Episode 17 Neighbourhood Blues

Neighbourhood policing has come a long way

since the days of Dixon Of Dock Green.

Good evening, all!

From inner-city estates to suburbia,

this new generation of community police officers

-are on the front line.

-SIREN WAILS

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...

No, I don't care!

DOG BARKS Eh, eh, eh...

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

Coming up, a zero-tolerance approach

to street drinking leads to arrests...

No, I don't care!

They didn't take no can off me!

..suspected drug dealers and users get a major wake-up call...

INDISTINCT SHOUTING

Sorry! Sorry, mate!

..and a couple of teenage tykes face the music.

Yep, I'm being totally serious, lads.

Criminal damage for what?

The police frequently come in for flak for not being tough enough

on criminals who commit the types of low-level crime

that can make everyday life a misery.

Neighbourhood policing is supposed to change that.

In Hull city centre, a major task force is being assembled

to send a message to these so-called sofa dealers and their client list -

"Whoever you are, wherever you are, we're coming for you."

At Riverside Police Station,

over 30 officers are being briefed on the job and their targets...

This, until we get some convictions from this...

..two neighbouring houses on an estate that are believed to deal

to dozens of users a week.

With a warrant to raid the premises in hand,

the team tool up into their protective body armour

and assemble their equipment.

As they set off in convoy to the destination,

information comes in over the radio

from plain-clothes officers on the ground.

Knowing that an element of surprise is essential

in these kinds of raids...

Just stop in the middle of the road here.

..the teams disembark just around the corner,

most importantly, out of sight of the target houses.

On touching the tarmac, it's all systems go

as the officers storm the location in a pincer movement...

..literally taking out suspects on the move

before even reaching the house.

INDISTINCT SHOUTING

Sorry! Sorry, mate!

A swarm of officers arrest four people

in the communal area surrounding the houses

who are suspected of either selling or buying drugs.

As those suspects are cuffed and read their rights...

Hey, hey! Have you found my phone?

..two other teams of officers hit two addresses

either side of the communal area...

Open it now or we're going to open it!

..going in with the battering ram

to give the occupants a rude awakening.

BANGING AND SHOUTING

In under two minutes, five men are under arrest,

under suspicion of dealing and buying drugs.

Because he's been in the address just prior to him being arrested,

we have the power to search the address.

The police start searching the premises

and the surrounding areas for any signs of illegal drugs...

Something stinks down here.

..and it's not long before a root around in the rubbish bin

comes up trumps.

That was literally...

It was tied like that, literally just in there.

15 bags of cannabis found in there.

Cannabis with a street value of over £200 is fished out of the garbage.

There's approximately 15 in the bag.

But the team suspect there may be more

and a suspicious-looking hole above the bin draws their attention,

so they move in for a closer look.

-You see it from here.

-Can you?

He said it's like a big smash in there.

He's going to get the ladders, Sarge.

You getting the ladders?

There you go, there's bags up there, look.

Criminals often use unlikely places to hide their stash

and this grotty hole is home to many more bags of cannabis.

One, two, three, four...

One, two, three, four, five,

six, seven, eight,

nine.

There's nine in that one.

What have we got there, then?

There's 38 deals, all exactly the same sort of size, really.

They're all £10 deals.

On my scale, it was about £380-worth,

which is quite a result, really.

The dogs are sent inside the house

to attempt to sniff out any further drugs.

But back outside, Mick Stevenson explains what made this raid

a particularly difficult one.

We always knew this was going to be problematic.

As soon as we arrived,

there was half a dozen people stood where we are now in the middle,

right in the middle of the street, really.

Which one found an iPhone with a black case on it?

YOUTHS SHOUT AND CALL OUT

I think it certainly sent a message to the residents

that we will come and we will take some action,

and it's an excellent result for the local neighbourhood policing team.

Following the raid, the show of force by the police

has seen a large drop in complaints by residents.

Two men were given a caution for possession of cannabis.

One man pleaded guilty to dealing cannabis

and was ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work

and pays costs of £145.

DOGS SNARL AND BARK

There are over eight million dogs in the UK.

Whilst most are much-loved family pets,

a select few are a danger to the public.

Right.

Last year, there were over 6,000 dog attacks

that saw the victims sent to hospital.

The team now has their very own dangerous dog expert,

PC Gareth Walker.

Issues that we get more recently is certainly people ringing up reporting

that the next-door neighbour or, in some cases, friends, family members,

have got pit bull terrier-type dogs,

which is the main one that we respond to out of the four illegal breeds.

Over at Riverside Station...

Cheers, bye! Bye.

..Gareth has just taken a call from the council

about a possible pit bull-type animal

picked up roaming the streets of Hull.

On arriving at the pound, the dog is walked out for Gareth to inspect.

He needs to determine if it is in fact a dangerous dog.

Straight off, I'd say, "Yes, it is." HE CHUCKLES

It's, er... It's as quick as that with this one.

Hello. Hello.

Hello. Hey?

This will be a pit-bull-type and we refer to them as "type"

because it's very rare that they're ever 100% pit bull,

so there's certain characteristics that you have to look for.

99% of them have nice temperaments. Um...

Any dog can be dangerous, really, whether it be a Jack Russell,

a poodle or a pit bull

but, unfortunately, with strays like this one,

there's only one ending for the dog, really, and that's euthanasia.

CAMERA BEEPS

On radioing back to the station,

some information wings its way to Gareth

about a possible owner of the animal.

If it turns out to be his dog -

by the name of Lennox, I think he said it was -

if it is his, I'll explain the process to him

about either getting the dog back or having the dog euthanized.

And we'll see where we go from there, really.

On reaching the address,

Gareth catches the dog owner as he returns home.

-Have you just come out of number 18?

-You knocked on the door, why?

Oh, it's about your dog.

-Yeah?

-Is it Carl?

-Yeah?

I need to speak you, Carl, about it.

-Your dog's gone missing, is that right?

-Yeah.

The dog wardens have notified me about it,

cos I'm one of the dog legislation offices for the force.

You seem like you know what I'm going to tell you.

The breed of the dog.

What are you under the impression it is?

OK, is that what it was sold to you as?

OK. It's not a French Bulldog.

-It will fall into the category of a pit-bull-type.

-Yeah.

Which, obviously, in this country, they are illegal.

For you to get him back, I have to take you to court,

but it's not a civil... It's not a prosecution. It's a civil matter.

And they'll say, "Will you agree to these following conditions?"

Which will be, that you have to have the dog neutered...

He has to be microchipped.

You have to buy third-party insurance for him

and also you have to pay for him to go to the exempted dog register.

You're looking, roughly, £400.

Might be a bit less, might be a bit more,

depending on how long you leave it in the kennel, as you see.

If you leave it right till the eight weeks...

Yeah.

Yeah, no, I understand that. I understand.

Yeah, very much so, yeah. No, that is right.

And that's why I'm quite willing for you to have him back,

if you want to go through the process.

So you only have two options of...

paying for it or having the dog put to sleep, really.

Yeah.

Well, I'll come back on Wednesday, cos then I'm not on

and I'm off for a few days and things like that

and the last thing I want... Yeah, I know.

Lennox's fate now rests upon whether his owner

can get together the funds to pay for the requirements

that would enable him to remain in his possession.

But find out later what happens when Gareth returns to the house,

only to find his canine conundrums multiply.

The neighbourhood police teams are there to react to any complaint

the public makes about a problem in their area.

And, when the school holidays beckon, they can be sure to see

the number of calls relating to youths running wild skyrocket.

But, as we're about to find out,

the police have become very efficient at tailoring

their response to the trouble these teenage terrors can cause.

Over in Bridlington,

PC Nikki Cammiss and PCSO Becky Brown are being called

to investigate a spotty-faced gang of lads on the rampage.

We've just had a call in from a member of the public

that three youths have just been seen damaging some garden ornaments.

And it just so happens that the member of the public

was able to name one of them and it's one of the same three

that we've just previously been speaking to in the town.

Hiya.

-Have you just rung it in?

-Yes.

-Is it these that...?

-Yeah.

-They just smashed them all up.

-What a shame.

-Little sods, aren't they?

A selection of hand-carved wooden ornaments on display in the garden

have been vandalised by the youths.

Nikki and Becky scout the area,

looking for the suspected young vandals

and it's not long before their eagle eyes spot two lads

that fit the description.

Lads. Here, now. I ain't chasing you, get here, now.

We're not joking. Now, come on.

BLEEP.

Right, at this minute in time,

you are both under arrest and you'll be given formal street bail

to attend at the police station to be interviewed.

-Criminal damage for what?

-Do you understand me?

-For what?

To garden ornaments.

-Garden ornaments?

-Yeah.

-I'm being totally serious, lads.

-What?

-BLEEP.

The call we had earlier for the garden ornaments on the wall,

they're two of the three that were, I believe, responsible.

We've arrested them at this stage

so I can take them home to their parents.

The boy might be laughing now

but he's sure to have the smile wiped off his face

when he's delivered home.

They're claiming their innocence but they have been named

and the description of the clothing and everything...

The lad is sent inside, where he gets a ticking off by his father.

-What have I told you about

-BLEEP?

If you're just going to keep getting into trouble, your dad's right.

You need to find some different friends.

And now it's time for the joker of the pack

to face the music on his own, in the home he lives in with his grandad.

Watch your head. Watch your step. Go on, after you.

How can you get all these trophies and then,

when you're with certain people, just behave like that?

It's not acceptable, is it?

The boy's a gifted athlete and a young boxing champion,

and Grandad's worried about him

throwing it all away by getting mixed up with the wrong crowd.

-He's lovely...

-Stupidity...

-..and...

-Getting carried away.

And I just say, think before you act.

-To seriously think about who you're hanging out with,

-BLEEP,

-and listen to your grandad.

As Nicky and Grandad express their concerns,

the seriousness of the situation begins to hit home to the lad.

Don't cry. If you continue to get into trouble...

you're just going to end up with a criminal record, aren't you?

It is just silly stuff but it's the silly stuff that stacks up.

-All right?

-Yeah.

Following their arrests, both of the young lads were

interviewed by the police, where they had to explain what happened.

The matter was dealt with by way of restorative justice.

They each wrote a letter of apology to the people whose ornaments they broke.

And there have been no further incidents.

Find out later how restorative justice brings

one youngster face-to-face with a victim of his crime

and helps put him back on the straight and narrow.

PC Gareth Walker is Humberside Police's dog expert,

charged with keeping check on any so-called dangerous dogs that

may be unwittingly kept as pets

or used for more sinister activities,

such as dog-fighting.

It's as quick as that with this one.

A dog warden has seized a stray animal that Gareth has

identified as a pit-bull-type dog.

After confronting the animal's owner, he has given him some time

to get together the sum of £400 to pay for the dog to be

micro-chipped and placed on the Dangerous Dogs Register.

Right, let me have a quick look round your gaff.

-I want to tell you the truth, yeah?

-Go on.

The dog, I got off my sister. It was my sister's dog.

She actually wants to pay for it back.

-For who? For you?

-No, for her. It's not my dog. It's for her, you see.

She's brought it up.

What happened is... I'll tell you in a minute.

-Right, what you're looking at? My other dog, aren't you?

-Well...

-Right...

-The problem is, you've come forward and claimed the dog...

-I know that but I didn't want to...

-..which makes it your dog.

Well, if that's the case then she'll have to come with me, pay the money

-and I'll have to get the dog and give it to her.

-You can't give it to her.

This is the problem. Because...

Because you've claimed it as yours, it has to be registered here.

If you give that dog away, you commit an offence under

the Dangerous Dogs Act because it's a pit-bull-type.

Next thing...

-Max...

-Yeah?

..has got lots and lots of characteristics of a pit-bull-type.

So I've got to get him tattooed and that, basically? Well, I'll do that.

With Gareth suspecting Max to be a dangerous dog, he cannot stay

with his owner until the monies are paid, the registration is carried

out and a court determines that the animal can be returned home.

He's already peed up my leg once!

And Gareth is just hoping the other trouser leg doesn't get the dirty

performed on it by Max.

He's made some confessions about the other dog, that it's actually

his sister's and he was just looking after it for the day when it escaped,

so we need to make some enquiries with her in relation to that.

-Urgh! It's

-BLEEP

-everywhere! It's like a tsunami!

It has as well!

Back at the station,

Gareth carries out the standard ten-point check designed to

determine whether or not an animal is pit-bull-type

and therefore a dangerous dog.

The bottom of the ribcage, the way that falls.

Everything, really, just falls into type.

Not a nasty dog at all and I'm quite happy for him

to get the dog back if he can do that.

Gareth has given Max's owner a few days to rustle up the funds

to save his pet.

But despite his best efforts,

he sadly hasn't been able to pull the monies together.

There's no way I can get 200 quid.

-Sure?

-I can't do nowt else about it, can I?

-OK.

He should come back. I thought about it. There's nowt I can do about it, you know.

I'm giving you a few days that I can...

I know you have. I appreciate that.

Max's owner has explained the situation

and he signs the forms to allow for the humane destruction of Max.

It's quite sad, really.

I offered him different vouchers and schemes to pay for it

but he's just not able to make up the funds.

And just when Gareth thought his dog day could not get any worse,

on returning to the station, he takes a worrying call regarding

Lennox, the other pit-bull-type dog that belonged to the man's sister.

Unfortunately, Lennox has developed some behavioural problems

in the kennel and quite nastily attacked the kennel manager

at the kennels, causing some quite nasty injuries,

including a possible fractured arm, puncture wounds, tears, et cetera.

The best course of action in our opinion would be for Lennox

to be destroyed humanely.

Very surprised in relation to Lennox

cos, when we first saw him, he was fine.

Liked to be handled, showed no aggression throughout the examination.

It's just a reality check, really.

It brings it home to everybody that deals with these dogs the potential that you are dealing with

and the power and the injuries that these dogs can cause.

The neighbourhood police are not just there to keep an eye on residential areas.

They're there to make sure that town centres

and community hot spots are kept free from trouble, too.

And whenever anyone does look to break the law or create a disturbance,

they can be sure to be met by a very swift response.

Today, the team have just taken a call from worried

locals following the sighting of a very drunk woman,

very close to the train station, who has also turned aggressive.

Sergeant Rob Danby explains more.

One of the PCs has shouted for assistance.

They are trying to get hold of them at the moment to find out what

is happening.

So we are going to head up there.

On arriving, they find she has already been detained

but she is not going quietly, or without a fight.

-You really took that can off me?

-Yes.

I think you better speak on camera.

SHOUTING AND BLEEPED SWEARING

-Get in the car, have a sit.

-No, I don't care.

They didn't take no can off me.

-Are you going to listen, because you're under arrest?

-No.

The woman is bundled into the back of the police car

but continues to protest her innocence.

-I was bringing it, I was stood here to go and get the

-BLEEP

-bus home.

Whatever.

Just walking past the Paragon Interchange,

noticed two of the persons we had originally moved on still

drinking from open tins of alcohol.

We have gone over and seized the alcohol because

they are in a restricted area, they cannot drink alcohol in this area.

The male has actually said to us,

"When we leave this area we're just going to drink this one."

So under those grounds I have seized that closed alcohol tin

and disposed of that, as well.

Being seen to take tough action against street drinking has

paid dividends for the Neighbourhood Police teams in Hull.

The woman has now calmed down and she is likely to be let go

without charge.

But just as they think the situation is over...

SHOUTING AND BLEEPED SWEARING

..another man decides it is time to stage his own drunken

protest against the boys in blue.

Come on, then.

BLEEPED SWEARING

I have got his legs, you're all right.

Before he can cause any more of a scene,

he is restrained and read the Riot Act.

You're under arrest for Section 5, Public Order.

MAN SPEAKS BLEEPED OUT SWEARING

You should have thought about that before you yawped off, really.

This is one of the guys who was arguing

when we were dealing with the female when we turned up.

He was yawping off, swearing at us.

Really, he has talked himself into getting arrested

when he had no need to.

He could have left the area and it would have been done with.

So now he is in custody, so the female, who we were going to

deal with by a fixed penalty notice, she has calmed down.

We will be swapping in the van with him!

On a Friday and Saturday night,

drunken people account for a high proportion of all police arrests.

This puts a huge burden on the police

and adds weight to the fact the neighbourhood teams are always

looking for ways to cut back on this type of antisocial behaviour.

He'll have to sober up.

Once he is sober then they will look at his previous convictions,

see what he is eligible for. He may be charged,

he may be suitable for a penalty notice for disorder.

But until we get him booked in and do all the relevant checks,

test the evidence and decide where to go from there.

First on the right.

The man woke up with more than a hangover.

He was charged with being drunk and disorderly in a public place.

He was given a 12-month conditional discharge

and told to pay court costs and a victim surcharge.

The use of restorative justice is on the rise in the UK.

The police are looking to use this form of mediation

on first-time offenders.

It brings them face-to-face with the victims of their crime,

as well as helping them understand the consequences of their actions.

It can also help them escape a criminal conviction.

Humberside Police have had great success with this process

when it comes to young offenders.

Over in Kirk Ella, PC Andy White is looking to give one teenager

one such second chance.

Basically, we have got a young lad, a 13-year-old lad, he stole a

Macmillan's charity box a few weeks ago from an old age people's home.

The charity box had about four or five pounds' worth of money

in it, small change.

He then took the charity box to school,

he used the money to buy sweets with it.

We had him into the police station, I interviewed him,

he admitted the offence.

He has not been in trouble before so we decided to use restorative

justice, basically.

We decided that he was to meet up with somebody from the trust,

really to show him what sort of impact him doing that could

have on the charity and what sort of good work they do.

I think this approach, with restorative justice,

on this occasion is the right approach

and the way in which we should be going on this occasion.

The lad and his dad arrive at the police station,

closely followed by Crystal, who is a worker

from the Macmillan Trust, and Brian, a cancer sufferer turned fundraiser.

He was caught a few weeks ago stealing a charity box,

a Macmillan charity box, with about £4.50 in.

He has never been in trouble before, he is only 13.

Brian gets his chance to explain how the money from those boxes

help him personally.

I can't survive without Macmillan.

The money they get in the boxes,

ten years ago I wouldn't have been here today.

That money helps them to investigate cancers.

Every two weeks, I get chemotherapy and this here is with me for life.

I have also had an operation here, where they have removed

part of my bowel with cancer

but it had spread, before they caught it, to my liver.

Unfortunately, they can't operate now but they can control it.

It is what they call incurable.

They can't stop it but they can slow it down.

Andy passes Crystal the letter of remorse the boy has written.

Thank you for that, that is really good of you to write that.

On the strength of that, we thought, well,

£4.50 in the box for Macmillan.

He has got a paper round, he is working.

We thought five weeks,

£50 to yourselves to pay back the money that has been taken.

If I have helped you a little bit in your walk through your life

then that is not a bad day's work for me. I think I have.

I am a pretty good judge of character

and I reckon that enough is enough.

It is clear that meeting Crystal and Brian has had a marked

effect on the lad, which is sure to see him mend the error of his ways.

-You will, I know you will make him proud. I know that.

-Don't cry.

Nobody hugs the police, nobody likes the police half the time!

-All right. Good lad, I will be in touch.

-Lovely to meet you.

-It is the day following the successful mediation.

-Hiya.

-You all right?

-I am.

-Hi, Crystal, take a seat.

Thought it was brilliant.

That whole do we had here was only good because he came.

First of all, he was real forgiving with the lad

and secondly, he has done all this fundraising

and everything else he has to put up with at the moment.

I thought he was great.

If he can do that walk, we can do a walk.

The talk of fundraising has sparked an idea.

A few weeks later, the Macmillan Cancer Walk is under way.

As well as Andy from the neighbourhood team,

amongst the many people taking part are Brian

and the young lad involved in the restorative justice session.

He is real genuine in his remorse,

so much so that he collected a lot more money than

he should have done for the charity, as well as paying the cash back.

And fundraiser Brian is moved by what the young lad has achieved.

I am, I am really honoured, I am humbled to know you.

-Thank you so much.

-I think that is the word for him, really,

-he is an inspiration.

-He has got cancer.

He has got a smile on his face,

he is still trying to raise money for the disease that he is fighting.

He is great, he is really great.

I think if Brian can do it,

we can do it and that is what all those people have done today.

This is an example of how neighbourhood policing can have

a much wider impact on the community that can inspire and bring hope.

Bringing people closer together even after a crime has taken place.