As Malloy kicks in the door at Mrs. Filmore's house, the trees in the background above the fence seem to be a painted backdrop in the studio rather than real trees. Moments later, when Mrs. Filmore arrives, an entirely different painted tree backdrop is used.
Following the first meeting with Mrs. O'Neill at the bus stop, Malloy and Reed drive up Riverton Avenue and turn right onto Valley Spring Lane. They next turn right onto Satsuma Avenue where the Rio Vista school is located. They are next seen making a left, again onto Satsuma Avenue from Whipple St, which is now coming from the opposite direction.
When Malloy is talking with the older gentleman who was robbed by his nephew, Malloy calls him by his name, but the man had never given his name. Even if the neighbor who called in the disturbance gave his name, the dispatcher never gave it to the officers.
The thief jumps through a closed double-hung window, leaving large shards. He should have been badly cut, but doesn't even have a scratch.
Reed and Malloy were seen driving in their unit when making the first child report when, since time is a factor in missing child cases, it should have been reported immediately upon receiving a description so all units are alerted and looking expeditiously.
Malloy was wrong: reasonable force would not include deadly force when confronting a car burglar unless, as Fredrico confessed, the thief attacks you with a weapon (the screwdriver). Only then are you justified to defend yourself or others.
When Mrs. Filmore arrives home, the gas would not have dissipated so quickly that she wouldn't feel the effects of it herself, yet she is not gagging or coughing when she enters the house or even seemingly notices a gas smell.
Reed and Malloy fail to interview the last adult who may have seen the missing child: the bus driver.
A Gold Mustang with a white top, and a green station wagon with brown paneling, both of which are series crew cars, are seen parked in the background at the intersection of Riverton Ave. and Whipple St. during the missing child bus stop scene.
A Gold Mustang with a white top, which is a series crew car, is seen again, this time parked in front of the Rio Vista school (that building is gone today).
When the nephew is caught stealing money from his uncle, Reed jumps out of the bedroom window in pursuit of the man. One can see it's a stunt double for Reed jumping out of the window, then it cuts to the actor getting kicked, then cut to the stunt double chasing the nephew and capturing him, then cut back to the actor.
After Malloy and Reed rescue the girl from the school roof they leave without removing the ladder.