The film follows the members of the Kansas City Police Department, who are largely white, as they engage in daily patrol activities, interacting with members of the public. The scope of their activities is broad, ranging from bringing a lost child to the police station to making arrests.

Initially set on making an anti-cop film, Frederick Wiseman came face-to-face with gray areas of justice, encounters that resulted in a maturation of his nondidactic style. Contrasting absolute power with abject poverty, this vital film frames police brutality within racial and social inequalities.