Rockliffe's Babies
In this series, devised by Richard O'Keefe, maverick Detective Sergeant Alan Rockliffe is given the job of training seven new young recruits to the C.I.D., all fresh out of uniform. Under his irascible guidance it is hoped that they will blossom into full-blown detectives. But Rockliffe is human - so human that he makes more mistakes than the 'Babies' he is supposed to be training.
It's Dorset wedding bells for Keith Chitty and best man Gerry O'Dowd decides to enter into the swing of things. Gerry's taking no chances and neither is Sgt. Rockliffe. When their paths cross back in town they both get more than they bargained for.
Members of Rockliffe's crime squad make hasty character assessments. Wayne is an animal, Chris is a charmer. Both judgments have to be revised on closer inspection.
Why are the officers of Church Street police station tuning in to a local radio station? And why does Rockliffe allow himself to be involved in a situation which causes so much disapproval from on high?
It is not a crime to photograph police activity, but when it happens during an investigation into serious assaults on women Sgt. Rockliffe is suspicious. What he discovers puts him into the most disagreeable situation of his career.
Rockliffe's team is in hospital. They are watching for someone who is frightening the nurses. But when a nurse is hurt in their full view, they realise they have a different and more urgent situation on their hands.
It is a night of routine surveillance for the Crime Squad. All is quiet, but not for long. Sgt. Rockliffe and his team soon find themselves in areas of enquiry that are foreign to them and where there are choices to be made between public justice and private revenge.
Acting on information received seems more important to Rockliffe than taking notice of a memo from the Chief Superintendent. Embarrassment results. Except for Georgiou, who volunteers for a very risky adventure.
The two married members of Rockliffe's team have a dinner engagement, but the demands of duty put paid to their plans. An entirely different night out on the town is arranged for them - spiced with an element of risk.
Rockliffe thinks WPC Walsh is too preoccupied with the problems of a homeless family. But he is not entirely impartial himself when it comes to associating with an attractive titled woman who seems to be unattached.
Before Rockliffe and his team can start to look for three villains who got away they must find out who they were. It's a challenge that exercises all their ingenuity and certain members of the team have other things on their minds: three of them have selection boards for the Detective Training School.
A hooded prowler, an armed robbery, a mugging on the notorious Dragon Estate - it's a busy week for the young PCs. But O'Dowd is in dead trouble. Will the oil-rich Sonia Souhami come to his rescue?
A murder has been committed and Rockliffe has been given the name of a suspect. The name revives old and bitter memories. But is it fifteen years too late to do any good?
Rockliffe complains about the work load. There are drug dealers, rapists, muggers, murderers, thieves and con-men around. What can turn up next? Joseph Maxwell, that's what.
""This bloke's son is thirteen, has an assessed age of six, goes eleven stone on the scales and is a friend to every stranger he meets. What do you want me to do? Let him find his own way home in the cause of race relations?""
Why has the habitually lazy Paul Georgiou activated himself and acquired an informant?
There's a tense situation in the black community. A man has died in police custody as a result of using a deadly drug. Rockliffe and Flight think they know who the dealer is, but if they act will there be worse trouble?
What arises for Rockliffe and the crime squad as a result of hunger pains?
Rockliffe is surprised to learn that some members of his squad find him unapproachable. Doesn't he always come to their aid when they need him? And that's just what he has to do when Adams goes out on a limb.
| Location | |
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| Language | English |
| Release | 1987-01-09 |
| Producer |