Episode 5 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...

Good evening, all.

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

Brilliant.

..working together to sweep crime off our streets.

Police, search warrant!

Coming up...

The neighbourhood team are confronted

by a mouthy man in a drugs raid.

Yeah?

-Mark finds coke in a club queue.

-All right.

I didn't realise I had it on me, I swear. Honestly didn't.

-OK. Well, it's yours...

-Yeah.

..isn't it? Yeah, OK.

-And Russ gives a familiar face a wake-up call.

-Wakey-wakey.

Weston-super-Mare is a traditional tourist destination.

It's where people come to relax and unwind.

But the police never take a break.

Recently, there's been an escalation in drug crime in Weston

involving people from out of town.

So the police have decided to have an all-out crackdown

on any reports of drugs, hitting casual users as well as dealers.

Today, they're going to an address which they believe contains cannabis.

They're planning a very visible raid

to send a message to the neighbourhood.

When it comes to drugs, the police aren't messing around.

So they've called in the help of the CATCH team.

Purpose has been identified,

to be entered under the Misuse Of Drugs Act

under a warrant.

So we've been asked to come

and support the district teams with that.

These people are the experts

when you need to get in somewhere hard and fast.

Based on the information we have,

we'll be looking at doing a forced entry straightaway.

We need a quick entry so that evidence,

i.e. drugs in this case, can't be destroyed.

The officers will use the appropriate door-opening equipment,

and it's very effective if used properly.

In the van today, alongside the red enforcer,

is a BlackBox and Spreader.

This is a hydraulic door-breacher.

It's quick, quiet and with a pushing force of several tonnes,

it's able to get through even reinforced doors.

Sergeant Mark Jenkinson is the neighbourhood officer

in charge of today's raid.

Caroline is going to lead the CATCH guys, all right?

Um, as soon as they sort of get close to the address

and the wheels come to a relatively slow stop, you need to be out

and round the back as quickly as you possibly can, all right?

And they head off -

the CATCH team in one van, the neighbourhood team in another.

This is a show of force.

They're all heading to a prearranged rendezvous point,

waiting for the undercover officers watching the property

to give them the order to strike.

-MAN ON RADIO:

-'Stand by.'

'All officers, go, go, go.'

They need to move in fast.

They want the shortest possible time between their vans

being visible from the flat and getting inside.

Stop, stop, stop!

An undercover officer has already ensured

the communal entrance is open.

And when the CATCH team get their hydraulic door-breacher in place,

it should only take seconds to get in.

BREACHER WHIRS

Police!

Police!

Inside the flat, there's one man from London...and he's not happy.

-I don't do

-BLEEP

-at all.

Yeah?

That's it.

-Yeah.

-Yeah? Paying for my

-BLEEP

-door.

Obviously, you'll need to be searched.

You'll need to be searched, yeah?

And if there's drugs here or whatever,

then somebody may get arrested or what have you...

The man may have originally claimed not to have any drugs,

but his story soon changes.

So if you're cool with us, we'll be as cool as we can with you guys.

The Londoner is found to have three small bags filled with cannabis.

What we'll do is my colleague will speak to you in relation

-to making an arrest, right?

-Yeah.

He'll explain to you the caution as well.

Once that's done, you'll be off down to Bridgwater, all right?

I'm going to Bridgwater?

Yeah, that's the only place we've got, mate.

-What am I getting nicked for? For the cannabis?

-I understand it's for cannabis, yeah.

I'm getting nicked for that cannabis?

He seems surprised to be arrested

for having what he calls "draw bags".

-I'm under arrest for three bags of £20 draws of weed?

-Basically.

Police here are bad, mate.

Police in London will throw that in the bin, my friend.

Whether that's true or not,

the police here are sick and tired of drug crime.

-So they're coming down hard on even small amounts.

-I swear to God!

-I

-BLEEP

-swear.

-Just listen, listen.

-What do you think this is?

-On camera or something? You lot are taking

-BLEEP.

-Listen, just listen.

That cannabis was found on top of a set of scales.

Basically, cos that weed has got scales with it

and everything else, initially...

-I weighed it to get my draw, to see what I get.

-Hang on, listen.

-Initially...

-And I get robbed!

..I'm going to arrest you on possession with intent

-to supply cannabis.

-Oh, my God!

-You don't have to say anything,

-but it may harm your defence...

-You're nicking me for supply?

Only initially. If that's all we find,

then it ain't going to be that, cos you've got the scales with it.

If no more cannabis is found in the flat,

the charge of dealing will be dropped.

The man is taken down to Bridgwater Police Centre

while the team do a thorough search of the flat.

A woman who rents the property returns,

and she's not happy about the damaged door.

Give your landlord a bell, all right?

And probably sooner rather than later.

Just to try and get the door sort of fixed and nice and secure,

-all right?

-Yeah, will do, yeah.

If the police hadn't found any drugs,

then it would be their responsibility to fix the door.

But this was a successful warrant, so it becomes the tenant's problem.

We tried to fix it, but unfortunately,

-there's not much we can do with it.

-No, of course not. All right.

-OK?

-All right, thanks.

At what is left of the front door,

Sergeant Hawkins has made a discovery.

We think that may have been behind the door, which is obviously there

to inhibit anybody getting in here at any kind of speed. The police.

But whether that wooden brace was in place or not,

the hydraulic breacher and the red enforcer

made short work of the door.

We've had a very positive warrant.

We're really, really delighted with the outcome.

We've got a gentleman that's been arrested for possession

of a controlled substance with the intention to supply.

He is now in custody at Bridgwater.

Local people are worried about the rise in drugs offences in the area,

so any drugs taken off the streets show them

that the police are doing something about their concerns.

We have spoken to the local residents

to explain what's happening.

We've got members of our police community support team

that are here as well.

They are going to be delivering leaflets

in and around the area just to make sure that everybody

understands what's going on with the local police activity.

And we'll secure the premises, and back to the station.

As no more drugs were found at the raided man's flat,

the intent to supply charge was dropped.

He accepted a caution for the possession of cannabis.

And the local neighbourhood certainly got the message

that the police here take drugs crime seriously.

Shoplifting is a brazen crime that hurts everyone.

When shops are targeted,

they increase their prices to cover the losses.

CCTV at a shop in Bath catches a woman

going straight to the frozen meat section.

In full view of the security camera,

she stuffs almost £50 worth of prime steaks under her arm...

..before calmly walking out.

It's such a clear image from the footage

that the neighbourhood police know who it is immediately.

A PCSO who was near to her address when the call came through

is detaining her, and police are on their way.

The lady is suspected of...

of being on suspicion of a shop theft.

PCSO Brian Harris is with her.

This is where his skills come in

because obviously he's only got the powers of 30 minutes detaining her.

PC Luke Keenan and Roger Parker rush to the scene,

and are there within minutes.

-Hiya, you all right?

-Yeah.

-Hi, Karen. How are you doing, all right?

-I've met you before, haven't I?

-Yeah, I've met you before.

Karen, basically, there was a shop theft on the 12th, up in the Co-op.

And £47 worth of meat was stolen, all right?

You've been identified as the suspect for that offence through the CCTV.

So, at this moment, I'm arresting you on suspicion

of theft from the Co-op on the 12th.

-Right, shall we get going then?

-See you in a bit then.

-Right, Karen.

I'm not going to handcuff you.

-You're not going to run off, are you?

-No, definitely.

HE LAUGHS

When she's booked into custody,

the prolific shoplifter is given some bad news.

Karen, it's now my decision as to whether you get bail.

On this occasion, my decision is you're not going to get bail,

-you're going to be going to Bath Magistrates in the morning.

-Really?

My reason for that is you've got 11 conviction occurrences

in the last 12 months.

The woman has failed to appear in court on multiple occasions,

so she'll have to stay here overnight.

So I've got a serious concern that if I give you bail, you're going to

carry on stealing, you're going to carry on failing to appear at court.

And I can't have those things happen once I've released someone on bail.

The next day, the woman went straight to the magistrates' court

to face the charges against her.

She pleaded guilty to the meat theft and was fined a total of £257,

given a community order

and an electronically-tagged curfew for 12 weeks.

Policing can be unpredictable,

but there are certain times of the year

when you can guarantee it will be busy.

This evening, Sergeant Mark Jenkinson and PC Steve Hanlon

are heading into Weston-super-Mare town centre.

It's the height of summer and they're expecting a busy night.

-OK, go and join your mate.

-Good people, bloody good people.

Thanks, mate. Go and join your mate. Best not hold hands all the way.

It's eight o'clock and the mood on the streets is good.

People are drinking but behaving themselves.

It's my birthday, can I have a kiss?

No, you can have a kiss, yeah.

-Go on.

-SHE GASPS

That's all you're getting.

HE LAUGHS

At the moment, as you can see,

the town's relatively quiet and peaceful.

Don't worry!

So we're expecting things to pick up a bit later on.

But at the moment, everything's all right.

It's results time, and Mark is expecting tonight's crowd

to be younger than usual.

This is Regent Street, and basically,

it's where most of our sort of

younger elements of our community come for a few drinks.

Hi!

-I want a picture with you, come on.

-A heavy helmet.

Yeah, you too, all right? See you later.

Predominately, this is where we get most of our activity

in and around the night-time economy.

-MAN:

-'Police brutality!'

-SHE LAUGHS

-Come on.

-They do a good job. But you know this, don't you?

-Thanks very much.

-You're very welcome, take care.

-See you now.

It seems it's all quiet on the WESTON front.

But then a call comes in.

Just had a report of a bit of a scrap going on.

Officers are already dealing with a group in fancy dress.

All right! Hey, hey, hey! Easy!

And on the other side of the road is a woman who's being detained.

-Calm down now.

-Listen to me!

-Kirsty, calm down.

Kirsty, calm down, just let us deal with it.

Kirsty, seriously, calm down, buddy.

-I wasn't

-BLEEP

-doing anything.

-Kirsty! Kirsty!

This woman is alleged to have been brandishing a bottle,

so she's being searched.

There was a report that Kirsty had been threatening people

with a bottle, so we had to search her and find out

if she's got that on her.

With no bottle found on the woman,

the whole thing becomes a bit of, "he said, she said".

Yeah, it's just pushing and shoving

and a little bit of sort of finger-pointing thrown in the mix.

We're at the stage now where people have been out drinking

for a prolonged period.

While this sort of fracas is really nothing,

it's important that police nip any potential trouble in the bud.

Unfortunately, sometimes, people hang around a little bit too long,

they've had a little bit too much to drink, maybe a little bit grumpy

and it ends up in an argument, a bit of finger-pointing.

So we're kind of at that point where we want to make sure that things

stay nice and calm, as they started off at the beginning of the evening.

It's nearly midnight and next stop,

two lads who've been thrown out of a nightclub.

-I paid to get in there!

-Mate, I had it, literally.

Can you get my money back?

No, we don't do things like that.

-Why?

-We don't do things like that.

-That's a

-BLEEP

-joke, mate.

Disgusted! Disgusted!

Being thrown out of a club is one thing,

but some people struggle to get in in the first place.

One of the conditions of entry for the local club here is...

where customers get searched.

The doormen do a great job here.

When the doorman found a bag of suspicious white powder,

he immediately marched the man over to officers.

They found a little bag of what we think is cocaine.

This lad has got some explaining to do.

-Coke, I guess.

-Coke, you guess? Have you used it all?

-No, I...

-All right.

I didn't realise I had it on me, I swear. Honestly didn't.

-OK. Well, it's yours, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, OK.

The lad admits the bag of cocaine is his.

-You say there is more in there?

-Huh?

-Did you say there's more in there or not?

-No.

-OK, fine.

-Have you got any ID on you?

-I have, yes.

Keep your hands out of your pockets. Just for a second, all right?

I'm going to search you,

because he's basically found drugs on you. All right?

The search reveals one thing -

the lad was telling the truth.

He doesn't have any more drugs on him.

-Just cross your arms, just relax.

-That's all right?

-Yeah, you know?

Have you been dealt with by the police before at all, ever?

-No, I haven't.

-Never been arrested before?

No trace?

I say we just give him a call, get him to come in, sort of next week

or something, and we'll deal with him in voluntary.

-Ah, well done.

-My phone? Have I got my phone?

-Yeah, I think you...

Ooh! Oh! There we are.

Because this is a first offence, Mark decides to deal with him

at a later date.

But that doesn't mean that there won't be consequences.

We'll have to interview you about it, all right?

And if you're eligible for it,

then we'll probably look towards a sort of real low-level disposal,

like not court or anything like that, all right?

But we'll try and make an appointment

that's convenient for you.

-How old are you?

-I'm 18.

-18, right, OK.

I know it's a bit of a bummer, mate, but you know,

you need to stay off the gear, especially at your age.

Right, I don't know what you're going to do now,

-but you won't be allowed to go back in there.

-Yeah, I realise.

-All right?

-I'll just chat to my mates quickly.

-OK. Cheers, mate.

By treating the lad reasonably, Mark thinks he's done both him a favour

and allowed police to keep more manpower

on Weston's streets on a busy night.

He has a positive image of us.

We're able to remain out on the streets to deal with

whatever is going on around here and keep a presence.

Um, and really, it is the most efficient way

of dealing with things.

Despite the amount of people being out and having a good time,

it's been a quiet evening for the police.

The lad later received a caution for possessing the cocaine.

One of the neighbourhood officers in Weston-super-Mare is Russ Millier.

The Bournville Estate is his patch.

A few months ago, Russ was investigating a late-night break-in.

You get to know the local offenders. You're dealing with them daily.

The amount of times we've stopped them on the estates,

you get to know everything about them.

I can even tell that's him from the walk.

He recognised the man immediately. And when he went to arrest him,

he discovered a loaded syringe and drugs in his room.

Have you literally just syringed it, mate, have you?

That was some serious bad timing then, wasn't it?

Russ found drugs, but he also found a family broken because of drug use.

Yeah, and I'm...

Don't think there's anything you can say to that, Dave, is there, really?

Come on.

At court, her son was convicted of multiple offences,

ranging from drug possession to handling stolen goods.

For neighbourhood police, it isn't just about nicking criminals,

it's also about checking up with their local communities.

Over the last few months, Russ has been supporting the mother.

We've built up quite a relationship with Pauline. Um...

Well, I have, especially over the last maybe two or three months,

and that's mainly due down to

her son's offending history.

So, it's important, you know, to build these relationships.

So we've just come back to Pauline's address

to do a bit of a check, make sure she's all well and good.

And see if David's been back, really.

-Come in.

-Hello, only me.

Looks like Russ couldn't have timed his visit better,

as this morning, Pauline has an unwanted visitor.

-I opened the door cos he knocked, David.

-Right.

And what time do you think that was?

It was about six o'clock, I know it was.

And asked if he could have a hot drink.

I said yeah, and then conked out.

She threw him out, but he's come back,

and her son is now currently asleep upstairs.

-He will work his way back in.

-He will not!

And he's started doing it already.

By being here for the last six hours.

-He doesn't... I won't let him live here. I can't...

-I know.

I don't want him here, anyway. Even if I did want him here, I couldn't.

This is the last straw. I can't deal with everything at the minute.

Yeah.

The mother is at her wits' end.

Russ heads upstairs and, sure enough,

her son is sleeping like a baby.

Russ is worried that if the man turned up here in the early morning,

then he could have been out all night up to his old tricks.

Wakey-wakey.

Wake up.

-Busy night?

-Hmm.

-Sorry?

-I've been here, mate.

-You haven't been here all night.

-Yeah, I have.

-No, you haven't.

-I have.

-Your mum just told me you got back at six o'clock

this morning and came in. You're not even meant to be here.

Just like last time, as soon as he's caught out,

he turns on the waterworks.

-I haven't been out!

-Huh?

I haven't been out.

-What are you crying for?

-What are you... Why do you keep coming?

HE SOBS

Well, shall we get going then?

-Where?

-Well, out of here.

Let's get moving, shall we, while we're here?

And do your mum a favour.

Once again, Russ marches the man downstairs to face his mother.

Conversation last time, we were going to break all this, weren't we?

But he's just said he's been here all night.

-So, someone's telling lies.

-No, he's not!

-What time did I...? Oh.

It was probably six o'clock this morning.

Right, so you had a busy night, like I said in the first place?

Knowing that the man has been out all night suggests to Russ

that he's up to his old habits.

You have not been here all night.

Indicates to me you've been out

doing something all night, doesn't it?

-I haven't been out all night.

-So where have you been then?

I'm not being funny, yeah...

But it weren't... No, it weren't six.

There's no way.

Well, what time do you think it was?

If the man has been offending again,

then Russ will have to catch up with him later.

His priority now is to get the man out of his mother's house.

David's got to prove to everyone that he does want to change.

Yeah, but he's got to do that on his own.

She wants her son to stay away until he has changed his ways.

It's all well and good you saying you've got nowhere to go, yeah?

You're a big boy. This is your mum's house and your mum's working hard.

-You...you leaving now, are you?

-Yeah.

-All right, see you later.

Love you, Mum.

Last time, his mother was so let down,

she wouldn't even kiss him goodbye.

This time, she at least allows him that.

Claims that he's come back today and pushed on her goodwill a bit,

shall we say.

Um, and I think she's struggling a bit at the moment

and he's preyed on her weaker side, maybe.

With the continued support of Russ and the neighbourhood team,

the woman's hopefully strong enough to keep her son away

until he gets the help he needs.

In Bath, Adge Secker is planning an operation to tackle

speeding in the area.

I'm assisting the Special Constabulary today.

The special officers, when they're on duty,

they have exactly the same powers as me.

Um, there is a year-long operation called Operation Calibrate.

It's all to do with trying to reduce the number of road deaths

and serious injuries as a result of road traffic collisions.

Last year, over 24,500 people were killed or seriously injured

on Britain's roads.

Get the test tone up.

MACHINE BEEPS

Move across it and you'll hear the noise change.

There are over 20,000 specials around the country,

people with regular jobs who voluntarily do police work

and have full police powers.

We're going to go to Twerton, my beat today, on Newton Road.

It's a 20 mile-an-hour limit.

An awful lot of people that live in that area come to see me

on a daily basis and say, "Adge, cars go far too quickly up here."

So, you say, we do. And we're going to try and see

if that's actually true and try and detect some speeds

to get them to realise that they're going too fast,

speed kills, reduce your speed.

That's the whole point of today.

-First.

-Yes?

-Um, coming into Twerton.

Before hitting drivers hard with tickets,

Adge and the team go out to see if the residents are right

and people are breaking the 20 mile-an-hour speed limit.

-Yes, definitely stop this one.

-Pull in, please.

Thank you very much. Good evening, you all right?

-What's the speed limit along here? Any idea?

-Um, I'm not sure.

-OK.

-Probably 20-30 miles an hour.

-It's 20.

-Is it 20? Oh.

-OK?

-We detected you doing 27.

-Yeah.

And I suspect you slowed down a little bit

when you came around the hill and you saw us. It's 20mph for a reason.

-Yeah.

-OK, it's summertime, isn't it? So there's kids about.

There's a school just up there.

The whole reason we're doing this tonight,

we just want to educate people, really. Please slow down.

Last year, 53 children were killed in road accidents.

It's too quick. It's 20mph and that is too quick.

-That's fine.

-All right, so keep it down.

Next time, it'll be a three-pointer and a 100 quid fine.

But even if this WAS a 30 zone, then some people would still be speeding.

37.

-All right?

-Yeah, not too bad. You?

Jolly good. I'm well, thanks.

What's the speed limit along here?

-It's 30, I believe.

-It's 20.

-It's 20?

-20, yeah, it's well marked.

-Um, do you know what you were doing?

-No, I don't.

-37, OK?

-Oh.

Far too fast.

-Ever so sorry, mate.

-Far too fast.

-BLEEP.

-All right, OK?

-Yeah, I'm ever so sorry.

-All right, OK. Why are we doing it?

I'm the local policeman here, OK? 37 is even too fast in a 30, isn't it?

-I know, that's terrible.

-Yeah, far too fast.

Just a stupid mistake, isn't it, really?

Well, there's a school just up the road.

Could have had an accident.

-Could have hurt them, could have hurt someone else.

-Thanks very much.

The man is apologetic. He too is let off with a warning.

But not everyone is so keen to take advice.

Hello, love. All right?

You just switch your engine off and come and see me a minute, please?

Handbrake on. Beg your pardon?

-OK, that's interesting then.

-What do you mean, why? What, are you mad?

-What's the...what's the speed limit along here?

-I wasn't going fast.

-What's the speed limit along here?

-30.

-30?

-Yeah.

-You're wrong, it's 20.

So where does it say 20?

At the beginning and at the end and various repeaters along here.

You see the lamppost there, look? It's got 20mph there.

-What's that say?

-31. Well, I didn't see it, sorry.

And I thought the national speed limit was 30.

OK, it's 20mph here, and it's been that for a year.

-All right, OK.

-OK, now, let's not have any swearing at me.

-I stopped you for a valid reason, didn't I? OK?

-Yeah, I'm sorry.

Is that an apology from you? That's good, I'll take that.

-OK, it's 20mph for a reason.

-OK.

OK. Slow down.

-Next time, it'll be a three-pointer, but 100 quid.

-All right, sorry.

Slow down, please, all right? Thank you very much, on your way.

Just up here, there's a school.

You know, there are kids, it's the summertime.

Kids are out on their bikes, scooters, everything else.

We need to keep the speed down for one reason

and one reason only - safety, to keep people safe.

Too many people are killed and seriously injured

because drivers don't know how to or don't know when to slow down.

That's why we do it, it's really important.

All the evidence suggests that people are ignoring

the 20 mile-an-hour limit here.

Now Adge can plan a bigger operation.

And next time, he won't be so lenient.

Whether it's in the town or out in the countryside,

neighbourhood teams work hard to build great relationships

with the people they serve.

And they couldn't do their jobs without the public assisting them.