Richard Herd was demoted from credited series regular to special guest star. Herd as Capt. Sheridan had appeared in every episode in Seasons 1 and 2, but would only appear in 6 of the 22 in Season 3. His character would leave after appearing in 3 episodes in Season 4, with his last one being Anatomy of a Killing (1984).
New season, new video montage during the opening credits. Some things haven't changed: officers driving police cars don't use seatbelts nor do they use turn signals prior to turning at a corner or changing lanes. Another change: the four leads spend more time in civilian clothes than in uniforms.