UM/AMW-type show from the early 1980s

[Kane]

A few days ago, I was skimming through the book The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable Shows, and discovered that there was a show from the early 1980s that was similar to UM and America's Most Wanted. The name of the show was Counterattack: Crime In America.

The one-hour series was hosted by George Kennedy (of Naked Gun fame), and aired on ABC on Sundays at 7:00 PM (Eastern Time). It featured reenactments of actual crimes, as well as a national telephone hotline to call if viewers had information about a case presented on the show. It was produced in cooperation with a California organization called WeTip (which had a similar statewide hot line).

Because it was a short-lived series, one can be excused for not having ever heard of it. Counterattack: Crime In America lasted only a few weeks in May of 1982.

Needless to say, the series predated UM and America's Most Wanted. It was on five years before the start of UM, and six years before the start of AMW.