“Fear City” Footage at Global ImageWorks

They called it Fear City. Gritty selections of crime scenes, drug busts, and arrest footage from Global ImageWorks archive bring to life the New York of the 70s and 80s. This incredible footage—shot by freelance videographers with unfettered access—captures the inner workings of the NYPD during an era when the city appeared to be on the brink of collapse.

This large collection includes footage of investigations, interiors of precincts and a wide assortment of police vehicles. It also includes footage of ambulance crews rushing the injured to hospitals, firefighters contending with record-high arson rates, and city mortuary technicians transporting the least fortunate crime victims.

One example of this unique footage is the 1985 arrest of former New York Yankee Joe Pepitone on drug and firearm possession charges. It captures a plain-clothes police officer speaking frankly—in a time before police brass limited journalists’ access to the rank and file—about arresting one of his favorite players.

Whether you are searching for a close-up of a spent bullet casing, a detective dusting for fingerprints, a holding cell in a police precinct, or an ambulance from a long-defunct New York City hospital, this collection has it and much, much more.