In Miami, detectives Dom DeLuise as Ernie Fortunato, Luis Ávalos as Ramon, and Jerry Reed as Doug von Horne grow increasingly frustrated by their inability to convict the criminals they arrest. Their supervisor, Captain John Geiberger, played by Ossie Davis, brings in a fresh partner to the squad, Suzanne Pleshette as Louise Webster, hoping to sharpen their approach and expand their reach. The mood in the department deepens when Louise joins the team, and the detectives start to see a way forward through a more proactive, camera-driven sting operation.
One night, Doug spots Hymie, Sydney Lassick as Hymie, a fence dealing in stolen goods inside his pawn shop, and he makes the arrest that signals the beginning of a bold plan. The next morning, Doug proposes a bold scheme: set up a sting operation to trap criminals during their illegal transactions and record everything on a portable VHS videotape camera. Geiberger secures the police chief’s okay for the project, while cautioning them to keep the scheme quiet within the department and away from the press.
Inside Hymie’s pawn shop, the team tests the camera’s sound and positioning, refining how they’ll capture evidence on tape. For a while, the sting appears successful, and their footage starts to mount. Then trouble comes in waves: three criminals raid the pawn shop, taking the week’s earnings, and they even acquire a guard dog they name Jaws to protect their stash. The operation expands as a young boy arrives, trying to sell a dog for one hundred dollars to feed his baby sister, and the team chooses to help him with a generous payout.
Carmine, a ruthless mob boss Marc Lawrence as Carmine, interrupts the delicate balance of the sting by threatening Ernie and Doug for trespassing into their territory. As the operation continues, they deal with a colorful lineup of clients, from a gunrunner selling a revolver to an elderly Jewish woman looking for a toaster, and even a British couple attempting to sell marijuana. Louise and Ramon videotape from a distance, while Ernie and Doug are taken to a waterfront condominium construction site where the guns are stored, and the truth comes out: they are detectives. A tense shootout follows, and the gunrunners are arrested.
Carmine intensifies pressure, sending a dead fish wrapped in newspapers as a blunt warning. Yet the partners decide to press on, even resorting to re-selling some stolen items to stay in business and fund the operation. Geiberger bluntly scolds them for misusing police funds, but he cannot ignore the astonishing number of suspects they’ve recorded—171 to date. Back at the pawn shop, Louise notices a bomb concealed in one of the Cuban cigar boxes, planted by Carmine. The bomb is discarded, but not before it destroys Doug’s car, a sharp reminder of the danger surrounding their work.
As the operation reaches its climax, the team invites suspects to a party in hopes of making a mass arrest. Carmine appears unannounced with his enforcers and assaults Ernie and Doug, and the suspects step forward to defend them, sparking a larger confrontation. More officers arrive after Geiberger rings the precinct, and the mobsters, along with many suspects, are finally apprehended—about 250 in total, with 231 convictions recorded. The outcome brings a clear turn in the department’s fortunes: Ernie chooses not to retire and is promoted to lieutenant, becoming the new assistant director of the burglary task force. Doug, who has grown closer to Louise, begins a new relationship with her, and the couple eventually ties the knot, closing a chapter on a remarkable, camera-guided crackdown that reshaped their careers.
