The search is on for four young men to ""crew"" the new cars in the tough and troubled district of Newtown, a North of England overspill estate. A mixed community, displaced from the larger towns by slum clearance, has been brought together and housed on an estate without amenities.

A girl disappears, and Steele and Lynch are faced by a conspiracy of silence in her broken family.

An explosion in a quarry disturbs two lovers. It also disturbs Detective Sergeant John Watt when he finds out what caused it.

A wounding case brings top brass into Victor Division to investigate. Lynch and Steele work overtime to find the villain.

When the whalers hit Seaport after a good season Smith and Weir have their work cut out to keep trouble to a minimum.

""It's going to be one of those nights"", pronounced Sgt. Percy Twentyman, and he wasn't far wrong. Steele and Lynch have to cope with the aftermath of a traffic accident in which a drunken driver has killed a motor cyclist and his pillion passenger. Small time felon Grandpa Maddigan blows up the safe in the Gas Company office, Watt and DCS Robins are hot on the trail of the notorious Comber gang, and Twentyman himself gets more than he bargained for when he tries to break up a free-for-all in the Tabernacle pub.

The crew of Z-Victor One waste no time in arriving at the scene of a burglary. Their reward is to be suspected of theft themselves.

When two feuding families go to war Lynch and Steele find themselves in the front line.

The report of a burning barn takes Smith and Weir into the country, searching for a fire-raiser.

In Victor Division the police often live next door to unruly members of the community. Bob and Janey Steele find that this can have unpleasant, even dangerous, consequences.

What is a mysterious stranger from Soho doing in Victor Division? John Watt would like to know, and keeps a close watch on him. Smith and Weir are heavily involved in the tracking down of money previously stolen in a mailbag robbery. Both events are triggered by a successful jail break.

A young man risks his life to save that of an accident victim trapped under an overturned road tanker, then disappears quietly. One of the bystanders, a retired army officer, pesters Barlow to trace the man and see that he gets the recognition he deserves. Barlow eventually finds the reluctant hero, only to discover that he is an army deserter wanted by the Military Police!

When a case of murder is reported Lynch and Steele are the first policemen on the scene. But the main responsibility for organising the hunt for the killer falls on Barlow, whose toughness is backed by vast experience and an intuitive mind.

Smith and Weir answer a call and find an abandoned baby. They bring it along to the station, where Inspector Dunn is in charge in Barlow's absence.

Lynch and Steele have their hands full when a gang of boys break into a school and smash up the headmaster's study. But the hooliganism doesn't stop there. When they are disturbed by the caretaker the oldest member of the gang attacks him and leaves him seriously injured.

When a gas meter is broken into in a big block of flats Weir and Smith think their hunt is only for a petty thief. What they encounter, though, is someone much more dangerous.

A drunk causes a disturbance, two thieves break into a pet shop - and Steele and Lynch end the night at knife-point.

Weir stops a car driving without lights, the first event in a night which brings 'important' people in the county to Newtown police station.

A race track tout forgets to pay his alimony, and Steele and Lynch discover an ingenious fraud to beat the bookies.

It's a busy night for Smith, Weir and Sergeant Watt when burglary is rife.

At Pete's Caff Steele and Lynch report ""off watch for refreshments"". While they are eating and talking to Steele's friend Les Fielding his lorry is hi-jacked.

Fancy Smith first meets Stan Carron in the Tabernacle pub where Carron is causing a disturbance. They have an argument. The second time they meet Carron is in no state to argue and Smith starts a long night's work.

For two years Barlow has been trying to catch a Newtown thief. When DCS Robins takes a personal interest the pressure is on for everyone - particularly Steele and Lynch.

A charabanc outing, a halt at a pub and an exponent of the three-card trick: this is how a day at the seaside begins. It ends in violence.

Two men claim the same prize and trouble begins. When Lynch and Steele are called there is an unexpected development and a policeman dies.

The prospect of a 'finder's reward' in a dockland smuggling case makes Smith and Weir eager volunteers for extra duty.

Just when the crime figures are levelling out one man pushes them up and up with a series of aimless break-ins. When Steele and Lynch lay hands on him but let him escape Barlow, Watt and Dunn are ready to lay hands on them!

Catching a thief is only the beginning as far as the police are concerned. When Smith and Weir have to justify their action in court the truth is made to look slightly less than the whole truth.

Barlow is investigating a case of assault. Betty Ancoats accuses four youths of attacking her, but one of them, Hogan, who has a reputation for violence, denies any knowledge of the crime.

We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.

Barlow initiates a campaign against the Cruddock brothers and their gang. The Z-Cars engage in 'Operation Harassment' and a state of total war develops.

Both crews are forced to realise the narrow margin between life and death on a busy night in which Barlow and Twentyman miss one crime and catch two criminals.

A pretty girl out alone and late at night leads Steele and Lynch to a robbery and to a tearaway more dangerous than any they have encountered before.

The violent death of a small shopkeeper brings Supt. Miller into Victor Division and into conflict with Barlow, who has his own solution to offer.

Z-Victor Two gets an alarm call to a jeweller's shop. Sgt. Watt gets the information that leads to an arrest, but the case is not as simple as it seems.

The trail of a walk-in thief leads Smith and Weir to a locked room in Newtown and on to a night in Blackpool - but not to see the illuminations!

Lynch and Steele investigate a break-in at a factory where the night watchman has been attacked and injured. They bring in a man the Newtown police have long wanted to see behind bars. But bringing him in is one thing, keeping him in is another.

A neat operation in car stealing begins to go wrong when the thief tries mixing business with pleasure.

Johnny attacks a man in a pub - the wrong man. Steele and Lynch have to find him before he finds the right man.

Dick Davis comes out of Walton jail and immediately plans his first job. But after two years in prison Davis cannot match the quality of his planning with the quality of his new accomplices.

Detective Superintendent Miller, aggressive as ever, leads the local Newtown force as they attempt to find a man who has attacked several young girls.

Hilda Simmons reports that her car has been stolen. But she omits to tell the police that the man who took it is her husband. Smith and Weir have the task of rounding up the 'thief' only to find that the charge has been withdrawn. However, Sgt. Watt recognises Simmons of old, and soon tumbles to what is happening.

Lynch and Steele are called to a pub fight. Who started it? As Geraghty said: ""Hollis is always starting fights. Too clever for himself this time, though - far too clever"".

A London gang move north. They plan a short and profitable visit to Newtown. Smith and Weir spend a busy night trying to cut down their profits and lengthen their stay.

A quantity of drink and five suits are missing. Steele and Lynch spend a long night looking for the drink while the rest of the Newtown police are at the Christmas party.

When a child is reported missing on Christmas Day Smith and Weir are first in what becomes a countrywide hunt for him. They search all day and into the night in a desperate attempt to find him.

Arrest usually pile up at night - except in this case that involves a safe, the Army, a divorce and a potted plant.

Eddie plays the trumpet badly and on the streets, so his contacts with the police are frequent. This time, however, there is more than music involved.

Export cigarettes are being imported into the Newtown area. Lynch and Steele pick up some fag-ends of information.

A casual lift as the rain pours down - and for Winnie Parker it means a drive of terror. Her kindness in persuading her husband to pick up a hitch-hiker puts her in danger and gives a long night of anxiety and work for Smith and Weir.

Bob Steele is late for work. And because of this he becomes accidentally involved in a case concerning a petty thief. He is going through the town's shopping centre when a middle-aged woman comes running out of one of the stores, closely pursued by a security guard. She has apparently been shoplifting. But what seems at first sight to be a 'simple case' confronts Steele with the biggest decision of his life. (This was Jeremy Kemp's last appearance as PC Bob Steele.)

The act is sudden, brutal and corroding. The problem facing Barlow is what the victim has done to warrant it.

Lynch goes out on patrol with PC Dave Graham, the former dog-handler who has been chosen to replace Bob Steele. With Lynch missing the companionship of Steele, the relationship between the new pair is not easy. They quickly run into trouble - with each other and with a pair of thieves with an ear to police business.

Cock-fighting is cruel, bloody and illegal. Its promoters have to work in secret, and so do the police in trying to catch the perpetrators.

The trail of counterfeit notes begins in a chemist's shop. Following it is more complicated than Lynch and Graham would ever have believed.

The men want the new club to be peaceful and palatial. John Watt's concern is with the way it is being financed and furnished.

A serious crime has to be reported to Headquarters. Barlow's main worry is that the crime may not have been committed at all.

In an attempt to improve the crime statistics Barlow has Smith and Weir devoting valuable time to the theft of a bicycle lamp and John Watt is set to clear up an affair of lead castings pilfered from a factory. Both seem trivial, but Barlow thinks that they are worth some trouble - and as usual he is proved right in the end.

Despite all the anger and resentment they arouse nothing must deflect Inspector Bamber from the most difficult enquiries of his career - into suspicions that Victor Division contains a policeman who is a thief.

Glossop is a name all too familiar to Newtown CID. His record includes larceny, assault, shopbreaking, gaming and assault on police. So when he escapes from prison and is reported to be back in Newtown Barlow makes it his personal business to find him. But knowing Glossop's reputation, the informers are reluctant to talk.

A big bump in the night and the hunt for the safebreakers is on. But the safebreakers are hunting too - for the expert.

Only when the birds have flown does Z-Victor One get called to the Atlantic Hotel, where a man and woman are wanted for not paying their bill. Barlow has to set snares to catch them.

A mailbag robbery in Newtown and Barlow is in his element as the masterly organiser at the centre of operations. He sends Lynch and Graham to set up a road block, chivvies John Watt into scouting for information and reminds Sgt. Blackitt of the golden rule: ""Can't afford to let things stop or get bogged down"".

""Crimes like this, there's always two, always. I've never known it otherwise"". And DCS Robins is talking about murder.

A vicious bunch of thugs and a young couple in love. Lynch and Graham are involved with both while their own working relationship reaches flash point. PC Sweet and the relative newcomer DC Hicks also get caught up in the action.

The alarm rings and the police dash to the scene. This is the reflex action a clever crook can calculate on - except when PC Jock Weir decides to take charge.

It's the night after a big rugby football match. Lynch and Graham get a surprise when they are sent to investigate a spot of trouble at a pub on the Newtown to Seaport road, for there they find Jock Weir. He is having a drink with friends to celebrate playing on the winning side, but with the arrival of Lynch and Graham the evening turns out to be anything but a happy one.

Fancy Smith's devotion to duty takes him, on his night off, to visit a young offender's father, with results that make him bitterly and furiously angry.

The crew of a merchant ship about to dock at Seaport are looking forward to shore leave. They have money to burn and an itch to burn it in Rosie's Club. When a smallpox scare leads to all leave being stopped, two sailors have other ideas and sneak ashore. Lynch and Graham have to find them to prevent a possible smallpox epidemic.

Cattle are identified by marks on their ears. Sgt. Watt and Z-Victor One have to find their own way of identifying the people responsible for a large-scale fraud.

In soccer mad Newtown tickets for the big match are at a premium. Everyone wants to go, villains and police alike. Con man Johnson has eight tickets to distribute to people who might be useful to him, but mistakenly hands them to Paddy, a fixer who has his own ideas about who to give them to. Lynch and Graham also have tickets and are on their way to the stadium when they come into violent contact with a gang of men in a stolen lorry.

A team of pickpockets and the attempt to track them down leads Jock Weir into serious trouble with the public and with the Chief Constable.

The Coroner's demand for the presence of a witness sends Smith and Weir to a lonely cottage, to be greeted with a kind of violence even they do not expect.

An attempted burglary and a hit-and-run accident - PC Lynch sees the connection first. Proving it is a job for the whole of Victor Division.

Two arrests, two court cases - and also two people, in one of whom Fancy Smith takes a personal interest.

Chief Inspector Barlow is known locally as something of a gourmet, but not even the chef believes that he is interested only in food.

The bang is loud in the night. The conspiracy of silence which follows is more sinister. When an explosion destroys Bill Webster's betting shop CID runs up against a blank wall. No clues and there is nobody willing to talk. Webster himself stubbornly maintains it was an accident, but Barlow is convinced there is a connection between the explosion and the fact that Webster intends to compete with his rivals by opening more shops in the area.

PCs Lynch and Graham find that a quiet night can be just as busy as any other, but for some of the people they encounter it is also a night of tragedy.

A slight collision between two cars, a bad-tempered blow, and a young man finds himself involved in serious trouble - both for himself and for those close to him.

A young rookie constable cannot hold his liquor. In his cups he reveals the whereabouts of a 'safe house' holding a vital witness, with disastrous consequences.

An outbreak of thefts from offertory boxes, a flood of dud cheques - and Victor Division's crime figures begin to soar. Barlow and Watt try to identify a petty criminal with an interest in churches.

Lynch and Graham investigate a domestic tragedy. And for Barlow there's the urgent problem of saving a man's life.

Complaints about a fast-moving, fast-talking door-to-door salesman give Weir and Smith a busy day, while Sgt. Watt prepares the trap.

When a Newtown pillar box begins to belch smoke Graham's first reaction is that someone has been posting red hot love letters. But by the time thirteen pillar boxes have been burned out he and Lynch are on the trail of an unusual kind of pyromaniac. Meanwhile Sgt. Watt is keeping an eye on Oliver Snow, a visitor from London who goes out of his way to be offensive.

Freddy Milligan is servinga prison sentence for robbery with violence. With six weeks of his sentence to run, he is given compassionate parole to attend his wife's funeral. He fails to report back, and the Newtown police get the job of bringing him in.

A report of breaking and entering at Mallory Hall and soon Lord Tenterden's home is swarming with policemen from the ACC right down to Fancy Smith. The thieves have taken something far more valuable than the money they were after. Is espionage involved?

A case of shoplifting, the disappearance of 3,000 bricks and some unbuilt houses give Barlow and the boys in Z-Victor One a busy day.

Dave Graham is used to sorting out the problems of other people, but only as a policeman. He finds it much more difficult to cope with a crisis in his own home.

Some crimes are solved by logic. Barlow finds one but Smith and Weir look like upsetting him in their persistent search for a stolen purse.

On Christmas Eve Lynch and Graham are as full of goodwill to all men as any police officers can be - with a garage robbery to deal with and other people's celebrations getting in the way.

The revelry of New Year's Eve has its normal problems for the Newtown police and its special opportunities for a lone marauder in the streets. Sgt. Blackitt, leaving PC Sweet on the desk, is on the beat himself for a change. Down by the canal is a nurse from the Cottage Hospital and she is out on a cold night without a cloak over her uniform.

When a happy-go-lucky thief refuses to confess to a simple breaking and entering job Barlow continues enquiries. This starts an avalanche of evidence and soon Barlow fears that everyone in Newtown is implicated somewhere along the line.

It can't possibly be blackmail - the old lady seems much too innocent and can have nothing to hide. But Lynch and Graham are sure that something has happened and Barlow decides to set a trap.

Weir finds that being a policeman doesn't stop when he goes off duty, particularly as his girl friend Sally has shady connections.

A chance encounter is soon forgotten by Lynch and Graham. But remembering a face becomes vital when Barlow orders a search for missing money - and a missing man.

Barlow loses a case against a known criminal. He believes the man is guilty but he is ordered to re-investigate the crime and finds a problem he doesn't want to face.

A mysterious meeting at a sports pavilion attracts the attention of Z-Victor Two. John Watt investigates. When a sharp warning to a friend is unheeded Watt finds himself at the centre of hostilities.

Barlow's attendance at a police conference starts a spring cleaning at Newtown station. But the arrest of an elderly drunk by Smith and Weir upsets the efficiency drive.

When a seemingly harmless practical joke goes wrong and leads to a disturbance Lynch finds himself involved in a very personal problem.

When a young offender escapes from custody he is seen hiding on a roof and DC Hicks is detailed to bring him down.

When Josh Tansfield tries to make a deal with the police John Watt is worried - but Barlow gets the best of a good bargain.

A mother finds her schoolboy son in possession of pornographic photographs. Then the lad goes missing and Smith and weir have the job of finding him. Meantime Barlow tracks down the source of the photographs. John Watt deals with his marital problems. JOSS ACKLAND appears here as the villain: four years later he became a cast regular as DI Todd.

A mail van raid - a quick getaway - and no description of the raiders. When an easy arrest is made Barlow finds a new angle on the 'inside job'.

The search area is wide and time is short - for Barlow is in charge of a murder enquiry for the first time. He places his faith in two seemingly harmless questions.

'Punchy' Palmer is not too bright. When he tries to help Newtown police it isn't easy to know what is truth and what is daydreams. In this guesswork lies the answer to a series of crimes.

Two children are the only witnesses of a robbery. It seems that the men concerned will get away with it - until Barlow takes over.

Old Eli Mosscrop was once the best spiderman in the north. Now no-one will employ him. When he tries to show his skill he makes a problem for John Watt, who has no head for heights.

It is a routine job - a break-in at a jeweller's shop. But Barlow believes the owner is in danger.

A brutal mid-afternoon shooting in the middle of a shopping area leaves a store full of people dumbfounded and the Newtown police force shaking its head in disbelief.

A baby is taken from a pram near a bingo hall. Graham and Lynch are involved in a long search.

A wrist-watch and a camera. Not unusual gifts for a twenty-first birthday, but they make a busy Saturday for Smith and Weir and upset a wedding.

Frank Wood is a homosexual, unable to go to the police when a man sets out to blackmail him. If he does go to the police he faces trial, possible conviction, even prison, not to mention local scandal and the end of his business career.

Arty Timmins is out of jail. Chief Supt. Robins put him away when he was an Inspector and Sgt. Blackitt was a constable. With Barlow away on a course Robins makes it his personal business to keep a close watch on one of the hardest characters ever to cross his path. For there are three citizens of Newtown who, even after ten years, have good cause to be frightened.

When Danny Sullivan, boisterous and irresponsible, returns to Newtown Z-Victor Two is alerted. When he goes into the used car business there is trouble.

Smith and Weir are called to a disturbance in a tenement block. An unemployed black man has attacked a bailiff with an axe, then barricaded himself in his flat with his wife and children. Barlow is called and eventually persuades the man to come out, whereupon he is promptly arrested. It looks like an open and shut case of attempted murder, but Barlow is not satisfied. Later that evening Smith and Weir find the man's wife and children sleeping in a bus shelter: they have been evicted without notice.