Editing Adam-12 (section)

==Premise==
[[File:Kent McCord Martin Milner Edward Crawford Adam 12 1973.JPG|thumb|upright|A scene from an episode in which Malloy and Reed comfort a boy whose sister was the victim of a hit-and-run driver]]

Set in the [[Los Angeles Police Department]]'s Central Division, ''Adam-12'' follows police officers Pete Malloy ([[Martin Milner]]) and Jim Reed ([[Kent McCord]]) as they patrol Los Angeles. The plots of most episodes follow Malloy and Reed as they handle the various [[Call for service|calls for service]] that they are assigned to or come across, ranging from intense incidents such as [[Car chase|pursuit]]s, [[Police standoff|standoff]]s, [[shootout]]s, [[hostage-taking]]s, [[gang violence]], [[terrorism]], and [[Covert operation|undercover assignment]]s, to the mundane (and far more common) routine happenings like [[traffic stop]]s, disputes, [[Breach of the peace|disturbance]]s, [[narcotic]]s crimes, [[Driving under the influence|DUI]] arrests, fights, and [[theft]]s.

At the start of the series, Malloy, seeking to resign after the death of his previous partner, is assigned to [[Field training program|field train]] Reed, an inexperienced rookie. After Reed disobeys Malloy's orders but singlehandedly arrests a group of armed suspects during a high-risk shooting call, Malloy sees potential in Reed and decides to remain on the force to guide him through his nine-month [[probationary period]]. The first and second seasons are not chronological, with Reed's stated time in the LAPD varying in each episode. Starting with the third season, the series was organized chronologically, and Reed completed his probationary period, with him and Malloy remaining partners. Throughout the series, and especially in later seasons, Malloy and Reed began patrolling other divisions and working on different assignments (such as divisions assigned to patrol neighborhoods like [[Venice, Los Angeles|Venice]] and [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], [[Los Angeles Airport Police|airport detail]], [[LAPD Metropolitan Division|Metropolitan Division]], [[LAPD Air Support Division|Air Support Division]], and even desk duty), occasionally explained as them filling in for other officers or being part of police experience programs.  Malloy sometimes fills in for Sergeant William MacDonald as the watch commander in the show's final season. At the same time, Reed finds himself partnered with probationary officers, mirroring Malloy's original role as his [[field training officer]]. In the series finale, Reed receives the [[Los Angeles Police Medal of Valor|Medal of Valor]] for saving Malloy's life and completes an examination to become a [[detective]], while Malloy is set for a promotion to [[sergeant]].

The personal lives of Malloy and Reed came up on occasion and were often tied into their duties, though they rarely extended past conversations, episode subplots, or brief scenes. Malloy is a bachelor who has at least five girlfriends (not simultaneously) over the course of the series. Reed is married to a woman named Jean (played by several actresses, including Mikki Jamison and [[Kristin Nelson]]); in the second season, they are shown to have a son, Jim Jr. (or Jimmy). Occasionally, Malloy and Reed are depicted socializing outside their work, but such scenes are rare. Although both characters are serious-minded and “by-the-book” officers, Malloy is more realistic when dealing with non-violent offenders while Reed is more rigid.

=== Vehicles ===
The police cars used in the series were central to the show; Webb "wanted the vehicle itself to be considered a character".<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Snauffe |first=Douglas |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PTRxMv8LQosC&q=Webb+wanted+the+vehicle+itself+to+be+considered+a+character+Adam-12&pg=PA51 |title=Crime television |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-275-98807-4 |page=52 |access-date=February 5, 2012}}</ref> As patrol officers, Malloy and Reed spent most of their time in their cruiser, and scenes set in or relating to their cruiser were central to the series. Most officers in the series drove recent-model [[Sedan (automobile)|sedans]], while Sergeant MacDonald always used a [[station wagon]] version of Adam-12's vehicle.

In the pilot episode, Adam-12 used a [[Plymouth Belvedere#1965–1967|1967 Plymouth Belvedere]]; for the rest of the first season, a [[Plymouth Belvedere#1968–1970|1968 Plymouth Belvedere]] was used instead, later updated to a 1969 Plymouth Belvedere for the second and third seasons. In the fourth season, Adam-12 used a [[Plymouth Satellite#Third generation (1971-1974)|1971 Plymouth Satellite]]. Starting with the fifth season, and for the rest of the series, Adam-12 used a [[AMC Matador#1972|1972 AMC Matador]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Appel |first1=Tom |title=The Cars of Adam 12 |url= https://blog.consumerguide.com/what-was-the-adam-12-car/ |work=Consumer Guide Automotive |date=June 16, 2016 |access-date=November 13, 2023}}</ref>

=== Title ===
"1-Adam-12" is an [[Los Angeles Police Department resources#Unit callsigns|LAPD call sign]] that combines three elements: the unit's patrol division, the type of patrol unit, and the daily assigned reporting district.

The "1" means the patrol car operates in Division 1 (Central Division), serving [[Downtown Los Angeles]].<ref name="1973 Annual Report">{{cite book |author=((City of Los Angeles)) |url= https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/19077NCJRS.pdf |title=Los Angeles Police Department Annual Report, 1973 |publisher=National Criminal Justice Reference Service |page=24 |access-date=March 15, 2014}}</ref> The LAPD assigns two-officer patrol units the letter "A"; in the [[APCO radiotelephony spelling alphabet|LAPD phonetic alphabet]], the letter "A" is spoken as "Adam".<ref name="LAPD Unit Designations">{{cite web |title=LAPD Unit Designations |url= http://www.continuepatrol.tvheaven.com/unit.htm |access-date=March 15, 2014 |work=1-Adam-12: Continue Patrol}}</ref><ref name="LAPD Phonetic Alphabet">{{cite web |last=Popleteev |first=Andrei |title=LAPD spelling alphabet |url= https://spellout.org/alphabetInfo?alphabet=en-lapd |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120613212402/http://spellout.org:80/alphabetInfo?alphabet=en-lapd |archive-date=June 13, 2012 |access-date=March 15, 2014 |website=spellout.org}}</ref> The "12" comes from the daily assigned reporting district, or [[Beat (police)|beat]]. Adam-12's "shop number"—a [[Fleet vehicle|fleet]] [[vehicle identification number]] custom to the [[Government of Los Angeles|city government]], located below the [[Seal of Los Angeles|city seal]] on the front doors—was "80817" on the Belvedere, "83012" on the Satellite, and "85012" on the Matador.

Though the "1-Adam-12" radio call sign identified it as a Central Division unit, the police station Malloy and Reed worked from belonged to [[LAPD Rampart Division|Rampart Division]], which serves sections west of Downtown and uses "2" as its prefix number.<ref name="1973 Annual Report" /> There was also never a standard patrol unit with the call sign of "1-Adam-12", as all LAPD reporting districts are odd-numbered.<ref>{{cite web |title=Los Angeles Police Department News Release Thursday, April 10, 2003 |url= http://www.lapdonline.org/april_2003/news_view/21376 |access-date=March 15, 2014 |website=LAPDOnline.org}}</ref>