A group of police officers are picked to join a special investigative team based out of the 21 Jump Street headquarters. They are primarily chosen based on their youthful looks and ability to go undercover. The officers infiltrate high schools and colleges to investigate and solve a variety of crimes. Subjects include all the pertinent topics and issues facing the youth of America in the late 1980s including drugs, gangs, hate crimes, racism, alcohol abuse, peer pressure, and the like.