Friday and Gannon are working the juvenile division and this episode concerns one particular obnoxious teen, Harold Rustin. Rustin is 17 and up until then hadn't been in any legal trouble. But, suddenly, he was stealing cars and acting like a little maniac. No matter what the detectives did, Rustin seemed intent on destroying himself--and taking others with him.
Overall, it's a very good and sobering episode. If the intent of the show was to horrify viewers, it did a good job. A clean-cut kid like Rustin being so out of control and indifferent to others is pretty shocking. It's funny, but often old farts love to talk about the good ol' days--how things were more conservative and tough and how kids these days have it soft. Well, if the old fart remembers the 1960s, then they can't possibly think things are any softer today--and this episode of "Dragnet" is a great example. In it, there is a punk 17 year-old who quickly graduates from stealing cars to murder. And, at the end of the show, the little darling is sentenced as a juvenile--and being committed to the juvenile system. At most, he probably stayed in jail until 21. Four years for a murder!? Today, any 15 or 16 year-old committing a similar crime would most likely be charged as an adult--particularly if they have various other serious charges against them.
Overall, it's a very good and sobering episode. If the intent of the show was to horrify viewers, it did a good job. A clean-cut kid like Rustin being so out of control and indifferent to others is pretty shocking. It's funny, but often old farts love to talk about the good ol' days--how things were more conservative and tough and how kids these days have it soft. Well, if the old fart remembers the 1960s, then they can't possibly think things are any softer today--and this episode of "Dragnet" is a great example. In it, there is a punk 17 year-old who quickly graduates from stealing cars to murder. And, at the end of the show, the little darling is sentenced as a juvenile--and being committed to the juvenile system. At most, he probably stayed in jail until 21. Four years for a murder!? Today, any 15 or 16 year-old committing a similar crime would most likely be charged as an adult--particularly if they have various other serious charges against them.