The Bill has been broadcasted on British television for many years now, it follows the Sun Hill police force in Canley, London. It was first broadcast on 16 October 1984 on ITV, at 8pm on weekly Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Bill is named after a slang term for the police. It was created by Geoff McQueen and was produced by Talkback Thames and its distributor was FremantleMedia Enterprises. The Bill is a Police/Crime drama series and gives its audience an insight to what the police have to deal and work with, along with what they do to solve crimes, from petty crimes to violent and dangerous crimes.
The extract opens to a scene beginning with a high angled shot viewing down on a rundown urban area with a pub on a street corner. The pub is a pastel yellow colour that helps to brighten its surroundings but is unsuccessful as it looks cheap and dingy. By the pub is an alley way, that we see a police car drive towards and through. The shot is then brought down to a mid shot, about eye level, to show a man and woman, DC Mickey Webb DC Jo Masters have just drove through the alley and bridge. The camera shot then changes to a long shot at a lower angle so we see the DC's walk towards the camera which then moves to a point of view shot. In this shot, there is a dead girl slumped against a metal fence at the beginning of another endless- looking alleyway. Eddie a CSE is crouching beside the body, where we see the DC Webb and Masters join to get updated on what Eddie has found. The camera shot then goes into an extreme close up of the girl's right arm where it looks like she has had an heroin overdose, which is explained by Eddie. These extreme close up then shows the butterfly tattoo on the same arm. Eddie then pulls away the collar of the girl's denim jacket to reveal a silver necklace with the letter "K". This therefore gives them some ideas which they can use to find out her identity. The shot is then at a lower angle, as thought the DC's are looking down at her and almost like we are looking through the girl's eyes. A point of view shot is then used which seems to be related to DC Masters as she then suggests that she recognizes the girl. As the DC's walk away, the shot is still at a low angle which shows how DC Master is still contemplating that she knows the girl, as we see her cast a confused glance. The audience then sees another POV shot which reinforces this idea as we see what she is looking at.
The narrative perspective is then cast over to two police constables (PC), a young man and woman who are questioning a witness; who happens to be the pub owner. We are shown the dark alleyway from an angle over both the police officers shoulders. The camera moves in a panning movement which shows the PCs faces and the pub owner. This could have been used as they are in the rest of the episode. There is a small bridge overhead which helps create a bleak location as there is not much direct light. The only colour seems to be coming from the police officers fluorescent yellow uniforms. In the background, the audience can hear diegetic noises in particular, police sirens. This makes the scene appear more realistic and more like an actual real life investigation is taking place. As the questioning continues DC Masters comes into the shot, where she talks to one of the PC for information, whilst keeping their backs to the pub owner.
The next shot is in the police offices, where a two person shot and close up shot are used. The two person shot shows the DC's looking through files as DC Masters goes with her instincts. The two shot could be used to show that they are colleagues, who work close and well together. They joke around when a possible victims photograph is shown as an extreme close up to the audience, reminding us that not all police work has to be serious. Consequently, DC Masters finds the girl's- "Kelly's" file she was looking for with the photograph looking similar to the girl on the investigation scene. Therefore, explaining for the letter "K" on her necklace.
Following the extract, the DC's walk around through the police station, past offices, which is shown through the tracking shot. The movement also seems to be mostly handheld which makes the characters seems rushed. Further, it could be to make us seem like we are there, joining/listening their conversation and walking with them. A mid shot through an office with slattered blinds is used, to suggest they are walking through the corridors of the police station. The camera switches from being in front, from inside the office to behind the characters. An example of when the camera is in front of the characters is when they are coming up the second flight of stairs. The viewer continues to follow the characters, being made to feel like one of them. The attention of the viewer is then increased as the character stop to discuss plans and procedures.
The next scene is then shown through a quick shot of a low angled shot of a skyscraper making us think that the police force has moved further into an urban city area. Diegetic noises are again used to give the sense of the location being nearer the city centre, as car horns are made. The shot then follows the PCs to an unknown woman sitting on some green, plastic crates, near a telephone box, near the side of a road. The shot looks to be a point of view shot as the woman explains (in a distressed manner) what and who she's waiting for. The reason why we are shown the PCs walk past a telephone box is then justified as the mother points out that Kelly rang her from there the night before.
It is then clear to both the PCs and audience that she is ''Kelly's'' mother. This is proved correct as she shows a photograph of an innocent and happy-looking young girl to the PCs as the audience is also shown it through an extreme close up shot. The PCs ask her daughters name, she replies "Kelly", where a mid shot shows the glance shared between the PCs, as this confirms that she is Kelly's mother. The low angle used whilst she talks makes her have more importance, possibly connoting that what she tells the PCs is vital and important information.
Towards to end of the extract, we are taken into an office in the police station. Further diegetic sounds are used, seeming to be ringing telephones and other technologies. The office has blue coloured walls which make it look cold, perhaps implying that the place is quite cold- due to the unpleasant crimes committed. There are grey-white blinds which are extremely common in offices as they allow means of privacy, which leads to the waiting room scene. The waiting room is relatively colourful, with the yellow walls, but the dull and plain furniture reminds you that you are not in the most welcoming of places. There is an over the shoulder shot as the mother is told about Kelly's death, directing the focus on Kelly's mothers face, as the other two characters are not shown, only DC Masters shoulder.
The representational issues put across in The Bill are based around the police forces colleagues and how the public is portrayed in the way they behave in different situations. For example, the females on the police force seems to be all good-looking and maybe too glamorous for the roles. The women seem to be just as dominant and capable at their jobs as the men on the force, as they joke around, which could viewed as cynical, as in the past, it would have been the opposite due to sexism.
The police force appear to be generally organized, which could be shown through the powerpoint presentation they have during the extract. The fact that DC Master recognizes "Kelly" suggests that some offenders make their mark on the police force. This is shown in fact a number of times, where many and different police officers seem to like the offenders because they have good personalities or have had similar experiences in their life. Everyone seems to have flaws so it is likely that police forces do too, for one, they would not solve every single crime, which makes them vulnerable.
Lastly, there are many youth issues shown through The Bill as there are many cases involving teenage and young adult showing interests in prostitution and drugs. The youth are shown as untrustworthy too as they do not usually tell the police force the truth, unless pressed and/or encouraged. In the episode I viewed, DC Masters splits from DC Webb to ask a young girl who claims to be 16 years old, but is obviously younger. The young girl tries to leave the room but Masters is quicker and guards the door. The shot is at quite a high angle resulting in us looking down upon her. The audience for that reason sympathises for her as this position she is enclosed in is quite threatening and she has no escape. The idea of her trying to get away from her life before is then created as she is having to try to escape once again.
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