a system of coordinated measures for apprehending (criminals or other individuals); "caught in the police dragnet"

Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from an actual police term, a dragnet, meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.

A dragnet is any system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects; including road barricades and traffic stops, widespread DNA tests, and general increased police alertness. The term derives from a fishing technique of dragging a fishing net across the sea bottom, or through a promising area of open water.

"Dragnet," the instrumental theme song from the radio and television show of the same name, was composed by Miklós Rózsa as part of his score for the 1946 film version of The Killers; it was modified by Walter Schumann for the show. A 1953 recording of the tune by Ray Anthony became a popular music chart hit (reaching #2 on Billboard). The song, also known as "Danger Ahead" and the "Dragnet March", was later covered by the band Art of Noise to become the theme song for the 1988 film based on the TV show.

Dragnet is a 1987 film starring Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Dabney Coleman, Harry Morgan, and Alexandra Paul. Acting as both a parody and homage to the long-running Dragnet television series, Aykroyd plays a very-accurate Joe Friday (nephew of the late Joe Friday from the series) while Hanks plays Pep Streebeck, his brand-new and very unconventional partner. Harry Morgan reprises his role of Bill Gannon (partner of Joe's late uncle), now their captain.