The Sweeney (2012 film) Squad's purpose is to investigate commercial armed robberies, along with the prevention and investigation of other serious armed crime. The title is derived from "Sweeney Todd", which is Cockney rhyming slang for "Flying Squad". The film was released on 12 September 2012. Flying Squad officers Detective Inspector Jack Regan (Ray Winstone) and Detective Constable George Carter (Ben Drew) arrive at the scene of a warehouse robbery; four armed men are attempting to steal gold bars. After Regan and Carter capture the robbers, Regan takes some of the gold bars to give to his informant Harry (Alan Ford). Detective Chief Inspector
The Sweeney two-year gap between the third and fourth series while the team made two full-length feature films ("Sweeney!" and "Sweeney 2") to cash-in on the show's popularity. For the fourth series there were several changes, including a different title sequence and DCI Haskins being absent from a number of episodes. The final series has been criticised as the weakest. This decline in quality led John Thaw and Dennis Waterman to the realisation that the show was in danger of running out of steam, and to take the decision to end it while it was still at the peak of its popularity.