Episode 4 Neighbourhood Blues

With unprecedented access, Neighbourhood Blues

follows the police in Somerset

as they take on the crimes that annoy us all.

-Don't manhandle me.

-Come over here.

Targeting antisocial behaviour, drug abuse and criminal damage.

Beat officers and PCSOs tackle the problems

that, if left unchecked, could blight the lives of millions.

Armed with the latest cutting-edge kit,

they have the power to strike hard when needed.

Police, stay where you are!

But just like the days of Dixon Of Dock Green...

Evening, all.

..it's all about partnering with local people.

Brilliant!

Working together to sweep crime off our streets.

Police, search warrant!

Coming up...

See you later, John.

An on-the-ball officer in Weston catches a man out.

It's not Robin, all right?

-She just called you John and you've told me Robin.

-I don't know!

Dom hunts for an arcade vandal.

And a wanted man is caught red-handed.

-In the van, all right?

-BLEEP

-sake, man!

To be an effective neighbourhood officer, you need to be resourceful.

You need to be brave. And you always need to keep your wits about you.

In Weston-Super-Mare, there have been recent complaints

about antisocial behaviour in one of the town's parks.

This should be somewhere for people to relax

and children to safely play but there's been recent reports

of groups of people drinking and taking drugs in broad daylight.

Gemma Harper and Alice Durston are sent to investigate.

-Hello, police.

-Hello.

-Hello.

And it doesn't take them long to come across a group of homeless people

that they think could be the suspects.

-Is any of that yours?

-Definitely mine.

-Pardon?

-That's mine over there.

-I don't smoke.

You don't smoke but it's down to the side of you?

This is a bong, a type of pipe usually used for smoking drugs.

And it's soon joined by a second one.

It's looking more sure that this is the group that reports were about.

So, there's two bongs which have been located.

And based on that, basically, they've all been detained

for a Section 23 Misuse Of Drugs Act search.

And that's what we're doing at the moment,

checking if they're known to us, checking what they're known for.

Gemma's found what looks to be a tin of cannabis.

It looks like cannabis looks like but you smell it,

it doesn't smell like cannabis.

But it turns out to be a legal high,

antisocial to smoke in the park but not against the law to own.

-What's your name?

-Robin Feres.

-Robin Feres?

-Have you got any ID on you, Robin?

-No.

Alice finds another tin of suspicious smoking material

on the man who calls himself Robin.

You smell it? It smells very strongly of cannabis, so...

-The chap's just said it's weed as well.

-That's the tiniest amount.

It doesn't matter, you shouldn't have it, should you?

This is a small amount and if he hasn't been caught

with cannabis before, he's likely to get a street caution.

-See you later, John.

-See you later.

-See you later, John.

Have you still got your tokens on your bag?

He's told Alice his name is Robin.

But it seems not everyone calls him that.

I'll have to get you another one.

Right, so now your name's...

-Now your name's John.

-Hey?

-Now your name's John, isn't it?

-It's not Robin.

-Hey?

-All right?

She just called you John and you've told me Robin.

I don't know, I don't know his name. He's a homeless man, you see?

So, I make my own name up for this gentleman and that gentleman

and this gentleman...

The lady is claiming that John is just a nickname

but Alice isn't convinced.

I need to be 100% certain that you are who you say you are.

I can't deal with this matter unless I know that, OK?

-So, have you got any form of ID on you whatsoever?

-No, nothing at all.

-You haven't got a bank card or anything?

-No, I can't...

Well, I'm outdoors, I spend most of my life outdoors. I can't even...

People end up on the streets for all sorts of reasons.

Some are forced there through hardship, others have drug issues.

That makes it impossible to find accommodation.

But a few want to slip through the gaps in society and disappear.

They don't carry money around with them,

they don't carry bank cards around with them.

Or any identification like a driving licence or a passport,

anything like that.

So it is quite difficult trying to identify who this person is.

Alice checks both of the names the man's been called

through the National Police Computer.

Control from 4694.

Gemma finishes checking the others

and doesn't find anything else illegal.

Neither name that Alice has checked has any previous

but she's not convinced this guy is what he seems.

As it is at the moment,

I'm not happy that the person you're telling me you are is you, OK?

-So I don't have any other option but to take you with me.

-OK.

Unless we can establish, you can tell me who you are.

-I've just told you.

-OK.

The man is only going to the station to prove he is who he says he is.

-But it's an emotional goodbye.

-Hopefully see you in a sec.

-Yeah!

-He's only coming round the corner.

-We know the game right now.

-I don't care!

-I'll see you in a bit.

-I don't care!

-BLEEP.

Before they go,

the group are given some advice about their behaviour in the park.

Just bear in mind, other people want to use the park, yeah?

-When you're there with a bong.

-Shall we just go?

Officers will be patrolling here in future to make sure

it doesn't happen again.

People in Weston don't like legal highs anyway.

The mystery man is taken to Bridgwater custody

where they'll be able to prove his ID one way or another.

What is your surname?

Feres.

-Spell that for me?

-F-E-R...

-F-E-R...

-E-S.

-E-S?

Feres.

It's quite unknown, really, for someone who's lived on the street

for 15 years to not come in contact with the police.

The man claims to have never been in trouble before.

But almost immediately, there's the first sign

that he may not be telling the whole truth.

He told me he didn't have any tattoos

and he's just taken his jacket off in custody

and he's got tattoos down his left arm, quite a few of them.

Offices take his DNA and fingerprints and run it through the system.

If he's ever committed a crime, it'll come up with a match.

But if he really is who he says, then it will draw a blank

and he'll be let on his way.

We've popped that into our Police National Computer

and that's brought back a different person. Um, so he isn't...

He is not the person he's been telling us he is,

he is someone else.

And far from never being in trouble before,

this guy has an extensive rap sheet.

He's got 62 pages on his record.

Burglary, theft offences along with public order offences.

So, he's quite well-known to us, this chap.

All right?

Right, we've done some checks, OK?

-And you've come back as John

-BLEEP.

-OK.

-All right? We need to speak to you...

'I'm looking at the record, he has no previous for drugs offences.'

So based on that, he can be issued with a simple cannabis warning

for possession of a controlled drug.

So if he was eligible for a caution anyway, why all the lies?

It soon becomes clear.

He's actually wanted, recalled to prison

because he's breached his conditions on his licence.

The man breached his licence conditions for theft

just over a week ago and was recalled to prison.

But he disappeared and he's been hiding from the law since then.

It just goes to show trusting your gut instinct,

I knew that he wasn't who he said he was.

I think he probably thought he would get away with it.

I think it just goes to show that he won't

and now he's obviously got to go back to prison in the morning.

In Bridgwater town centre, Dom Bryant is patrolling the streets

when a call comes in.

Go ahead.

A man's escaped on a bus after apparently smashing up

a games arcade and attacking a member of staff.

I'll head down the A39, see if I can see any buses heading that way.

CCTV from the games arcade shows a man getting aggressive with staff.

On his way out, he throws something at the CCTV camera.

And smashes an arcade machine.

The man is an ex-employee,

so the victim has been able to give the police a name and address.

Right. He was last seen walking towards the bus station.

It may be he's got on the bus heading towards his home address.

We need to find out with the buses ahead of us.

We'll stop it and see if he's on it.

Dom's plan is to beat the bus back to the suspect's home.

But there's no proof the man actually caught the bus.

He might have got off the bus, he might be making his way on foot.

Ah, there's the bus. Stand by, stand by.

Will Dom's gamble have paid off?

I've got the bus in sight.

It's the number 375, the Wells bus.

Just pass me a description of the alleged offender again, please?

-MAN ON RADIO:

-'Thank you.

'Description of the male again for you is 21 years of age,

'white male, spiky hair, wearing a white T-shirt and shorts.'

Dom's not seen the CCTV but that's a good description.

However, when the bus passes, it's empty except for the driver.

It looks like Dom may have to retrace the bus route to find the suspect.

But first, he decides to use his local knowledge.

There we go.

There's someone loitering back there.

Just saw someone stick his head round. Not getting out just yet.

And it looks like the man was on the bus after all.

Right, there's somebody up there.

Right, let's have a word with him.

He just got off the bus. I'm saying that's him. Let's have a word.

-All right, matey. How goes it?

-I remember you.

-Where from?

Bridgwater with Marcus.

No, the other kid you brought, you banned, from Poland.

Dom's met the man before, which always helps

when dealing with someone.

-I'm going to ask you a couple of questions.

-Yeah, OK.

-I need you to be totally straight with me.

-Yeah.

-Is your name Tom?

-Yeah.

-Tom...

-Did you stop the bus?

No, this is the gentleman, I think, possibly.

-All right.

-The bus is empty.

-Yeah, my house is just there.

Just stay there a minute. The bus is empty, Al!

The bus is empty. I've checked the bus.

-Yeah, look. My house is just...

-That's all right, mate.

Everything's cool, everything's cool.

Dom's joined by Alan Gothard

who's also been hunting for the possible vandal.

-Tom, yeah?

-Yeah, it is, mate.

-I'm Alan.

Listen, we've got a complaint from Casino Slots in Bridgwater

-that you've damaged a laptop.

-I haven't been...

You've damaged some kind of fruit machine and assaulted the manager.

I didn't assault the manager, he pushed me.

-OK, well, that's the allegation that we've got.

-OK, that's fine.

Um, on... Because of that, we'll have to arrest you.

The lad may deny criminal damage but the footage clearly shows him

smashing a laptop off the counter,

throwing an object at the CCTV camera

and kicking the front of an arcade machine.

We've got the suspect under arrest. Can you let Victor know?

It's a good catch, all thanks to Dom's sharp eyes.

Conducting an area tour, I saw this gentleman was loitering.

He was popping his head out and back again.

To me, that set alarm bells ringing already. Why is he doing that?

Trying to evade the police. That's good enough.

But more than that, it's all about knowing your neighbourhood.

He knows me from the town.

It was all relaxed, doesn't want to run off.

Not putting up a struggle, which again, is great.

It's great, that's community policing.

That's what it's all about.

With the lad in custody, Dom goes to speak to the arcade owner.

-How are you doing, my friend? All right?

-Quite good, thank you.

-How's things?

-Good, better now.

Have you kept up-to-date with the outcome?

Nothing at the moment, bits and bobs.

Well, it's a conditional caution at the moment.

Depending on the value of the damage,

-he'll have to contribute.

-Towards it?

-If not, pay for it.

-The manager shows Dom the damaged machine.

-This one here, it was.

-All right. Oh, he kicked the screen in?

-Straight through it.

-Wow.

-What's that going to cost to repair, then?

-The whole thing's ruined now.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Obviously, his foot went through and smashed the PC as well.

-Going to cost him 300, 400 quid.

-Well, there we are. Elvis as well.

-Good machine, was it?

-Yeah, limited edition!

-Viva Las Vegas.

Dom wants the owner to feel secure

and doesn't want any repetition of the incident.

-Even if he comes near the store, 999 straightaway.

-Yeah.

Don't take any chances, don't wait for him to come in.

He's not allowed. I've got a picture of him and the family for the staff.

Just 999, straightaway. OK?

The angry young man was given a conditional police caution

for assault and criminal damage.

He was made to pay £200 compensation and banned from the shop for life.

He took a gamble when he attacked the machine and it was a bet he lost.

Ask any police officer why they joined up

and it won't be long before they mention protecting the vulnerable.

The weakest members of society are often seen as soft targets

and are preyed upon.

So officers need to keep a watchful eye over them.

PCSOs regularly check on the vulnerable people

in their neighbourhood.

Today, they're chatting to a man with learning difficulties.

J, I'm worried about you. You don't look too good at all.

The man tells them he's been plagued by an ex-convict.

Does your front and back door lock properly?

-On your front?

-Yeah.

-It does?

Despite the locks, the man's been staying whenever he feels like it.

-So there's no reason for

-BLEEP

-to be getting into your flat, is there?

No.

So you need to make sure, when you're in the flat, your front door

and your back door is locked.

Lovely guy. Lovely guy, he really is nice but he's a victim as well.

Because of his vulnerability, people have robbed money from him,

breaking into his flat, damaged his flat,

stayed for a couple of days and then moved on.

-All right, mate.

-All right, J, we'll let you go.

-OK, take it easy, mate.

-You know where we are, don't you?

-All right, thanks.

PCSOs have limited powers.

So PC Adge Secker is called in to throw out the unwanted house guest.

Open the door, please. It's Secker here.

All right? I need to speak to you a minute. Where's J?

I don't know, he's left.

He's just told me, or he's just told my colleagues, all right?

He doesn't want you in here.

This guy has been bullying a vulnerable man

and he needs to be chucked out.

-Where are you going to go then,

-BLEEP?

-Don't know, mate. Town.

But Adge is worried that, by putting the ex-convict

back on the streets, he might be causing more problems for his patch.

-Have you been taking stuff? Your eyes look terrible.

-No, I've been...

Looking around, Adge thinks that he may be on drugs.

If I'm honest with you, I'm quite worried about you.

Because you're not looking brilliant.

For neighbourhood officers,

a crime prevented is better than a crime solved.

Now, I'm prepared to help you but you've got to help yourself as well.

I'll take him down to the housing office on Wednesday

and at least get that process started, get him on the list,

get him off the streets and into a flat. OK, now listen to me.

Next Wednesday, I want to meet you

-and we'll talk about how we can get you on the list.

-Hm.

-OK?

-But you keep your nose clean. Don't let me down.

-All right.

It might seem like Adge is being soft on this lad

but he wants to avoid a crimewave

that a desperate ex-convict could cause.

-I've seen people like

-BLEEP

-throughout all of my service.

And these people are on a cycle.

And if they don't get help,

then it's going to get worse and worse and worse for them.

They'll slip further into a life of criminality.

So, if I can give somebody like that a step up

and a hand to get him off the streets,

that's going to be good for him, obviously,

but it's going to be good for the community as well.

Adge knows it's a long shot that he'll show up.

But as we'll see later, he has no idea just how bad things will get.

It's the outstanding suspect that we're looking for

that's supposed to have the knife.

In Weston-super-Mare's Bournville Estate,

mini motorbikes have been making residents' lives a misery.

Illegally being ridden on roads and parks and generally being a menace.

Russ Millier and Sgt Colin Batchelor

are patrolling the streets on the lookout for any trouble.

We just heard one of our horse patrols has found a possible

stolen moped or a motorbike somewhere around here.

And we'll go down, we'll take a look at it.

And if needs be, we'll bring that one in on the van.

Mounted police have stopped a couple of lads with a mini motorbike.

It's not long before Russ is on the scene.

You can't ride down the tip, I told you!

Another one going round now, I can hear it.

There's another bike nearby.

MOTOR REVS

-Go get 'em!

-And the mounted police turn cowboy.

Chasing down the errant biker.

The horse manages to corral the man on the bike.

But now he's claiming he wasn't actually riding it.

-No, just slide it up there, innit?

-You're riding it, mate.

-I saw you riding it!

-Sliding it there, innit?

My eyesight's quite good, I can see that far.

Unless they are registered with a DVLA and taxed, mini motorbikes

can only be ridden on private land with the owner's permission.

Not in a local park.

Sitting here, he's getting a 59 notice now.

You shouldn't be riding it in the park, should you?

A Section 59 notice lets police seize any vehicle

that is causing alarm, distress or annoyance.

You get one warning.

If this guy ever gets another Section 59,

then whatever he's driving will be seized.

But for the moment, police are taking this bike

until its ownership is proved.

-Are you going to take my

-BLEEP

-away?

-Temporarily.

-We're going to take your bike.

-Well, it's not my bike.

You just said are we going to take your bike away?

Yeah, but it's my mate's bike.

I've come here today to sell it because someone else is coming over.

-Whose bike is it?

-It's my mate's bike. It's Gaz.

-Who?

-Gaz.

-Have you got Gary's phone number?

-Yeah.

Suggest you call him, then,

find out what documents he's got to prove it's his.

Whoever collects the bike will need to prove they're the legal owner

and because it was ridden in public, that it's insured too.

This chap's come in the park riding one,

causing antisocial behaviour on this estate.

It's quite a big problem we've got at the moment.

So yeah, like we said, we're going to take the bikes

until they can prove where they come from and who owns them.

You can go when you want.

The noise alone is causing the residents issues.

And they're riding around, like you said, going 30-40 miles an hour.

If they're riding that in a park, you have a kid who comes out,

it's going to cause serious injury, if not death.

So yeah, it's causing a major problem at the moment.

The man who the first guy said owns the blue bike turns up

and he's not happy.

-Yeah, it came out right of St John's.

-People are riding it...

Hang on a minute, calm yourself down and let me finish on the radio.

It's my bike, I'm waiting to hear what happened to it.

Your mate's been riding it round on here. And I want to check...

-I want to get it checked properly.

-Yeah, get it checked.

This is legit. And then if it is, you can come in and pick it up.

If you can prove it's yours and where you got it from, yeah?

-I bought it off Facebook.

-OK, fine.

You'll have a trail on it, won't you?

I've just come out of jail four months ago, I can't get a job.

They won't give me a job.

-So, I've got to

-BLEEP

-buy and sell stuff like this

off of Facebook all day long.

And I can't do that because I get hassle off of these.

Why do you think I got that put on my hand?

I'm not saying what it stands for but most people should know, ACAB.

All cops are...brilliant, maybe?

The man may well own this bike, but if he wants it back,

-he'll have to prove it.

-"Meet on the park." "OK, defo, yeah. 2.30..."

-What? So his name's Baked Bean, is it?

-"Baked Bean..."

-That's his Facebook name.

-Right.

-That's the bloke there.

Well, how can I see what that is? He's got a mask on!

The very least you need to prove ownership is a handwritten receipt.

Anonymous messages on Facebook won't cut it.

-These bikes are coming with us.

-Why?

You can stand there all day in the rain and argue as much as you like.

What, you can't prove... Haven't you got to have a reason?

No, you've got to prove whose they are.

The plan is to take both bikes back to Weston police station.

We'll carry out a few further checks on the chassis

and serial numbers, engine numbers, etc.

And that will give these boys some time to provide us

with a bit of proof of who owns the bikes.

Colin's hope is that by taking a hard line on these mini motos,

people will get the message and use them more responsibly.

Unfortunately, we are inundated with calls from the public,

from the community, from the residents here, regarding these...

-They're not quite mini motos but they're smaller bikes.

-Pit bikes.

Pit bikes, as my colleague's just told me.

Um, causing us no end of issue, antisocial noise, nuisance,

tearing up the grass.

Generally being a pain in the backside.

Hopefully, the residents will have seen us taking some positive action

and getting them off the street,

even if it's only for a short period of time.

The man with a red mini moto was able to prove it was his

and was allowed to collect it from the station.

The man caught by the mounted police riding in the park

was reported for driving with no insurance.

At court, he was given six points on his licence

and fined a total of £365.

The man in black managed to prove that the bike was his,

but because it was being ridden in public without insurance,

it was crushed, much to his annoyance.

A week ago, Adge ejected a homeless ex-convict

from the home of a man with learning difficulties.

Get your stuff. J doesn't want you up here.

The man had been taking advantage by forcing his way into the flat

and staying whenever he wanted to.

Here we are again.

Now Adge is checking the lad hasn't returned.

-Has he been back since?

-I've seen him yesterday, yeah.

-What, here or just in town?

-No, here.

-In here?

-Yeah, he came around here.

-OK, did he kip down here last night or not?

-Yeah.

-Are you OK with him being here? That's the point, J, isn't it?

-I don't really want him here, no.

-OK.

The vulnerable occupant has again been bullied

into letting the man stay.

-Fine, cheers, J.

-Bye.

-Have a good day, bye.

Adge is now due to meet the man and help him find somewhere to stay.

He hopes getting him off the streets will prevent a local crimewave.

But the fact the lad's once again been harassing a vulnerable man

won't go down well.

I know it's only ten minutes late but...

I'm not so sure if he's going to turn up at all.

HE SIGHS

Irritating!

It was always a long shot that the lad would show.

-He doesn't.

-I just...knew it.

I knew he wouldn't turn up.

Adge is experienced enough to know when to use the carrot

and when you need to use the stick.

The lad won't be getting another chance.

The lad failed to show but he hasn't disappeared.

Over the next two months, his name is linked to a string of robberies

and other offences.

They've gone to ground somewhere, haven't they?

We're going to two address believed to be addresses

used by the suspects in the robbery case yesterday.

What we're doing now is going back in

and sort of regrouping, essentially.

SIREN WAILS

-MAN ON RADIO:

-'Yep, going off the back.'

-We've got clothing.

-Grey T-shirt, red trainers.

'About 23 years old.

'He's in a grey T-shirt and red trainers.'

That's the outstanding suspect we're looking for

that's supposed to have the knife.

Today, a PCSO has spotted him in the town centre.

The man's bolted into a bar.

Officers Luke Keenan and Roger Parker are just streets away.

Roger that, we are just at the top of Milton Street now, 30 seconds.

-WOMAN ON RADIO:

-'Where's he stolen from?'

But when they arrive,

the ex-convict's already surrounded by officers.

Just keep it calm, all right?

-At the moment, you're under arrest for suspicion of theft.

-From where?

-That's what I'm trying to get to the bottom of.

-From where?

There's a suspicious amount of DVDs in his bag,

which he tried to hide in the toilets.

But there's been no reports of shoplifting in the last hour.

I chased you.

You've got a bag full of booty which you've now hidden in the toilets.

No, the bloke in here grabbed me and said the police are outside.

-So, I quickly grabbed my bags.

-But why leave it behind?

It looks like most of the city centre team are here now.

But nobody yet knows where all the DVDs have come from.

We found him, we'll have to try and work out where this is from.

If you weren't giving it legs,

I wouldn't have given you the time of day. You were the one that...

Yeah, I know because you always try and chase me, like.

-You haven't always got to run, have you?

-You know what I mean?

-All right?

-Get in the van, all right?

-BLEEP

-sake, man!

At the moment, you're under arrest for suspicion of theft.

Convinced that the DVDs will turn out to be stolen, the lad's arrested.

I'm going to be sat here for ages, man.

And sure enough, it's not long before they get a call.

BLEEP.

Um, that property we've established from CCTV and everything,

it's from WH Smith, right?

So obviously you're under arrest for theft

but it's theft from WH Smith, OK?

Adge was right about the slippery slope of crime and drugs.

The lad has caused a mini crimewave

since he was thrown out of the vulnerable man's home.

I can only help people so far.

For me personally, I'm frustrated about it.

Um, part of my role as the local community police officer

is to deal with crime but it's also there to prevent it.

With the man now off the streets,

life should be a lot easier for everyone.

J, hang on a minute, I need to talk to you for a minute, all right?

Adge can reassure J that he won't have his home invaded

in the near future.

All right?

-BLEEP

-inside.

-Is he banged up?

-Yeah, all right?

-Good, yeah.

-Do you feel a bit better about that?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, OK.

-Um, my priority is to stop people taking advantage of you.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-OK, all right, J.

-Right, thanks.

-Nice to see you, take care.

The man later pleaded guilty to shoplifting

and possession of cannabis.

He was later sentenced to 23 weeks behind bars.

We've seen today how the neighbourhood policing teams

tackle every type of crime and social problem.

It's all part of their tireless mission to make the streets

a safer place.

See you next time for more Neighbourhood Blues.