understood to have bought the rights to the original series, and was planning a revival, dubbed Sun Hill (as licensing meant the series could not be named The Bill once more), alongside Holby City creator and former EastEnders writer Tony McHale , who had previously written episodes of The Bill and one of its spin-offs, Beech

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