17. "Magnum Force" (1973)

"I hate the goddam system! But until someone comes along with changes that make sense, I'll stick with the system." 

(Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan)

Clint Eastwood reprises his role as Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan in this sequel to "Dirty Harry." In "Magnum Force," Callahan is reassigned from homicide to stakeout duty (surveillance, essentially a first or second-year officer's job). His new partner, "Early" Smith, and Callahan begin to surreptitiously investigate homicides around the city of recently acquitted criminals, let off by a technicality. Callahan and Smith begin to suspect that corrupt cops are at the center of the crimes, including their own boss, Lt. Briggs.

"Magnum Force" emphasizes police corruption, an issue of great concern in the 1970s and 1980s (this was also the main event in "Serpico"). Police corruption was rampant in police departments in most major cities because police officers have extremely dangerous jobs but are generally paid very little. The most common form of police corruption is bribery or skimming off the top of monetary evidence such as cash or drugs (so, money-oriented). "Magnum Force" focuses on the lesser-known type of police corruption that is vigilantism. This was an issue in the 1970s and 1980s as police departments were under much greater scrutiny after a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that applied the 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments to the states (and not just the federal government as had been previously interpreted). As judges began holding local police departments to higher standards of search and seizure and other legal issues, more and more criminals were acquitted or had charges dismissed on technicalities. This angered police departments, and some officers took the law into their own hands.

Several noteworthy advances have been made in the decades since "Magnum Force," including the New York City Commission to Combat Police Corruption, created in 1995. As such, while police corruption still exists, it is much less common and much more well contained. Police departments also have hefty consequences for ethical violations of corruption, especially with more transparent internal affairs and ethics review boards.

15. "Dirty Harry" (1971)

"Where the hell does it say that you've got a right to kick down doors, torture suspects, deny medical attention and legal counsel? Where have you been? Does Escobedo ring a bell? Miranda? I mean, you must have heard of the Fourth Amendment."

(District Attorney to Inspector Callahan)

The film Dirty Harry is a classic in the criminological realm, most obviously illustrating how policing used to be done in the 1960s and 1970s. Clint Eastwood stars as the title character, "Dirty" Harry Callahan, an inspector with the San Francisco Police Department. It is the first of the Dirty Harry series and focuses on Inspector Callahan's investigation of a murder in San Francisco. However, the film also is a textbook example of not only how policing was actually done pre-Miranda (and shortly thereafter), but also how media - and society at large - viewed police officers and how they do their jobs.

Dirty Harry often does what needs to be done to get the job done. He works within the law in that he is a police officer, but also works outside the law in that he does not abide by police procedure (as illustrated in the quote above). Many people view Dirty Harry as the embodiment of what's wrong in American policing - police brutality, withholding of legal counsel, and torturing suspects before and during interrogations. These sorts of practices were stopped during the criminal rights cases of the Warren and Burger Courts (1960s and 1970s), but some of these issues still crop up, especially when it involves minority suspects and white police officers.

Current police practices are a far cry from those in Dirty Harry, yet movies and television shows still include these as everyday occurrences in police departments across the country. Just about any episode of The Wire or watching films like American Violet make us believe that things really haven't changed in nearly 50 years, when in reality, things are very, very different. The effect of media on people's perceptions of police is widespread, often persuading people that police engage in brutal tactics on a regular basis, when in fact, that is not the case (for example, only 2% of cases involving officer use of force involve lethal force, and most officers do not use any kind of physical force in their interactions with the public). Incidents that garner widespread news coverage, such as the Rodney King incident in 1992 in Los Angeles, also contribute to these feelings of resentment and distrust.

Dirty Harry also brought to light - as did other films of this era, such as Serpico - the issue of police corruption. In the era of the film, policy corruption was rampant and often extended as high as the mayor or governor. Officers who toed the "thin blue line" were put in their place (or in the case of the New York Police Department, their place in the Hudson River). The very real concern of police officers engaging in unethical - not to mention illegal - practices contributes to the reason why certain segments of Americans still, to this day, do not trust police. Police corruption was vehemently combated during the 1980s and 1990s, especially in large departments such as New York or Los Angeles, but there are still incidents that shake our faith in the men (and women) in blue who are supposed to protect and serve.

Dirty Harry is a classic film for many reasons - Clint Eastwood's excellent performance, the mystifying plotline, the believable antagonist, and more - and should be required viewing for any criminology student or enthusiast. However, one must remember that sometimes films have a greater social impact than we believe, so we must encourage filmmakers, television producers, and music artists to be socially responsible in their production of entertainment material.

6. "Serpico" (1973)

"Frank, let's face it, who can trust a cop who won't take money?"

(Jack Kehoe as Tom Keough)

The movie "Serpico" is regarded as one of the most well-known crime films of all time. It is often named as Al Pacino's finest film performance, and was director Sidney Lumet's prized masterpiece. It was nominated for many awards, including two Academy Awards (Best Actor in a Leading Role [Al Pacino] and Best Writing [Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler]), two BAFTA Awards (Best Actor [Al Pacino] and Best Director [Sidney Lumet]), a Directors Guild of America Award (Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures [Sidney Lumet]), an Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Award (Best Motion Picture [Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler]), a Golden Globe Award (Best Motion Picture - Drama), and a Grammy Award (Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture). The film won three awards: A Golden Globe Award (Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama [Al Pacino]), a National Board of Review Award (Best Actor [Al Pacino]), and a Writers Guild of America Award (Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium [Norman Wexler and Waldo Salt]).

For these reasons and many more, I was really, really, really excited to watch it. Unfortunately, I was grossly disappointed. While it was an interesting story, there seemed to be too many random extra parts that didn't seem to serve a purpose and it was extremely slow. I started it when I first got it from Netflix in March; I did not finish it until today.

The Plot: "Serpico" is based on a true story and follows a police officer in the New York City Police Department in the 1960s and 70s. His family owns a shoe repair shop, but he wants to become a police officer. He wants to do homicide, so he follows the route he was told to take. He soon learns that those who know the politics of life get ahead and those who play by the rules are left behind. Serpico doesn't want any part of the corruption going on in the department. At the time, police officers routinely extorted money from the criminals they catch, such as prostitutes and drug dealers. The other officers do not like that Serpico won't partake and refuse to work with him. His determination to take the information to the higher authorities of local government mark him a snitch, a gross violation of the "blue wall of silence."

The Reality: As much as we hate to admit it, corruption is alive and well in almost every police department in America. Department corruption may not be as blatant now as it was in the 1970s, but it is certainly a problem. "Serpico" does an excellent job of demonstrating not only the problem and its entrenchment in the police departments, but the very real danger officers place themselves in when they refuse to "go with the flow."

On a funny note, I was quite amused when the precinct chief passed around marijuana to the officers in the morning briefing so that they would be able to recognize the "pungent smell" and the "effects of the drug on the user." That would never fly in today's departments!

5. "The Presidio" (1988)

"Now are you sure you want to fight? Because I'm only going to use my thumb. My right thumb. Left one's much too powerful for you."

(Sean Connery as Lt. Colonel Alan Caldwell)

"The Presidio" is one of the few films that addresses the issue of military justice. It is a film in the early career of Mark Harmon, who later stars as Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the CBS television show "NCIS," which is why I first watched this film a couple of years ago. The film did not win any major awards, but is a gem with a rockstar cast and a great story.

The Plot: "The Presidio" stars Mark Harmon as Detective Jay Austin of the San Francisco Police Department, who is investigating a series of inter-jurisdictional murders on the U.S. Army base, the Presidio, and the streets of San Francisco. He must work with Lt.-Colonel Caldwell (Sean Connery), who was Austin's boss (the provost marshal) when Austin was in the military police years ago. Caldwell took the side of a drunk driver, an officer named Lawrence, and demoted Austin, who left the military soon after. Caldwell's daughter, Donna (Meg Ryan), decides to start dating Austin at about the same time as the two men need to work together, which adds another thorn to the patch.

The History: The Presidio (also known as El Presidio Real de San Francisco) is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in California. It was a fortified location starting in 1776, when the Spanish used it as the military center of the area. It was passed to Mexico and finally to the United States in 1847. Congress voted in 1989 to end the Presidio's active military status and it was passed to the National Park Service in 1994.

From 1847 to 1989, the Presidio served as the primary military installation on the Pacific. It was the assembly point for Army forces invading the Philippines during the Spanish-American War and was the center of the defense of the western U.S. during World War II. The Letterman Army Medical Center was built on the Presidio in the 1890s and was featured in every major U.S. conflict in the 20th century by providing high-quality medical care. Two interesting facts: The Presidio contains one of the two remaining cemeteries in San Francisco city limits - the San Francisco National Cemetery - and the soldiers at the Presidio became the nation's first "park rangers" by patrolling the new Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks between 1890 and 1914.

The Criminal Justice System: The issue of jurisdictions is a complex one, as cooperation between cities, states and the federal government is notoriously bad. Adding in special jurisdictions like Native American reservations and the military only compound the problems. It is often difficult for the military and civilian investigative branches to cooperate, especially since they have differing codes of justice (the military uses the Uniform Code of Military Justice instead of the local, state or federal penal code). This film does an excellent job of emphasizing the difficulties that jurisdictions deal with, especially when working with the military (e.g. the fact that Austin cannot arrest Major Lawrence until he is off of The Presidio and on civilian jurisdiction).