EachweekviewersseethegrittyrealityoflifeinaNewYorkCityPoliceunitastheofficersgoabouttheirworkwithagrimdetermination.Twopartners,DetectivesAndySipowiczandJohnKelley(laterreplacedbyBobbySimone),arethecentralcharactersinthisweeklypolicedrama,andpersonifyverydifferentapproachestotheirdifficultjob.Sipowicz'sbrashgruffness(coveringanemotionalvulnerability)istemperedbythepreciseandcontrolleddemeanorofthetwopartnerswithwhomhehasworked.
