User Reviews

Sergeant Dixon issues CID officers with firearms, who are set to mount a raid on a gang of robbers, believed to be armed.

As it stands this is the highest rated episode of the show, I can see why, it's excellent, and is perhaps the best of the 32 episodes that exist.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, it removes any argument that this show only dealt with soft and gentle crimes, this was far from that.

It raises one very important question, should British Police Officers be armed, I get the impression that the writer was not a fan or armed Police. Definitely a thought provoking episode, shows the importance of procedure, even in the 70's a decade where people think no rules were followed, this shows that even then protocols with fire arms existed.

Great acting once again, the performances are always so solid, well made also.

9/10.

The police are searching for an armed gang who robbed a bank and injured the bank manager and by-standers. An anonymous tip-off one evening has Dock Green's finest springing into action. With firearms issued to them, a team - headed by Detective Inspector Andy Crawford of the CID, raid a residential property where the crooks are supposedly hiding with firearms of their own.

What happens next results in one of the suspects fatally shot, the other two arrested, no weapons found on or around the premises and the media asking questions about the police's handling of the situation.

Police Sergeant George Dixon, who authorised the issue of the firearms, and Crawford and his team all spend a long night answering to their superior and accounting for their actions.

A compelling piece of drama, highlighting how the police continually walk a tightrope, always being just a step away from disaster no matter how hard they may try to do the right thing. Although it had long moved into more serious coverage of crime and policing after its soap opera style origins, Dixon of Dock Green generally tried to avoid shoot-outs or high-speed car chases for its thrills. This episode tries to show the reality behind the police use of firearms. I can't vouch for how well it adheres to procedures of the early 1970s, certainly nowadays dedicated armed response units would handle this sort of scenario rather than the normal station staff being issued with guns (but no bullet-proof vests!). But it certainly succeeds in conveying the gravity of responsibility an officer has when carrying a gun, that many crime series disregard.

N J Crisp had already churned out dozens of scripts for the series, so praise indeed to him for still being able to pen another winner. This one contains a rare instance of George and Andy having a strong difference of opinion. Although Jack Warner was frequently criticised for being too old for the role, here he certainly shows he is still an asset to the series with a powerful performance.

The eventual tracking down of the informant seemed a little too easy and convenient, but forgivable considering the need to keep within a 50-minute length and it certainly doesn't detract too much from the overall episode. 9 out of 10.

I saw the repeat of this episode probably some time in the early 1990s or late 1980s. Hence why I had that abiding memory of Dixon stuck behind his police desk with some green walls. It's as miserable as a police station could get.

The events in the episode also had some relevance in the 80s and 90s as well. It was still rare for police to be armed and there were several incidents of unarmed men to be shot by the police. In a few instances, the wrong man.

After receiving a tip off regarding the whereabouts of some armed robbers. Sergeant Dixon arms some of his police officers which includes DI Crawford.

While searching for the armed men in a house. Crawford seems to have tripped and then shots were fired. One of the robber's is wounded. There seems to be no oral warning given by the police officers and guns were found when the robbers were arrested.

Detective Chief Superintendent Donovan (Percy Herbert) has been tasked to find out what happened. The press will have a field day if it comes to light that the men were unarmed.

The officers involved have to justify their actions and they also seem to give conflicting accounts. Even Dixon ends up in conflict with Crawford as he tries to leave the police station.

The outside location shooting in film were murky as to leave the viewer confused as to what happened. So no one has any idea what happened as Donovan tries to put the pieces together.

It was an effective episode as the officers are investigates, be away from their families and not communicate with each other. Donivan is like a bulldog but at the end gets a fair idea as to what occurred.

I still think the show did not clear up that an unarmed man was shot and some of the police officers were not suitably trained as armed officers.

The irony is not lost that the opening and closing speech was given by a police officer who had been shot dead.