Mystery man, I find it funny that the two shows I am currently watching on Hulu are Dragnet and Rockford Files.
And yes, Dragnet IS - or, more accurately, was - pro-police. Having watched both Dragnet and Adam-12 when they originally came out, I was aware that both shows had a purpose to introduce the public to the "new" police. The Supreme Court's Miranda decision was handed down in 1966 - check that date against when Dragnet first aired. If you watch movies from before the 60s you will definitely get a feel for how the police (in general) went about their work. And that is the image that Friday was fighting against in the minds of the people he was talking to in the beginning of this episode. After Miranda, police had many more controls placed upon how they did their jobs - no more tying a guy to a chair in a dark room and beating the truth out of him, for example.
Dragnet and Adam-12 were attempts to show the viewing public that the "new" police were on their side now. I'm sure that the didacticism of many Dragnet episodes comes through - sometimes over the top - but these shows were, in essence, an introductory class, in the form of entertainment, so that people throughout the US could see the new police in action, and develop a comfort level with them without actually having to interact with the police.
So, yes - Dragnet is definitely pro-police. Pro -new police, to be precise. At the same time, it is anti-old police.   See 5 other replies

Indeed, Dragnet is shamelessly pro-police. It must be balanced with The Rockford Files.   See 5 other replies

In another episode, a policeman is suspended because he backhanded a drunk who ripped his badge off his shirt while spitting abuse, calling him a pig, etc. The cop's actions were understandable, but by department standards, inexcusable. Friday's comment on this was that whereas the policeman did wrong, unfortunately "we have to recruit from the human race". Then, as now, the police are human. But that they must be held to the highest standards was firmly upheld in the Dragnet paradigm.   See 5 other replies

As I understand it, Jack Webb wanted to portray the police as mostly good public servants who are misunderstood and underappreciated. The show was mostly trying to say that, for the most part, policemen are our friends. He didn't want to dwell on the bad apples, but there are a few episodes where he did show that once in a while you will run into a bad cop and that they get taken care of by the system (fired or otherwise straightened-out).As I said elsewhere, Dragnet was meant to be a civics lesson.   See 5 other replies

Well gale, I guess you only watched the first three minutes, didn't you? Why do you try watching the whole episode, instead of "putting your foot in your mouth". Maybe, just maybe you would learn something.   See 5 other replies