After the city is taken over by an unknown gang, Chief Hurst gives Captain Pete Lassard thirty days to turn his department around and rid the city of criminals. Lassard is given permission to hire six new officers to achieve his mission. Behind his back, Lieutenant Mauser is told he can take over the role of captain if Lassard fails. Captain Lassard telephones his brother, Commandant Eric Lassard, who runs a Police Academy, and asks him to send over six recruits. Officers Laverne Hooks, Doug Fackler, Eugene Tackleberry, Hightower, Larvell Jones, and Carey Mahoney arrive at the 16th Precinct, and the captain explains their mission to identify gang members, find their hideout, and arrest them. The rookies are paired with partners, and set out to patrol the streets. Tackleberry is unhappy with his new partner, Kathleen Kirkland, and lets his disappointment be known. Elsewhere, a local business owner, Mr. Sistrunk, is robbed at gunpoint by two thugs. Mahoney and his partner, Dooley, witness the crime. They radio for backup, but Lt. Mauser orders them to enter the building on their own. However, the other recruits arrive on the scene, and engage in a bumbling shoot-out with each other. The gang members continue to terrorize the community, and vandalize a grocery store. Drinking at a bar after hours, Tackleberry tells Mahoney about his developing feelings for his partner, Kirkland, and admits to being a virgin. Sometime later, Lt. Mauser gives Mahoney a menial assignment monitoring the carbon monoxide levels inside a traffic tunnel. Mahoney plays a prank on Mauser, exchanging Epoxy for his shampoo, causing Mauser’s hands to get stuck in his hair. To free his hands, Mauser is forced to cut his hair, and wear a wig to cover the bald spots. Captain Lassard chases gang members into an alley, but is ambushed and covered in spray paint by the thugs. He returns to the station, fired up, and demands the officers catch the crooks. Officers Larvell and Hightower each single-handedly fight and arrest several gang members, and Lassard celebrates their forty-two arrests. However, Lt. Mauser sabotages the captain and releases the inmates, citing unnecessary use of force by the officers. Mahoney retaliates by sending a nurse to give Mauser a cavity search. Sometime later, Takleberry takes Kirkland on a date. At the end of the night, they profess their love for each other. Lassard blames his troubles on the new recruits, and asks his brother Eric for help. Eric suggests he throw a street fair to unite the community. The gang members arrive at the fair, and havoc ensues. Lassard quits his post, knowing that his job is on the line, and Mauser takes over as captain. Mauser demands to know who pulled the prank on him. Mahoney confesses, and is suspended from the police force. Lassard meets secretly with Mahoney at a bar, and asks him to go undercover to infiltrate the gang. Mahoney agrees, disguises himself as a thug named “Jughead,” and vandalizes a phone booth in front of gang members, Flacko and Mojo. They invite him to meet their leader, Zed, and to join their gang, the “Scullions.” After “Jughead’s” destructive behavior on the street, police arrive to arrest him, but Mahoney’s friend, Officer Larvell Jones, recognizes him, and keeps Mahoney’s identity a secret. Sometime later, Lassard tapes a toy microphone to Mahoney’s chest, and follows behind as he is driven by Flacko and Mojo to meet Zed at their hideout in an abandoned zoo. Lassard radios for backup, and officers rush to help. Mauser arrives at the zoo, and attempts to take over the operation from Lassard, but bungles the arrests. Inside an abandoned animal lair, Zed and Mahoney have a knife fight. As Zed flees, Lassard holds him at gunpoint and arrests him. The officers celebrate his capture, and welcome Lassard back as their captain. In time, everyone attends the wedding of Tackleberry and Kirkland.