Paul Cutter is a Captain with the Metro-Dade Police Department. In 1976, he was working with fellow Detective James "Sonny" Crockett when Crockett was shot on duty, an incident neither officer has forgotten, though Cutter still replays it in his mind while Crockett has moved on, but Crockett still harbors ill feelings toward him. In 1989, Cutter had worked his way up to Captain, operating several special police groups such as anti-terrorism, anti-gang, etc., when he began a new project, the Young Criminals Unit (YCU), a team of younger police officers who can blend in more easily with the younger criminal element (like college, bars, etc.). His team consisted of Ray Mundy, Jack Andrews, and Tania Louis, and Crockett brought in his young protege Joey Hardin to the team, as both were working