Episode 16 Neighbourhood Blues

Neighbourhood policing has come a long way since the days

-of Dixon of Dock Green.

-Evening, all.

From inner-city estates to suburbia, this new

generation of community police officers are on the front line.

Their aim is to develop a stronger bond with the community,

crack down on the crimes taking place on your doorstep...

and formulate fast action plans to take down the criminals.

-I said no!

-I said yes.

In this new series of Neighbourhood Blues,

we go to the Humberside police region

and get exclusive access to 12 teams of neighbourhood police officers

as they tackle the problems blighting local people...

-I don't care!

-Eh, eh!

..and rise to the challenge of making the streets a safer place.

Coming up -

Oli gets in the thick of the action as he tackles a lad

wanted for assault.

A raid on a suspected dealing den turns up a suspicious

stash of drugs and a hoard of deadly-looking weapons.

Not the nicest thing to be coming up against.

And there's a final warning for this resident to open up.

You need to open the door,

else we're going to have to put it through - we know you're in there.

For neighbourhood policing to work,

the public must be completely onside.

One of the best ways of achieving this is for the police to have

a very strong street presence and encourage locals to come up to them

to talk about the crimes they feel are blighting the place they live in.

But how much of the talk leads to action?

And how satisfied are people with the results achieved?

We're about to find out.

The neighbourhood teams make regular foot and car patrols on their patch.

It keeps them in close contact with the community, but also means

they're on hand to respond to any call for help should it arise.

PCSOs Oli Genery and Ben Harbottle were driving through Grimsby

when word comes in over the wire -

an assault has apparently taken place on the south side of town.

They race to the location, but as the team draw closer,

they can see the assault isn't over - it's still in progress.

We've got an ongoing assault at the junction of...

Racing to the scene, Oli and Ben bail out of the police car.

Ben gives chase to one man who's raced away up the street.

Oli tries to detain another person at the scene,

but finds himself under attack and punched in the face.

Oi!

But Oli uses all of his training

and expertise to neutralise the threat posed by this lad

and wrestles the attacker to the floor.

The person Oli has detained is well-known to the police

and he radios this information back to base.

He's just assaulted me, punched me in the face.

-Stay down!

-Ahhh! Ahhh!

The lad screams to a friend to come and rescue him.

A man responds and an already tense situation looks like it might

reach flashpoint.

BLEEP!

-It's your own

-BLEEP

-fault, ain't it?! What did I say? I said no!

-Back off.

-I said no!

-What did you do? You

-BLEEP!

-BLEEP!

-Don't call me any more.

-BLEEP!

You're an idiot.

Idiot, the lot of you, you're mugs.

But Oli can allay his fears,

because it turns out the man's friend has disowned him.

And this replay of the assault highlights

he actually tried to stop the attack in the first place.

All alone, the suspect waits on the ground with the sound of police

sirens ringing in his ears.

As the police van arrives,

a witness to the assault finally offers up some

information about exactly what led to the attack.

He said, "Give me your ped," and with that, just punched him, that's it.

There was a lot more of them.

-Who else?

-There was a lot more, but they've all disappeared.

The assault was born out of the attempted theft of a moped.

As the police work to gather more information,

attention shifts to the victim.

Can we get an ambulance to this passenger, please?

As the man waits for an ambulance to arrive, suddenly...

..it's action stations again, as Oli spots one of the other

suspects who may have been involved in the assault.

The team race through the streets.

The suspect is nowhere to be seen,

but the police spread out in an attempt to surround him.

But one of them spots the suspect heading into a house.

The home of someone else who's been in trouble with the police in the past.

Steve, come out, mate.

Oli knocks on the door and calls for the suspect to come out.

Steve!

Just chased him round the corner and he's run straight into this house.

I don't know if he's nipped out the back way or not.

Officers in that car over there have chased somebody,

similar sort of clothing, in that direction.

KNOCKING ON INTERNAL DOOR

WOMAN: Steven, answer your door!

Guys, can someone come to the door?

He's not in.

-He's run in, so where is he?

-Where has he gone?

I've seen him run in. I was right behind him.

-You'll have to wait then, won't you?

-He's not here!

-We've seen him run in here.

-He's not here now.

Chased him in here, he's not come out the front door.

Whether he's gone out the back door...

-I think there's an alleyway which runs between these two streets.

-Is there anyone in there?

With the occupants of the home denying it,

it's left to the police to decide to execute a quick search.

BLEEP!

I want you to get out.

But attention once again shifts to the surrounding streets

and the back alley.

Within moments, another police officer captures the suspect,

who was trying to escape by the rear gates.

The lad who was outstanding has now been picked up in his rear garden.

Returning to the scene of the assault,

the team can now begin to question witnesses

and try to locate CCTV in a bid to build a body of evidence that

may be used to prosecute any of the offenders.

Could we have a look at that camera you're looking at now

and the one around the side of the building, please?

Find out later if CCTV does provide the key to determine what

happened and if the perpetrators of the violent attack get sent to jail.

The neighbourhood team employ all the resources at their disposal

to deal with any problem,

but being on call 24/7 means they never know what to expect next.

Today, over at Clough Road Police Station, the ongoing

operation to strike at the heart of the drugs trade is picking up pace.

And once again, Sergeant Mick Stevenson

and his team are taking the lead.

The target is a suspected class A drugs dealing den,

but there's an added danger.

Intel suggests that in the past, the occupant has been

convicted of possessing dangerous weapons.

Mick briefs the team about the suspect's background.

-He's got warnings

-BLEEP

-for violence,

firearms,

possesses stun guns, CS and a machete,

but that goes back seven years.

So...

we can only hope.

There's also another reason for striking the property fast.

It may be housing stolen goods.

The reason there's an urgency around this job is

a suggestion that a couple of days ago, they had some stolen property

there, not least a push-bike, that we need to try and recover.

With the search warrant in hand, Mick musters the team.

Suited up, they head to the destination in convoy.

Yeah, coming down Clough Road as we speak.

Yeah, just before that No Entry sign.

Class A drugs are notoriously easy to flush away down toilets or

sinks, so there's no warning knock or call today.

It's straight in with the door.

Police, stay where you are!

The team sweep through the house.

Clear!

The suspect is quickly found in the living room

and immediately detained and cuffed.

-Executing a drug search warrant, mate, all right?

-All right.

-What's your name?

-BLEEP!

We're going to detain you until we get everything secured.

-You got anything in your pockets at the minute?

-No.

Stand up for us, then. Just give you a quick pat-down.

Can I put that in the ashtray, please?

I wondered what was going on!

The man may be in shock,

but it's no surprise as Mick delivers the news - he's been busted.

Mate, this is a warrant, OK?

The first stage of any search is gauging how cooperative a suspect is.

-Is there anything in the house you want to make us aware of?

-BLEEP!

-I've got a bit of weed.

-Right. What, just a bit of personal?

And in this case, the answer is very.

-I've got some hypodermics upstairs what are my own.

-OK. Are they used?

-Yeah.

-Where are they?

They're at the side of my bed.

PC Chantelle Gardam has already found a number of suspicious

items in the property.

What he said is that there's that tray there, which is

a small amount, there's, er...

tablets, diazepam,

in there and there's some amphet in the freezer in the kitchen.

Their presence alone is enough for the suspect to be delivered

the body blow.

Possession with intent to supply class B and also suspicion of theft

of a pedal cycle, all right? You don't have to say anything, but it

may harm your defence if you don't mention, when questioned,

something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.

The suspect is taken away for questioning back at the station.

Back inside the house, the search for class A drugs continues.

In the kitchen, Mick isn't playing MasterChef,

he's playing master cop.

Amphetamine in there.

And we know that because, basically, from what we can see,

but also the fact that the guy that's now in custody has told us that it's actually in there.

The suspicious-looking white powder, which the team suspect

could be amphetamine, will be sent to the lab for further examination.

-It's pretty clean-looking, isn't it?

-It does look clean.

Outside the house,

Mick's been called to inspect a bicycle which may prove to be one of

the stolen items which was believed to be stored at the property.

00006.

The serial number will be matched

with bikes on the stolen property register

to determine if it has in fact been stolen.

Returning to the house, the search has turned up what appears to be

widespread evidence of drug use and possible dealing activity.

We've got a box of what was glucose there, look,

and some remnants of some amphet on that wrap.

Them gloves are all covered in it as well.

That's all been shoved in there with the empty glucose wrapper.

Some freezer bags, spoon up there that's got white powder on it

and a box of gloves.

You don't need a sniffer dog with Mick's nose for trouble,

as the overwhelming smell of drugs in the house means he's

convinced that there's more being hidden.

And a discovery that Chantelle makes suggests that

Mick's suspicions are being proven right.

Oop. Mick.

Oh, yeah.

-Is this remnants?

-There's a bit in there, look.

-Hmm.

Next to the glucose box.

Whilst glucose is not illegal and can be bought as a food supplement,

dealers often use the white powder

to cut with illegal drugs to bulk them up before selling on.

Scales. Oh, yes.

And in the living room Dave is gathering more evidence,

including monitoring activity on a mobile phone

he believes could be a hotline to the dealer.

It's been active since we've been here. Nonstop, really.

Ringing left, right and centre, plus text messages.

There's also some illegal pharmaceuticals to examine,

which could be sleeping pills.

Pill bottle, filled to the brim of blue tablets, which are probably diazepam.

Blue pills found in a camouflage jacket under the stairs.

-Is it the same as that pill we recovered earlier?

-Yeah, it looks that way.

-Are they unmarked?

-Yeah.

They're Manos, then.

Not actual diazepams, but Manos, which are the same.

And there's the small matter of the potentially dangerous weapons to take care of.

This was one of his nice...

At the side of his bed upstairs. Obviously not the sort of thing we like people to be having,

especially when people are aware we're going to be coming through their front doors.

It's a bag full of dirty needles.

A further discovery of more drug-taking paraphernalia upstairs

means the team have to take extra caution,

because there's a series of loaded and lined up syringes.

They'll be amphet, I would've thought.

It could even be heroin, to be honest.

The results of the search means Mick has a bounty of work to carry out

when he gets back to the station.

All that will be put together and then it'll go to the

Priority Crime Team or one of the crime teams anyway, to be investigated.

And during the course of the evening,

that guy's going to get interviewed, he'll have his say

and thereafter they'll look at what's going to happen to him,

and a decision will be made.

When the man appeared before the judge,

he was sentenced to 15 months in jail for dealing amphetamine

and three extra months for dealing diazepam.

The theft charge was discontinued.

Over in Grimsby, the team responds to reports that a man was violently attacked

as two thieves tried to steal his moped.

On arriving at the scene, PCSO Oli Genery had to fend off blows

from one of the suspects, before wrestling him to the ground.

Another man was arrested after being caught escaping through a nearby back garden.

Police are now speaking to witnesses to gather a picture of exactly what happened.

We're going to take the witness and the victim back to the station.

-Are we happy we've got everything?

-Yeah, yeah.

Eyewitnesses are not the only important

source of information for the police.

There's also the CCTV camera that this local shop has.

We're hoping this store has some extra CCTV footage of what's gone on. Hi, buddy.

Oli looks on at the CCTV.

Could we have a look at that camera you're looking at now?

The whole incident unfolds before his eyes.

The victim drives down the road on his scooter, pulls up at the

traffic lights, which, unfortunately, obscures part of our view of events.

But look on,

as suspect number one races down the road

and can be seen rushing at the victim on his stationary scooter.

Then, another group of men can be seen racing to the scene.

With the assault masked by the traffic lights, however,

Oli has to return to do some old-fashioned-style detective work

and hit the streets again looking for more witnesses.

One of the guys started jumping around and I thought that the

motorbike had hit the car in front, but then they pushed him

and then the other guy from the van intervened

and then they all punched the guy from the van, and then kicked

and was stamping on his head and kicking him in his body.

Fortunately, the victim avoided any serious injuries by virtue of the fact

that the heavy-duty clothing he was wearing cushioned him from the blows.

From what I gather, he's just cut up, a bit shaken.

Obviously it's quite a nasty experience,

trying to get your motorbike stolen from you, I'm assuming.

A work colleague of the victim was the man in the van who raced to his help.

Reliving the incident, he's stunned by what's happened.

I'm shook up a little bit, obviously.

But it was just pointless.

There was no need for it. It was just mindless violence.

One of the young lads came running up, pushed him straight

off his motorbike, started kicking him while he was on the floor.

His hands was in his pockets, so he's trying to grab his keys.

I jumped out the van. As I jumped out the van, he turned on me.

As I walked up to him, he turned round and said,

"Do you want some of this?"

He started smacking me around the back of my head.

As I was on the floor, all the other lads came running up and joined in.

The patrol car came past and that was it.

They all ran off, apart from one of them.

As soon as the patrol car came along, they were straight out,

straight in there before it could get worse.

The response was brilliant.

The police were on the scene within less than a minute.

The CCTV acts as a timely reminder to show just how fast police

were in rounding up the suspects.

With suspects under arrest and the victim having sustained no

serious injuries, it's a sterling result for the team.

The man who ran away pleaded guilty to both robbery and assault

and was sentenced to 52 months behind bars.

The lad on the floor, pleaded guilty to assaulting the officers

trying to arrest him and to robbery. He was sent to jail for 22 months.

The neighbourhood teams respond to all manner of issues,

but everything they do is in direct response

to local residents' complaints about crime.

In a no-nonsense way, they set out to make a difference.

Aggravated burglary is amongst the most serious and feared of all crimes.

This occurs when a burglar breaks into a home or premises armed with a weapon.

Today, Dave McKinder and the team

are on the trail of a man wanted for this very offence.

The police have been after him for months,

and as Dave explains, the net is now closing in.

This happened quite some time ago.

He's been laying low for months

and his co-accused has already been dealt with,

and I understand is currently in prison for his part in the offence.

You've got to bear in mind that potentially,

if he is at home, there are certainly things he can use as weapons against us,

and he'll know the whereabouts of those in this house and we won't.

So we're going down there with enough staff to be able to

deal with anything we might come across.

Extra backup is provided by a second team picked up along the way.

With the target location coming into view,

Dave plans the best way to deploy the team.

I think it's this white house coming up on this corner.

AJ's identified it as being on the corner of the main road

and suggested our best plan might be to get round to the back

or the side of the address, where there might be any exits out the back.

PCSO Sean Casson joins Dave going in at the front,

while the others block off the potential escape route.

With no response and no sign of life behind the closed curtains,

the police seem to be drawing a blank.

Anybody there, Sean?

-It's definitely the right address.

-Yeah.

Shame to come all this way and not get anything from it, ain't it? One way or another.

But just then, there's a noise round the back.

No man here, unfortunately. It's a dog.

More a pooch looking to be pampered than a guard dog.

The animal offers a little light relief for the team.

And it would seem a little light relief for the dog is in order too.

He peed all over your foot.

He peed all over his foot.

Perhaps Sean should've taken heed of the warning sign.

A bit overexcited, I think.

Later, we rejoin the team for their return visit and see

if this time they get the result they're looking for.

For many people, a dog is a man's best friend.

But be warned, the number of people admitted to hospital due to

dog bites has risen in the last five years.

In Humberside, the neighbourhood team take very seriously

any reported incidents of dogs biting the public.

Today, Paul and Dave are paying a visit to a woman whose dog has

bitten someone whilst tied up outside a supermarket.

She's failed to appear before court,

so it's time to go and collect her so she can face the magistrate.

We haven't had a response from this address yet

and was met with no reply. All we got was a dog barking.

So we're going to go down there again, give it a knock and we'll go from there.

If she's been seen in the last couple of days, then it would

suggest that she knows she's wanted and she's trying to avoid us.

Today, Dave and Paul are armed with a warrant

and the equipment to break down the door, if needs be.

Have you seen the woman who lives in there recently?

-She's been out this morning? Is she in now?

-I don't know.

You haven't seen her come back? Cheers.

With a new court appearance scheduled, it's time for the

woman to face up to the charge that her dog has bitten someone.

Lesley, it's the police.

You need to come and answer the door now.

Rather than go straight in with the big red key,

police take a gentler approach.

But when Sean Casson spots the woman behind her curtains,

Dave wonders if there's a reason why she's not answering.

I wouldn't say she was hiding, but she's not...

Can we knock on the window to let her know that we're there?

-Because I'm just wondering if she's got hearing issues.

-She might have.

Lesley, you need to open the door cos we're going to have to put it through.

We know you're in there because we've seen you.

If you can hear me, come and answer it. It's the police.

She's just knelt on the floor looking at something.

-She is moving, isn't she?

-Yeah, she's moving about.

Options exhausted and warnings unheeded,

it's time now for a more direct approach.

It's not having it at all.

When the composite door absorbs the shock and holds fast,

the police trade up to a two-man ram, but the going's still tough.

She's having none of it, so...

She's just burying her head in the sand, isn't she? Literally.

With the locks not budging, it's time for a bit of strategic panel bashing.

Lesley, come to the door now.

Otherwise your door is going to be ruined.

A helpful key left in the lock solves the problem.

Lesley. Police, we're coming in. Stay where you are.

Just open the door and see how the dog reacts before you go in.

Hello? Hello?

Lesley, it's the police.

-Firstly, why didn't you answer the door?

-Well...

-This is the third day in a row now we've been.

-We've asked you kindly to come to the door.

-I've been out as well.

-Right, but you haven't been out this morning, have you?

-Not yet.

We've been stood outside for nearly half an hour and we've pleaded with you to come to the door.

We've identified ourselves as the police, haven't we?

-What, with him barking...

-Come on, Lesley.

We've shouted long enough and loud enough. My colleagues have seen you through there.

The woman protests that she hasn't heard the police

because her dog's been barking.

The bottom line is you're going to have to come to court this morning.

You obviously can't bring him with you.

The woman refuses to leave her dog unless it's properly cared for.

I can't leave him.

-You have to, Lesley. As long as he's got water.

-You put him in a kennel.

I can't put them in a kennel, no.

But there'll be no kennel for this canine.

You're only going to be gone a couple of hours.

Now, your front door now is destroyed and needs boarding up.

-Two of our colleagues will be standing with that.

-Please don't let anybody get in my house.

Two of our colleagues will be standing there until your address is made secure.

Once it's made secure, we'll have another key for you. In the meantime,

they'll keep one eye on the dog. All he needs to do is stay in there.

Just put him in there now, please.

The dog is removed to another room, though the hamsters can stay put.

Come on, Lesley, you need to go now. Lesley.

Lesley, the reason I'm arresting you is

-so we can take you to court, all right?

-Not even to say...

-You're not allowed to anyway.

-Come on, then. Come on.

Don't let him go, please.

As the court is not yet open, the woman is taken to the station.

I don't believe she has any issues with her hearing.

She communicated with us perfectly well while we were talking to her.

She'd have been able to hear us banging on the windows and doors

and certainly when we started hitting the door with the ram,

she would have been aware that was happening.

She's obviously just thought that if she ignores us, we'll go away

and I'm sure when we've been on previous occasions, she's probably

been in there, but has probably just chosen not to answer the door.

Under arrest, the woman is required to stay in a cell

until it's time to go to court.

But getting her to respond to police requests still isn't easy.

OK, just pop yourself in.

Lesley? You have to go in.

All right.

Finally, appearing in court,

the woman was instructed to have her dog muzzled

and on a lead at all times out in public or have it put down.

She was also required to pay compensation

to the bite victim of £500.

Searching for a burglar, police have drawn a blank,

but it's not over till it's over

and a return visit to the house where he's thought to be hiding

is on the cards once again.

To be honest, I can't imagine

-he's going to be up and about at this time of day.

-No.

Perhaps the early bird will catch the worm.

Second time round, Dave and the team now know the lie of the land

and immediately fan out to surround the house.

But has their early-morning ploy been for nothing?

HE KNOCKS

Once again, there's movement round the back.

-Hello.

-Have my colleagues gone in?

The wanted man's grandfather confirms

that the others are inside and have found their target.

We've come to the address,

we've knocked on the door on both sides

and we've found the wanted male inside.

He's quite calm and he's complying with us.

Fortunately, the man comes quietly

and even helps Dave navigate back to the main road.

-Just follow the road round.

-Just follow the road around? OK.

You're not leading us into an ambush, are you?

The man actually seems to be pleased to be taken into custody.

Wow, that was a long drive.

The two long trips were worth it for the neighbourhood team.

Appearing at Crown Court, the man pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary

and was sentenced to 12 months behind bars.

Right, we'll leave you, then, Ashley. See you later.