On Peter Gunn character Lt. Jacoby used to rely on Gunn's "friends in low places" who gave precise and accurate information for a few dollars.
The factual element is some real life Chicago police are too stupid to do it right.
Elsewhere, some mistaken addrsess shooting of a place next door in some city was in the news a while ago. And locally police shot some rounds that went through the thin apartment walls and hurt the innocent neighbors and the cops found out the original bad guy listed at the first apartment was actually out of town, anyway. Be careful, guys.