This film consists of sequences from the Pittsburgh Police footage intercut with a panel discussion moderated by Professor James Vorenberg of Harvard Law School. Community organizers, police, students and lawyers discussed the issues raised by four sequences, including the implications of the 4th and 5th Constitutional amendments, and the Exclusionary Rule of Evidence for search, seizure, and interrogation procedures. The film demonstrates the multiplicity of roles in police work, and examines the conflicts between how the police define their duties and what the public expects of them.
The Pittsburgh Police Series was produced in the late 1960s at a time of heightened civil disorder and racial tension. The seventeen films in the series were intended for educational and institutional use to provoke discussion about policing practices. The films remain a raw and intimate window into community policing.
