Fort Apache is, metaphorically, a building, complex, or defensive site providing shelter from hostile action in the form of crime (in police and crime drama) or native insurrection or enemy attack (in John Ford movies).[1]
The metaphor is used by military and police to refer to a post which is beset or besieged. Recent examples may be found in Afghanistan and Iraq.[2]Another example is "Fort Apache, The Bronx", a name used in the past for the NYPD's 41st Precinct Station House at 1086 Simpson Street in the Bronx and the 1981 movie named for it.[3]