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The Big Juvenile Division (01-17-52)

Dragnet, the brainchild of Jack Webb, may very well be the most well-remembered, and the best, radio police drama series. From September, 1949 through February 1957, Dragnet\'s 30 minute shows, broadcast on NBC, brought to radio true police stories in a low-key, documentary style. The origins of Dragnet can be traced to a semi-documentary film, "He Walked by Night" from 1948, in which Webb had a small role. Both employed the same Los Angeles Police Department technical adviser, used actual police cases and presented the case in "just the facts" manner that became a hallmark of Dragnet. It is interesting to note that Webb employed that format in other radio series, some pre-dating the film mentioned above. Dragnet was a long running radio and television police procedural drama, about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from an actual police term, a Dragnet, meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects. Dragnet was perhaps the most famous and influential police procedural drama in American media history.

THIS EPISODE:

January 17, 1952. Program #136. NBC network. "The Big Juvenile Division". Sponsored by: Fatima. Robert Lawson, a "young Hitler" is promoting gang warfare in town. Sgt. Friday tries to warn the parents involved. Barney Phillips, Charles Smith, Eddie Firestone, Hal Gibney (host), Jack Webb, James Moser (writer), Walter Schumann (conductor). 29:31. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.