Public Order Cop School

Today - a riot breaks out and the cadets are called in to help.

Will they deal with this situation,

or crumble at the first sign of chaos?

I'm in the middle of a public riot that's getting out of control.

I'm Rav Wilding, and this is Cop School!

Six wannabe coppers...

..meet the world's oldest police force.

Their mission? To complete the unique training course.

But are these cadets tough enough to cut it in the Met?

Last time at Cop School...

The cadets trained as crime scene examiners...

..and collected enough evidence at a burglary

for a successful prosecution.

Great, guys, well done.

Aww, look at the cadets.

They're having a lovely time playing in the park.

But a beautiful day in Gravesend, Kent,

is about to become the cadets' worst nightmare.

SHOUTING: And, steady-still!

One line in front of me!

Quickly, quickly!

I'm Adam Nash, from the Metropolitan Police Public Order Branch.

I will be Sergeant Nash to you for the next two days. I am your mentor.

The Met's Public Order Branch police 4,000 events a year,

crowds of up to a million people.

Their job is to keep the peace and maintain public safety,

controlling and preventing riots.

The cadets' mentor, Sergeant Nash,

trains all 5,000 of the Met's Public Order officers.

An expert in his field,

he will demand nothing but the best from the cadets.

But can Sergeant Nash teach the Cop School cadets enough in two days

for them to succeed in their final challenge?

OK, officers Ryan, Lee and Dave, over here, please.

Quickly! When we say move you have to move!

We don't stand there wandering around!

Training has just got tough.

In order to be a Public Order police officer, you have to be fully fit.

With some serious circuit training,

Sergeant Nash will find out just how fit they are.

-Get back!

-Get back!

The cadet doing the press-ups has to shout, "Change",

at which point, they all move on to the next exercise.

If it takes them a long time to do five press-ups, everyone is working.

Not punished, they're in a learning mode.

Everyone stand up, stay where you are!

Don't forget, we are doing the change on the five press-ups.

How many did you do, Rebecca?

-Seven.

-Seven? Is seven more than five?

-Yes.

-Yes it is. OK, everybody, down. Five press-ups.

I don't expect to have to teach you to count to five,

when that is something you should have learned years ago!

Everybody! One!

I don't think Rebecca will make that mistake again! Oh, harsh!

Sergeant Nash is quite strict.

When you do the work and he sees you training, he gets a little easier.

But when you're not doing work he's strict and harsh.

Hold it there, hold it there!

Sam, you stand there. Everybody else, down, five press-ups!

Down you go, Jade, down you go, Megan. I warned you!

Megan's already moaning.

Don't ask questions, just bend your arms!

How's it going? It's going awful, to be honest.

It's a lot of strain.

-Poor Megan, she's loathed getting physical from day one.

-Keep going!

I'm hating every single sit up!

Nathan's not happy, either.

Really hard.

He keeps shouting at us.

I'm finding Adam Nash quite horrible, but if we don't slack off

and do what he wants, he'll be quite nice and relieve the pressure.

I don't think so, Nathan. You don't know what I know.

Did you enjoy that?

-Yeah.

-It was great!

-What was that, Megan? No.

OK, well, listen, good effort.

Everything you've done is important to carry through the next two days.

OK? Away you go.

Next stop is Gravesend's specialist police training centre,

which has a mock town, with houses, shops,

a stadium and even a life size underground tube station.

All places that the police have to handle public disturbances.

Stepping in to a real life environment

means the pressure is mounting.

Get your toes behind the white line.

Spread yourselves out so you have a little space in between.

OK, cadets, your second training exercise today is to learn

how to dominate and contain suspected criminals.

And the technique Sergeant Nash is going to teach you

is called Verbal Dominance.

SHOUTING: Turn around! Face the wall! Face the wall, put your arms out!

Being shouted at can make the toughest criminal

do as they are told,

and it's often more effective than getting physical.

The thing that everybody has here is a voice.

You don't have to be the biggest, you can be the smallest.

It doesn't matter how big you are.

You don't need to be enormous. It's down to how you use your voice.

Time to bring in the enormous Cop School criminals.

-He's a tank.

-What was that, Nathan?

-He's a tank!

-There's a tank in there.

We've got a request for this one to come behind here.

This is your time to practice and get it right.

Go!

THEY SHOUT ORDERS

Nathan's got the biggest bloke.

Spread your legs, face away from me.

By being assertive and using their voices,

the cadets have managed to tame the tanks

and intimidate them into submission.

Out on the street, a crime is being committed.

The cadets have been told that a mobile phone

has been stolen from this mini-mart.

They've also been told that the person who stole it look like this.

It's up to them to find him. And when they do, contain him

using all the skills Sergeant Nash has taught them.

First up...

That's Jade and Junior.

-Excuse me.

-Excuse me.

Excuse me!

And Junior's off!

Turn around, against the wall!

I am arresting you on suspicion of theft of a mobile phone!

It looks like Jade's getting it.

Look away from me, with your arms out to the side!

-Very good voice from Jade.

-Excellent.

Put your right hand behind your back and join it with your left hand!

Junior is quite a fast runner so I was pumping my legs like,

"Wait for me!"

Eventually we caught him and got him under control.

Sam and Megan now.

There!

Shout something, Sam!

Stop!

Put your arms up!

Against the wall! Put your arms up, spread your legs!

Now they're coming in, using commands.

Put your right hand behind your back!

We looked at each other and then ran, I was like...

"That's him....Oh!"

We timed it wrong, I suppose.

We were a bit slow.

They did well in training, but will Nathan and Rebecca remember?

Excuse me! Come back!

Come back!

-Come back!

-Come back!

What have I done?

Hands behind!

-What have I done?

-Feet apart!

Face away from me!

It's Rebecca, Rebecca taking charge.

Right hand behind your back!

Left hand behind your back!

Good verbal commands from Rebecca.

I was buzzing, I really enjoyed it and I thought it went really well.

OK, cadets, go and join the others.

The next training session.

The cadets are going to experience

what it feels like to move through a crowd.

Public Order police keep the peace during festivals

demonstrations and football matches.

They don't just control crowds,

they also have to get trouble makers and the injured out of them.

This crowd simulator consists of 84 hanging bags.

Each one weighing 64 kilos.

The size of an average person

but clearly a lot bigger than a Cop School cadet.

As we go through the bags,

we're using our forearms to keep the bags away from our faces

and our bodies.

In a minute, Mick is going to come through, followed by Dick.

The big one?

The little one.

He'll be at the front.

Don't panic, no more tanks for now, Nathan.

A demonstration from Mick and Dick shows the cadets

how to get through a crowd in pursuit of a suspect.

You see that?

We're not running, all we're doing is moving through the crowd.

Go.

The cadets are moving through the crowd in twos for safety.

One of them to guide and the other to protect.

Well done, Megan, stay close.

Megan was behind me and we were chasing someone,

and the bag hit me that side, that side and then the one in front.

At least they stayed close.

In you get, stay close together!

Stay close, stay close.

Stay close!

That's it, Rebecca, stay right next to him.

Good, well done!

They got through quicker than the first group.

They are two of the smallest.

They kept closing in and it was really quite frightening.

Rav pushed the thing into me!

You all right, Jade?

The cadets' next task

is to help an injured man get out of the crowd safely.

Away you go! In we come!

Make a space for him

You need to get these ones out of the way.

I'll help lift him.

You all right with him, yeah?

-Push the bags out of the way.

-Slowly.

Slowly.

Tightly together, keep it tight together!

That's it, Jade.

I thought it would just be, like, "Excuse me",

you get them and walk out.

It's not, you need to fight your way through.

And out you go.

He said keep close - but not that close!

I think they used him as a battering ram, but they got him out.

-How do you think they got on?

-Very good.

They kept close together and kept momentum and worked together.

Very good achievement within a small amount of time.

# Some people think I'm bonkers...#

Sergeant Nash has let the cadets go bonkers before their big day.

But in less than 24 hours, the cadets have to join a riot squad

and things look like they're getting out of control.

The top cops in the challenge

will get the reward of breaking down doors using the legendary Enforcer.

And, steady-still!

OK, your next lesson with Sergeant Nash

is to learn how to run like that, but carrying one of those.

Oh, my God.

Grab yourselves a long shield and face me.

The shields are bigger than most of them!

This is Sergeant Nash's character test for the cadets.

At eight kilos, the shields are far too big

so he wants to see if they will even attempt to run with them.

-I need a wee.

-Not now, Junior.

-Are you ready? ALL:

-Yeah!

Three, two, one,

go!

Riot police have to be able to run with the long shields for 500 metres

in 2 minutes, 46 seconds.

The cadets only have to do 250 metres

in half that time.

Now the cadets have shown their strength,

Sergeant Nash lets them know the score.

Because you're slightly smaller,

we're going to swap it for the round shield.

Much lighter at four kilos, the short shield allows the user

to be faster and have greater flexibility

We are going to go to the end of the road,

round the block, back to this position.

In 1 minute 23. Are we ready?

ALL: Yes!

Fantastic.

Three, two, one, go!

Off we go, that's it! Keep it going!

1 minute 23 is the time!

Keep going, keep going!

Well done, Junior!

All the way down, all the way down.

Come on, Megan, come on, Jade! Let's go!

I hated running with the shield because

it hurt your arm.

It should be on wheels, so you can wheel it along. I'd like that.

Come on, cadets! Junior is already finished!

I was the fastest person, I can clarify that to you!

Into your line.

Excellent effort, excellent effort.

Not one of you took more than one minute.

Brilliant work.

OK, Sam, pick your shield up.

A few of them are looking tired.

But there's no letting up from Sergeant Nash.

Turn to the left. Everything in public order is done to the left.

We're facing the other way. If there was a threat coming from down there,

an attack from the rear!

Turn to the left. Excellent!

No, other left.

-Do we need press-ups to help us remember? ALL:

-No!

Megan REALLY doesn't want press-ups.

Forward!

Road junctions are a danger point.

It's the perfect place for troublemakers to throw missiles.

SHOUTING

When the cadets get to a road junction,

they have to make sure it's clear.

Big shout of "Junction left, clear!"

Junction left, clear!

And then everybody knows, so me, as a supervisor,

can take my unit across the junction.

-Junction left, clear!

-Take the junction, straight across!

Go!

-Push up!

-I thought the riot shield training was amazing.

-It was good!

Take the junction, to the left! Go!

-Go!

-Go!

-No, LEFT!

-HE WHISTLES

We did say lefts and rights, you should have known that

before you arrived! Down we go, five press-ups!

There's only one way to learn, and that's by bending them arms!

Left, right and straight over. You should know that.

-OK, back on our feet.

-More press-ups, and now, more training.

Attack from the rear! And forward.

Forward, that's it, nice straight lines,

spread yourselves out, don't bunch.

They're doing very, very well. It's a lot of information to take on.

-Junction right, clear!

-Junction left, clear!

Junction straight across, clear!

Take the junction, to the right! Go!

-Go!

-Go!

Fan round, fan round!

Funny-looking fan!

Attack from the rear! And forward!

-Forward!

-Junction!

-Junction!

-Junction left, clear!

-Junction right, clear!

Junction across, clear!

-I think they're going to come flying up here!

-Fan round! Fan round!

-Here they come.

-Fan round, fan round, fan round!

Junction! To the junction! Go!

Junction left, clear!

Junction right, clear!

Place your shields against the wall!

And back into line. Excellent.

I will see you, bright and breezy, six o'clock in the morning.

-What?!

-What?!

-OK!

Off you go.

The cadets have cracked the shield training. It's been a hard day.

-How are they feeling about tomorrow?

-Stressed, stressed...

Is the pressure getting to them?

I think tomorrow will be a little bit more dangerous, and...

What are you doing?

I really hope that we're not thrown into any riot situations,

because I think I might break down and cry.

Coming up, I predict a riot.

It's bright and early at Gravesend Training Centre.

The cadets are half-asleep. They're clearly not morning people,

but Sergeant Nash is. He's starting the day with a vocal warm-up.

-Shout!

-Stand up! Stand up!

-THEY ALL SHOUT AT ONCE

OK!

If you are a supervisor, you will be expected to shout commands

so that the officers working under you can hear what you are saying.

Face the person opposite you and I want you to shout at them.

Are we ready? On the command of three,

anything you like, as long as it's not rude, three, two, one...

THEY ALL SHOUT AT ONCE

Nicely done, everyone!

SERGEANT NASH WHISTLES

Excellent! Who's out of breath?

We need to shout from down here,

-rather than up here.

-It's time for the final challenge to begin.

Sergeant Nash takes the cadets off

while the Cop School crowd moves in.

An angry crowd has spilled out onto the street

-and are looking for trouble.

-SHOUTING

What do we want to do with people who have committed offences?

While the cadets are having their strategy meeting in there,

it is all about to completely kick off down there.

What they don't know yet is that they are going to have to join in.

Cue the riot.

SHOUTING AND BREAKING GLASS What's that? Go and have a look

at what's outside on the balcony.

SHOUTING

In the UK, people have the right to protest, but occasionally,

campaigners get violent and peaceful demonstrations turn to riots.

As part of public order training, the officers have to take part

in exercises like this,

but our cadets are the youngest ever to take part in this training.

The police on the ground are struggling to contain the rioters,

and call for urgent assistance.

WALKIE-TALKIE CHATTER

Yeah, received, we've got a unit here coming to assist you now, over.

From what you've demonstrated so far,

-you are going to be team leader, OK?

-OK.

-You got that?

-Yeah.

OK. Let's go down, we're going to give you your helmets

and your shields. Good luck!

-Are you trying to kill us?!

-Told you I'd go easy on you today.

-Easy?! Pure psychos out there!

-Remember what you've been taught.

That was so scary, what I just seen. I was like, "What is going on?!"

SHOUTING

I was crying, I was just so scared. It really shocked me to see that.

I can hear them now, and we have to go into that!

-I'm scared, scared, scared.

-WHISTLE BLOWS

I've been picked leader for the hardest challenge ever.

I have to handle a riot and I'm not going to be happy with it.

12-year-old Nathan from Liverpool is happy handling his cats.

He loves trampolining, but unfortunately for him,

he gets claustrophobic in crowds.

How is he going to handle this?

OK, Nathan, you've been made leader.

Remember, you've got to be really, really loud.

Even more loud than normal,

cos you've got this helmet on and your colleagues need to hear you.

SHOUTING

Once you go through this door, make sure all visors are down, OK?

SHOUTING

The stunned cadets are thrown straight into the riot.

We've replaced the lethal petrol bombs,

glass and bricks with tennis balls.

But they have to have their wits about them, because these balls

still pack a punch. Where's Andy Murray when you need him?

I was relieved that there wasn't any petrol bombs or anything,

we were just getting tennis balls lobbed at us.

The aim of this challenge is to round the rioters up, contain them

and identify and arrest the ringleaders.

To achieve this, we've assigned Nathan a police officer,

to help him get to grips with this tough situation.

Take the junction, straight across!

Go! Take the junction! Go!

They're holding their ground. Nathan's giving good commands,

he's pushing them forward.

SHOUTING

Well, that was Nathan's word of command.

I heard it from way back here, he's pushed them back,

and that's exactly what we want to see.

SHOUTING

Junction left, clear!

Take the junction straight across.

Go!

It felt really good to be, like, right in the middle of the action

and to be able to chase after people,

shout at them...

The rioters have gone around the block

and are attacking the cadets from behind.

Attack from the rear!

He's turned them round, and now he's got to hold his ground.

They're backing off and regrouping, nothing wrong with that.

Take the junction straight across. Go!

Well done, Nathan!

It's all very well doing all these commands when you're training,

but when it comes to doing it, you've got to get it right.

-He's doing very well.

-Take the junction straight across. Go!

The cadets keep the pressure up

by pushing the rioters towards the containment area.

SIRENS WAIL

But they've done a runner and come up behind the cadets again!

Under attack from the rear, the cadets have to hold their nerve

for the face-off.

It'll be good to see how the cadets handle this

and stay put.

Oh!

I get the message - I'll shut up now!

Get back!

You didn't know what they was going to do,

if they was going to launch at you and attack you,

so it was really scary.

It was difficult, because you'd have two or three standing there,

throwing tennis balls, and then you'd get attacked from the rear,

so you'd have to turn round quickly, with them still firing tennis balls!

They've got them coming back, they're working together,

they've got the road spread out, he's doing an excellent job.

Get back!

One last push from the cadets contains the rioters.

Get back!

Squeeze them up! Squeeze them up!

They're surrounding the rioters,

they've got them contained, another important technique in public order.

No-one comes out!

No-one comes out!

Please, get back!

Now, they need to round them up,

identify the ringleaders and arrest them.

SHOUTING

Me?!

SHOUTING

'So, that's the first ringleader arrested.

'The second...'

That's it, Rebecca. Tell him where you're taking him.

'..and finally, the third. Job done.'

What have I done wrong?

What have I done wrong?

-Keep walking!

-What have I done?

-Keep walking!

-Oh, the pain!

-Shut up!

But will the cadets remember the caution?

You're under arrest!

What for?

You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence

if you do not mention, when questioned,

-something which you later rely on in court.

-Ease off!

'I am proud of the team.'

We've done a great thing today, clearing the rioters up,

and it's been great fun.

You do not have to say anything.

Anything you do say may harm your defence if you do not mention,

when questioned, something you later rely on in court.

Anything you do say may be given in evidence.

I'm innocent.

He kept speaking to us while we were taking him down

and we just said the caution,

and when he started to say things,

we shouted, "Silence!" Oh, it was brilliant!

So all that hard work was worth it, then, Megan?

Me and Jade, we're such a good team.

The cadets have completed their challenge,

so it's decision time. Sergeant Nash and I have the hard job of deciding

which of them will be our top cops.

So when I called them out and they saw this riot going on,

their faces looked in sheer horror.

I'm sure they never thought they would deal with that themselves.

-Then we gave them a helmet and a shield...

-Totally transformed.

Suddenly felt equipped for it, off they went, no complaining.

Somehow, we've got to pick top cop, or top cops,

out of those six cadets, who I think all did extremely well.

They've had a fantastic performance.

Let's talk about Junior.

Physically very capable, good voice, listened

and applied himself throughout. He done very well.

Let's talk about Rebecca.

Started off quiet, but really came forward.

It's nice to see such an improvement in such a short time.

She's probably the smallest,

-yet her voice was one of the bigger ones.

-Yeah, it was very good.

-Nathan.

-He's excelled himself. He's gone out there,

done everything asked of him, he's been clear and concise,

and he's shown what can be learnt

in a short period of time.

And for him to give the word of command to take a junction

and the whole police unit to follow him was fantastic.

Your teamwork has been brilliant, you've really gelled together,

and you've really pulled through.

We're proud of what you've achieved in the last few days.

-ALL:

-Thank you!

'What's this, Sergeant Nash being nice?! Aw, you big softie!'

OK, cadets. Our hardest decision has been, which three cadets

deserve to be today's top cops?

The three we've chosen will get to go on the police Enforcer,

the battering ram for opening locked doors.

The other three will have to do all that dirty, sweaty laundry

-over in the launderette.

-No way!

-Oh, no!

-Oh, yes!

-Oh, that is brutal! That is really bad!

-"Brutal!"

So, do you want to know who they are?

-ALL:

-Yeah!

-OK.

Today's three top cops are...

Junior...

..Rebecca, and I think you'll all agree,

our fantastic leader, Nathan. Well done.

I knew you wanted the laundry, Megan!

LAUGHTER

-Whose laundry is it?

-Tank's pants. And they're big.

-Is there pegs?

-No, bare hands.

SHE WAILS Washing by hand,

-scrubbing and wringing!

-I'm not doing that!

That's cruel!

..the cadets get thrown in at the deep end,

train with river police...

This is Marine Police. Stop your vehicle!

..and get down and dirty on the Thames mudflats.

We really need to find this, guys!

Hard.

-Yes!

-Well done.

SHE SCREAMS

Get in there, now!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd