River Police Cop School

-Today at Cop School: a criminal's on the loose.

-There he is!

And the cadets are called in to help.

Can they catch him?

Policing just got cold, wet and dangerous.

I'm Rav Wilding. This is Cop School.

Six wannabe coppers meet the world's oldest police forces.

Their mission: to complete a unique training course.

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

Six cadets from across the UK came for the challenge of a lifetime.

Last time at Cop School, they faced their biggest fears

and took on Cop School hooligans as part of the Met's riot police.

-Keep walking.

-And they nailed it.

It's early in the morning and the cadets are here on Tower Bridge.

Today they're leaving land behind and joining the River Police.

I'm PC Analeigh Hipkin from the Metropolitan Marine Policing Unit.

While you're training with us, I'm your mentor.

The Met's Marine Police Unit has policed the River Thames

for over 200 years.

They drive 10-tonne boats on a 40-mile length of the UK's most famous river

and surrounding waterways. And they keep the capital safe from attack.

PC Analeigh Hipkin has been a Met police officer for 12 years

and patrolled the river for five.

She's dealt with some of London's most dangerous criminals,

dealing with drugs, firearms and undercover missions.

But can she teach the Cop School cadets for their final challenge

in just two days?

But before any of that can happen,

PC Hipkin has a serious warning for the cadets.

If you fall into the River Thames, the chances are you'll drown.

In a matter of seconds, water can enter your lungs.

Nobody is allowed on my police boats unless they're a strong swimmer.

That means we are going to be testing your swimming.

-Aaah!

-Sam, you look nervous. Why?

Cos the rest think I've brought tight trunks.

-Tight trunks? Nathan, have you seen these?

-Yeah.

And he wanted me to wear them!

I'd say I'm looking forward to this, but I'm not! Come on.

'Mainly what scares me'

is going into the water. You're drowning, aren't you?

It's essential they do well here.

If they fail, they don't sail.

OK, line up. That's it, Rebecca.

-OK, listen in.

-You've all got your swimsuits. Sam?

-Yes.

-Fantastic.

You can drop them to the ground now.

-If you fall into the Thames, it'll be fully-clothed.

-Oh, no!

'So fully-clothed is how they are going into the pool.'

Yes.

You don't need that. Get rid.

Well done. It's a travesty that you won't be wearing those!

OK, guys, listen up. You are going to tread water for 90 seconds.

Just keeping yourself safely afloat.

If the police do not think you are competent swimmers,

you will not travel in any police vessel. Three, two, one!

Good. Heads up!

Heads up everywhere. Junior, good.

Keep up, keep up. That's it.

Time's ticking away. 'They're off to a good start.

'But suddenly Junior starts to struggle.'

That's it, Junior. What did we say about ducking? You all right?

Good man. Nearly there. You OK?

'He needs to keep his head above water to join the River Police.'

-Keep kicking.

-Come closer.

-Well done, Junior.

-Just 10 seconds.

10 seconds. Keep going, keep going.

'Junior is five seconds short of the required time.' Well done.

Come up to the side. To the side.

Well done. Get warm. 'PC Hipkin has a big decision to make.

'Is Junior a strong enough swimmer to go onto the river?

'If she says no, he'll be left behind.'

Out of them all, it was Junior struggling.

He did have to hold on to the side and stopped.

-Is that good enough for you?

-He did have to stop and did struggle a bit.

He'll be wearing a buoyancy aid.

Because of that and how hard he tried today, that's good enough.

'Time to give a nervous Junior the good news.'

-Do all right?

-Not too well.

-OK.

I've had a good chat with Analeigh. You didn't quite make the time

and you did grab the side.

But...because of the effort that you showed,

and because she thinks you are still a competent enough swimmer,

-you will be able to go on the police boats.

-Thank you very much.

-Feel a bit better?

-Yeah.

He did really well. He didn't act like he'd pass out. Just kept going.

I'm going to give it 100%.

I think Jade probably was the best person there.

She had a good technique and kept her head facing up.

I think she done the best.

'They passed the first test,

'so all six cadets arrive at the Met's Marine Policing Unit, Wapping,

'for their first shift on the Thames.'

Hello, cadets. Junior, good to have you with us.

-Welcome to the Marine Policing Unit.

-'The cadets have a lot to learn -

'GPS, radio protocol

'and I've got a special observation contest in store.'

The River Police are on patrol 24 hours a day,

365 days a year.

They're constantly on the lookout for suspicious behaviour

and our cadets will do the same.

-Go for it, Junior.

-'They divide into two groups for their first shift.'

Well done.

'Megan, Julia and Sam are aboard Marine Police 4

'with PC Analeigh Hipkin.

'Jade, Nathan and Rebecca are aboard Marine Police 1

'with me and PC Martin Warnock.'

Whilst on my boat, you all act as crew. So you all have a job

to look out and about. OK?

'When the River Police need back-up,

'they must guide their colleagues to their exact location.

-'The cadets need to do the same.'

-Do you know what GPS stands for?

-Global Positioning System?

-Absolutely right.

This is our Global Positioning System receiver.

So who can point out to me where we are on this GPS receiver?

-The black dot.

-That's it. Fantastic.

'Next up, essential police radio training.

-'In an emergency call-out, this can save lives.'

-One important thing.

-If someone falls overboard in the water...

-Is it, "Man overboard"?

-Here on the river, we use, "Pan, pan!"

-Is it like a frying pan?

-It certainly is.

-'Glad that's cleared that up.'

We would broadcast that as, "Pan, pan! Pan, pan! Pan, pan!"

We say that three times, then give our call sign. Marine 1.

"Person in the water," the location and then, "Over".

'Right, cadets. Time for you to have a go.'

You have the radio, Sam. Go for it.

Is it, "Tam, tam"? Pan, pan!

'Oh, dear. Better luck next time.

'GPS and radio lesson done, now onto the observation test.

'We've planted 10 Cop School flags along the Thames.

'The cadets need to spot them to win my amazing prize - chocolate.'

They have to look for these flags.

So far they've found...none.

Let's hope they do a bit better than that.

Eyes peeled, everyone.

There's one! Look.

Fantastic. Well done.

Junior, write that down for me.

There's one! In the corner!

In the corner of Tower Bridge.

I see another one! Oh, yeah.

There's a flag on the yellow thing!

On the side!

That was a good spot from me.

-Over there.

-Fantastic. Note that down.

We missed one. Can we turn round?

I can't see a thing!

-There!

-What does it say?

-President.

-President. Jade, have you got that?

Well done. Good spot, Rebecca.

We got a wave! Hi!

'Aren't you supposed to be working?'

Cadets, while you're acting as my crew,

I need you to be observant at all times. OK? That's not waving!

-All right? You need to have eyes everywhere.

-All right.

-Good stuff.

'Er, Megan, have you forgotten something?'

Don't wave!

'They'll find out which team counted the most flags later.

'After a quick change of boats, one more vital piece of training.

'Last year, the MPU pulled 35 people out of the Thames.

-'The cadets are about to learn how they do it.'

-OK, cadets,

we have a special guest. This is normally our man overboard dummy,

but for today... Say hello to Little Rav.

Hi, Rav!

Little Rav is going to commit the biggest no-no on the river.

He's going to go into the water and you guys will rescue him.

One of you will have a boat hook.

As soon as Little Rav enters the water, your job is to point

so our driver can see where Rav is.

Good luck, cadets.

Three, two, one. He's going over.

THE CADETS SHOUT

Man overboard!

He's there! He's there!

'The current has already dragged Little Rav 20 metres up the river.'

Come along here.

Man overboard!

'The cadets have just 10 minutes before he'll start to freeze.'

That's it. Keep pointing. Make sure your driver knows where it is.

OK, Megan, come round. That's it. If you come in...

Pull him out. Can you see? See how heavy he is?

Get that out of the way. Keep pulling, keep pulling.

And he's onboard! 'Good teamwork, cadets.

-'You got Little Rav out safely and in time.'

-You all did fantastically.

You listened to what we said and did what was asked.

You worked very well as a team.

'Back at base, chocolate's at stake. Which team won the flag challenge?'

OK, then, remember I said the winning team would get chocolate.

Marine 1,

lots of detail when spotting your flags, eight of which were correct.

ALL: Yay!

Marine 4, no detail whatsoever

and only six.

'Maybe Marine 4 were having a bit too much fun.'

So that means Marine 1 are the winners.

-Losers!

-'Gracious winners(!)'

-We got the flags!

Thank you!

'Night falls over London.

'In less than 24 hours,

'the cadets will be faced with this Cop School criminal on the run.'

-Stop your vehicle!

-'And one of them will be crowned Top Cop.

'They'll open one of the UK's most famous landmarks - Tower Bridge,

'and allow a tall ship to pass through.'

The cadets don't know this yet, but if they want to succeed today,

they'll have to pay attention to this next bit of training.

PC Hipkin will show them how to use a mud rescue path,

which police use in search and rescue missions.

We can use mud rescue paths to retrieve weapons,

to save casualties and also to go after suspects.

The mud on the Thames is different because of the water.

When the tide goes out, it may look solid, but if you walked on it,

you could sink and get stuck like quicksand.

-This connects into here.

-'The path is inflated with compressed air.

'After just 60 seconds, it can hold ten grown men on water and mud.'

That feels pretty solid to me. Yeah, you think so?

'The cadets decide to put it to the test.'

Look at that, Sam. Looking good!

Junior, let's have a look at those feet! 'Nice moves, Junior.

'Well, this isn't a fashion show, guys,

'so what would you do in a real situation?'

What would be a more stable way than to walk if this was on water?

-That's right, Jade.

-Who's that at the back? Jade?

-You've got it.

'Now they've got all the skills they need for the final challenge.

'It's time to choose a team leader.

'Each week, one cadet takes charge of the group

'for the final challenge.'

This cadet has shown great attention to detail,

really good leadership skills and a very loud voice.

Yes, Jade, at last, your chance has come to be team leader. Well done.

'Jade is 13 and from Brighton.

'She loves dance, musical theatre and athletics

'and has zero tolerance for slackers.'

I get really tetchy if someone doesn't pull their weight.

'So, cadets, better watch out!'

OK, Jade, put this on. Congratulations.

Good luck. What we want to see from you is you leading with confidence.

OK. Yeah, let's do it.

'A crime is committed every minute in London.

'Just as the cadets come on duty,

'a situation is unfolding in south-east London.'

'Marine Four, come in. Over.'

Listen up, guys. Marine Four. Go ahead.

'Reports of a burglar on the run by the river have come into the police

'and the cadets will answer the call-out.'

'We've got a suspect down by Greenwich.

'Described as a male wearing dark clothes

'and a balaclava over his head.

'Shoreside guys at Greenwich have requested we back them up. Over.'

Received. OK, listen up. We've just had an emergency call.

We're required to assist at Greenwich.

'Jade has split her team in two.

'Sam, Rebecca and Nathan will search on water for the criminal

'while Jade, Junior and Megan

'will investigate where the suspect was last seen on land.'

SIRENS WAIL

'It's a race against time to get to the location

'and catch the criminal.'

SCREAMING

Good luck! You can do it!

'The river search team figure out where to start their investigation.

'The land search team head to the yacht club

'where the suspect was last seen.'

We all need to work together. We're all one, OK?

Right.

We can do this.

OK, can we park up?

'Jade and the team meet PC Warnock for an update.'

Just spoke to a witness up in the yacht club here.

They saw a suspect run down here and jump into a small, grey motor boat

and zoom off into the river there.

And he's got a bluish jacket and trousers.

Marine Four, Marine Four, this is Marine Three.

The vessel appears to be a small, grey speedboat.

-Message received. Over.

-OK, we need to start an intensive search.

I need one of you in here with me

cos we might need to use the hailer to speak to them.

Sam, you're the man for the job.

'With Sam leading the search, the cadets start to patrol the water.'

OK, we need to go and talk to the witness.

-Who, what, where, when, why, how, which?

-Yes.

'But before they find the witness,

'Jade, Megan and Junior spot something in the mud.'

-I can see some gloves down there.

-What was that, Jade?

I can see some gloves down there.

Remember that when you speak to your witness. That could be important.

-OK, are you the witness?

-I am, yes.

Can you tell us an account of what you saw?

I was fixing the trolley down there and I heard a strange sound.

I looked out and a man came running here with a balaclava on.

He ran across the bridge, but he stopped.

He stopped once on that side and he threw something.

He ran a bit further and he threw something else, then he ran on.

Did you see what he was throwing? Any colour?

No, just it was an object.

Thank you for your time, sir.

'While they go to find the items the suspect threw off the bridge,

'the river search continues.'

When you're looking, just look for like a grey boat, OK?

-There! There! There!

-Sam!

-Sam, he's over there!

SWITCHES SIREN ON

Stop your vehicle! This is Marine Police Four. Stop your vehicle!

This is Marine Police Four...

'They stay hot on the trail of the suspect

'while back in the mud flats,

'this lot are taking a more relaxed approach to the investigation.'

Oh, sorry. LAUGHTER

'The mud they're on is extremely dangerous

'which they seem to have forgotten.'

LAUGHTER Do you want a hand?

'The river team are in a high-speed pursuit on the Thames.

'The suspect is heading for the Thames Barrier.

'If he goes through, it will be difficult to catch him.'

He's passing through the Thames Barrier.

Stop your vessel! Stop your vessel!

This is Marine Police Four.

He said he chucked two things.

We can see the gloves, but there's obviously something else.

-We need to see where the second thing is.

-OK.

We have to get through this mud thing first.

OK... Let's just have a sift here.

-Oh, my God!

-Shall I go and grab them gloves? I've got long arms.

I've found a big clump of mud.

A big clump of mud? Well done, Jade!

One of you hold my arm while I reach out for these gloves.

If you let me go... Oh, my God!

Come on, Junior. Keep going. No-one said it would be easy.

SCREAMING

You let me go!

Yes!

-We're covered in mud.

-Look at my suit!

'The first piece of evidence is bagged up.

'If this lot want to find the second item the suspect threw in the mud,

'they'll need to get serious.

'Meanwhile, the cadets on the river are still involved

'in a high-speed pursuit. They might have a lucky break.

'The suspect's boat has cut out.'

He's stopped. Sam, he's stopped.

Remain seated in your vessel. We will come and get you.

-Stay seated till we know you can hear us.

-Stay there!

Sit down in your vessel. We will come and get you. Remain seated!

-If my boat hadn't broke, I'd have got away.

-We told you to stop.

-Take your balaclava off, please.

-No!

-Take your balaclava off.

Take it off.

He said he threw two things quite separate from each other.

'The land team are finally getting down to work.'

-Come on, we really need to find this, guys!

-Come on, Junior.

-Wait!

-'Jade makes a discovery.'

Oh, no!

It's here.

That's a crowbar. It's a crowbar.

-He might have used that to break in or something.

-Yeah!

Just what I've always wanted(!) A muddy crowbar!

Aagh!

No, no!

It's in my hair!

'While this lot get on with a mud fight,

'Sam takes charge of the suspect.'

You've been arrested for theft.

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

if you do not mention something you later rely on in court.

-Anything you do say can be given in evidence.

-Stand up, please.

'Nathan uses his verbal dominance training to control the suspect.'

-Why have I got to take my knife out?

-Take it out!

-Why?

-Take it out!

-It's evidence.

-What have I done?

-Burglary.

-I was out driving my boat.

-Anything else in your pocket?

-No.

-Are you guilty?

-I don't feel guilty.

-Are you telling the truth?

-I am. I'm not saying no more.

Marine Three, this is Marine Four. We have caught the man.

They arrested him. We did really well.

We found both pieces of evidence and we're a bit muddy. Over.

CHEERING

-Marine Three, out.

-Marine Four, out.

-I hate you coppers.

-That's our job, sir.

'Both teams head back to base.

'The team hand the suspect over to the police

'and wait to meet up with their team-mates.

'Mission accomplished.

'But choosing a Top Cop won't be so easy

'as I'm not sure they all took the challenge seriously enough.'

We've got to pick Top Cop or Top Cops. Let's start off with Sam.

He was very good, I thought. He gave good, clear, concise orders.

He made good use of the loud-hailer.

He delivered the caution word-perfect.

The team leader today was Jade, but she was slightly distracted.

I was with her on the mud flats. She was more interested in messing about

with her friends than keeping her team together.

She should have taken it more seriously.

Junior also did well. He nearly didn't make it with his swimming.

Today, he did some good work on the mud flats and he got the gloves.

It shows real strength of character.

'After a quick break, the cadets arrive back

'to find out who we've chosen as Top Cop or Top Cops.'

OK, cadets, Top Cop or Cops have shown

that they've picked up skills throughout Cop School

which has been incorporated today.

The Top Cop is going to get the chance

to go to Tower Bridge and lift the bridge

in order to let a boat through.

Oh, my God!

Sadly, it is not as good for the other five

because you are going to be cleaning up the mud path

and any remaining muddy colleagues.

-CHEERING

-Do you want to know who it is?

-Yes.

Today, we've decided that the Top Cop...

-..is Sam. Well done, Sam.

-APPLAUSE

-Are you happy?

-Yeah.

-Good prize today, Sam. It's a good prize.

I'm really excited. Hardly anybody gets to open Tower Bridge.

It's going to be amazing.

-I'm doing a mud slide.

-They get to hose us down!

'Next time at Cop School, the cadets get stuck into some training.'

-Right on time!

-'And use CCTV to solve crimes.'

-He's stolen her bag.

'But can they succeed when underground and under pressure?'

Stay still and stop fighting!

Oh, look at that!

-Agh!

-Eugh!

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