Casting includes some ethnic diversity, such as black officer Jim Carver (Brian Bovell) and the introduction of WPC Jamila Blake (Lolita Chakrabarti, of South Asian descent), alongside female characters like Sgt June Ackland, which reflects the organic demographics of 1990s London Metropolitan Police rather than forced DEI quotas or identity politics. Diane Parish appears as Eva Sharpe in a recurring capacity, but not as a central activist figure.

Plotlines occasionally touch on social issues, like a PC accused of racism after arresting a black suspect (Episode 'And Nothing But'), assaults on an Asian schoolboy, or gender dynamics in 'A Woman's Place' where Ackland pushes policy changes, but these are incidental case-of-the-week elements integrated into standard crime stories—muggings, drugs, murders, immigration—without centering systemic oppression, critiques of traditional norms, or identity exploration. No LGBTQ+ representation, gender fluidity, or lectures on social justice drive the narrative, character arcs, or premise.

The show's gritty realism prioritizes entertainment and procedural authenticity, earning praise for balancing social issues lightly without preachiness. Early criticisms came from police for portraying them as racist, not from audiences decrying wokeness, and no modern backlash labels it 'woke.' This traditional approach delivers pure entertainment free from contemporary ideological intrusions.