The police are depicted as human and multi-dimensional characters. The bad guys are not purely evil. This leads to a responsible and realistic handling of violence. The producers understand that it is not necessary to show graphic scenes of violence in order to deal with violence in the show. Every act of violence portrayed in NYPD Blue is contextually appropriate.
Nothing is excessive, everything is realistic and the consequences are always shown.
NYPD Blue is close to a textbook example of how to deal with violent material. Others can benefit by studying its methods. Although nothing changed this season in terms of the way violence was depicted on NYPD Blue , several episodes were especially commendable for their exploration of violence committed by police officers while on the job. Typically, the only on-screen violence occurs when a detective, feeling the pressures of the job and pushed to his wit's end, occasionally crosses the line and physically abuses a suspect during interrogation. The man is suspected of slashing the face of Gina, one of the receptionists who works in the police station.