Two classic cases from Dragnet, featuring Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday and Ben Alexander as his partner Frank Smith.

Friday and Smith are assigned to investigate a substantial series of thefts from a Hollywood clothing store. Thousands of dollars in merchandise have disappeared, but there are few obvious clues pointing to how the goods are getting out of the building.

The detectives begin doing what Dragnet does best: checking backgrounds, questioning employees and patiently following the evidence until attention begins focusing on someone within the store operation.

It's classic Joe Friday detective work, where persistence and good police procedure prove far more useful than flashy heroics.

Originally broadcast February 2, 1954.

This episode takes Dragnet into considerably more heartbreaking territory.

Friday and Smith become involved in the case of children who have apparently been abandoned by their alcoholic mother. Instead of pursuing robbers or hardened criminals, the officers confront the human consequences of alcoholism, neglect and a family in crisis.

The detectives must locate the missing mother while making certain the children are protected, providing a reminder that real police work often placed officers face-to-face with personal tragedies that might never make the front page.

Jack Webb stars as Sergeant Joe Friday with Ben Alexander as Frank Smith. The production was created and produced by Jack Webb, with the unmistakable Dragnet musical atmosphere associated with Walter Schumann.

Two very different cases, one involving theft and the other a troubled family, demonstrate exactly why Dragnet became one of radio's most influential crime dramas.