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Clip description
Major Crime Squad members, including Jock Brennan (Paul Sonkkila), Ian Cochrane (Sean Scully), Lochie Renford (Andy Anderson) and Peter Faithful (Simon Westaway), plan and execute a raid on premises belonging to the brother-in-law of suspected armed robber Johnny Mercer (Christopher Stevenson). Not only do they succeed in gathering evidence they also find Mercer, who has been hiding out there.
Curator’s notes
In this clip we see an excellent example of the value of writing with a single focus. Alison Nisselle, co-creator of the series, in an interview in the Herald Sun, was adamant that the writing team were entirely objective. However, the viewer cannot help but conclude that Phoenix is unashamedly on the side of the front-line cops. The series is less sympathetic towards the obstacles presented by a hierarchy more interested in politics or magistrates more concerned with civil rights than solving crimes.
The police are not lionised but it is a matter of perspective and here we see it all from the point of view of the good guys. When detectives stretch the truth to get a warrant to break into a house, we’re on their side.
Note the hand-held camerawork that covers the raid. Before the early 1990s, video cameras were too large and bulky to handle movement such as this.
