"Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to see is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." This underwent minor revisions over time. The "only" and "ladies and gentlemen" were dropped at some point, and for the television version "hear" was changed to "see". Familiar first lines to a familiar Radio/TV program = Dragnet, and its star, Sergeant Joe Friday.

Created in 1951 by Jack Webb, the stories, and catch phrases, became part of the US life. Jack Webb also was the star of the show, along with his partner, Frank Smith (Ben Alexander), later Joe Gannon (Harry Morgan), solved real-life crimes of Los Angeles with a television twist. The various actors of the show were not allowed to truly act, only using a deadpan style - "Just the facts, ma'am." The clothing was also drab, even when the show went to color.

Badge 714 and other badges, as well as ID cards, were actual Los Angeles Police Department issue. The case files, too, were actual crimes within the LAPD files.

Badge 714 was retired by the city of Los Angeles when Jack Webb died in 1982.

More Info: www.imdb.com