Episode 10 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.

What are you doing here?

Police!

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

Have you had any problems, then, over the last week?

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

-So you've been drinking tonight?

-No.

-Why's your speech slurred, then?

..formulate fast action plans to take down the criminals.

'Catch him. Careful!'

Who do you think you are?

Hey!

In this new series of Neighbourhood Blues,

we go to the Humberside Police region

and get exclusive access to 24 teams of neighbourhood police officers...

You're under arrest, mate.

..as they tackle the problems blighting local people.

You're now under arrest

on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug.

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

Coming up...

The team track down the teenage street drinkers.

-What have you been drinking?

-Just one beer.

-Beers.

GLASS SHATTERS

The operation to wipe out drug dealers

working from their sofas picks up pace.

If you went pointing that at an armed police officer,

-you'd probably get yourself shot.

-And in a bid to curb house burglaries,

the team show support and offer advice.

So next time I'm in the area, I'll just pop in, see how you're doing.

Criminals don't just steal from other people's houses.

Many, like drug-dealers, run their criminal operations

from the comfort of their own homes.

These so-called "sofa dealers" cause great distress to local residents

living on the same street as them.

All over the Humberside Police region,

the neighbourhood teams are cracking down on drug dealers.

The thought of a dealer on the doorstep worries people nationwide.

I would be quite wary of, perhaps,

especially if you sort of thought

someone you knew, that lived close by to you,

was growing their own drugs or making their own drugs.

It would be quite, I'd feel, an uncomfortable environment to be in.

The team recently launched a strike against a crack dealer

that saw three people arrested

and cash, drugs and weapons confiscated.

Today, again acting on intelligence passed to neighbourhood officers

by worried residents,

the team are hitting another suspected dealing den

on a local housing estate.

The team tool up and make final plans for their strike.

One in, two in, three in, four in.

It'll be your side, won't it, Will?

No, no, it's your side. I'll go in nose-in.

Key! Key!

-Get in!

-Police! Stand still!

Stand still! Stand still!

Sweeping through the property,

the occupants are quickly found in their bedroom.

Sergeant Coffey breaks the news

that they have been raided on suspicion of drug dealing.

-Have we got everyone detained?

-Yeah.

Just so you know, my name's Sergeant Coffey.

We have a Misuse of Drugs Act warrant for this premises.

You're being detained for the purposes of search

in accordance with the Misuse of Drugs Act.

The living room is subjected to a thorough search.

Once completed, the suspect will be moved there for questioning.

With the living room coming up clean,

the man is brought in to be spoken to.

I'll ask you separately while the lady's here...

but obviously we have a Misuse of Drugs Act search,

we will conduct a thorough search of the property.

Is there anything at this time that you want to declare

that you believe might be illegal or be concerning

that might affect yourself or your partner if you're responsible for it?

There's some cannabis.

-Some cannabis?

-Yeah.

Whereabouts is that?

-Just point to it.

-Whereabouts?

-In there.

-Which drawer? This one here?

-Yeah.

OK, there's some small amounts of cannabis and other items there.

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

if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court,

and anything you do say may be given in evidence.

-Whose are those items you've declared to me?

-The cannabis is mine.

The cannabis is yours. There's a white powder there too.

I don't know what the hell that is.

The suspect informs the police of a serious medical condition,

and asks them to get his medicine.

It'll be the wrong one, whichever one I...

I've got Warfarin here and Sotalol, is that what you take?

Call the medical examiner if need be

in terms of being allowed to have that medicine,

-but it is prescribed to him.

-Yeah, all right.

After finding the prescription drugs,

the police need to check with the man's GP before handing them over.

Is there anything that's particularly sentimental or important to you,

so that when we're searching I can make sure we take good care of it

and we don't cause any damage?

Er...everything.

OK, if you don't want to co-operate with us...

After initially co-operating with the police and answering questions,

the man decides to stop talking.

This leads to him being escorted from the house to the custody suite

to be interviewed.

BLEEPED SPEECH

Find out later, when the cops send in the dogs,

if Buster's powerful nose can track down

the suspected drug dealer's booty.

In Britain, we like to think that our homes are our very own castles,

but unfortunately, in the past year, there's been a dramatic rise

in the number of house burglaries in the UK.

Humberside hasn't escaped unscathed,

but the neighbourhood teams have been fast to react.

Last year, almost a million homes suffered a break-in,

making it nationwide one of the worst years on record for house burglary.

I was burgled at my own home.

I've got to say, that was extremely scary at the time.

I had to move house, because I never settled after that,

but the process that happened after the burglary when it was reported,

the police were just wonderful.

The support that they gave me,

and they really, sort of, made sure that the property was secure,

and I was very grateful for that at the time.

Neighbourhood teams always provide reassurance and support following a burglary,

and over in Scunthorpe, Claire is on the phone

to a pensioner who suffered a recent break-in.

Are you in this afternoon for a visit?

You are? Brilliant. I'll see you within the next hour, then.

Every PCSO has their own patch,

approximately four miles square.

Walking their beat every day, they become a familiar face to residents,

and often the first point of contact if there's a problem.

This is an elderly gentleman, in his eighties,

who's woke up to find someone's attempted to break into his workshop.

We're just going to go to give him

a bit of crime prevention advice and reassurance.

-Hello, is it Mr

-BLEEP?

-Yes.

-It's regarding your attempted break-in.

-Ooh, that's quick.

The victim takes Claire to the spot

where the burglars tried to gain entry.

This is a new lock I've put on, right?

Now, on Thursday, this was hung down here.

-Right.

-They smashed it off, I've got the old one in there.

It must have been very amateurish

because having got the lock off there, they could open that...

-Yeah.

-Why were they trying to get that off?

The garage is full of expensive machinery.

Old wood-turning lathe, you see,

-a bandsaw...

-Right.

I do wood-carving as a hobby, so...

Do you? What do you make?

-Hmm? I'll show you when we go inside.

-Brilliant!

Most burglaries are by criminals looking to steal possessions

to sell on and fund drug habits.

Nothing is sacred or no-one is safe from these types of law-breakers.

I would maybe suggest covering your windows up.

Yeah, that's... Somebody said that yesterday.

-I've got plenty of old curtains. We could soon rig something up.

-Yeah.

To prevent him becoming a target again,

Claire offers some advice.

-You've done right in double...

-Double-nutting.

..nutting those, and you've got all your locks and your hasp over.

The only thing you could maybe get is an alarm.

It's not... It's more of...

You can get them just from your local DIY store,

and it just sits,

and when the seal's broken, it's like a kind of window lock.

You can get those, and they're not that expensive,

so that if someone did get in your garage and open the door,

it would break that circuit

and obviously raise your attention and your neighbours'.

These kind of crime tips help make residents crime-conscious

and help to deter burglars,

and Claire's got herself one very satisfied customer.

-There's your crime number and that's my name. My name's Claire.

-Right.

And that's my direct mobile number if you should have any problems.

So any problems or advice, yeah.

And next time I'm in the area, I'll just pop in, see how you're doing.

-Yes, no worries.

-And see how you are, keep you company for a bit.

-You can have a cup of coffee.

-Oh, brilliant.

Or something stronger if you like.

-And a biscuit?

-And a biscuit.

-Oh, that's it, I'm coming!

All right, make sure all your gates and your doors are locked.

I'm impressed with the service

because people have said, "Have you reported it?"

"Yeah, I've got a crime number." "Oh, you know, that's all..."

-No, we like...

-I'll tell them, "No, this time it was spot on."

See you later. Bye-bye.

Since the initiative to reduce burglaries in the region began,

break-ins have fallen by over a third.

As we've already seen,

fear of burglary is a major concern to most people,

but properties are vulnerable in other ways,

to crimes such as vandalism and squatting.

Reports of squatting have doubled in the past two years,

and in Hull city centre,

the police are investigating reports from local residents

that squatters have turned an abandoned pub into a drugs den.

It appears that there may be somebody squatting.

There's fresh signs, such as food and stuff lying about.

Even though the police haven't found anyone camped out at the old pub,

it remains a trouble trap,

so they'll be making sure that the owners securely board it up.

Over on the other side of town,

Sergeant Steve Lamb is out and about in the city centre.

The team have upped their patrols in the area

to make sure the shopping district remains a family-friendly place,

free of crime.

Something that shoppers and shop workers

often complain to the neighbourhood teams about

is people begging in the city centre.

When Steve spots a homeless man who he suspects may be looking to beg,

he acts firmly but fairly.

Just a quick check. If there's nothing outstanding,

I'll have a quick word and then you can be on your way.

-OK, mate?

-Yeah.

Three-zero, I'm on Silver Street.

Can you oblige me with a person check, please? I have tried PNC.

Just whilst I'm waiting for that,

-where you living at the minute?

-Wherever I can get my head down.

-Staying in a friend's tent sometimes.

-Mate, obviously,

it's cold, I appreciate that.

You are living a bit rough, but you can't sit down and beg in the street.

-I've not asked anyone for anything.

-I haven't said I've seen you begging

but you're also out there with your blanket and your kit,

so do me a favour, mate. Obviously at this time of year, officers are out,

they will challenge you. Just... look after yourself, all right?

-OK, no problem.

-Take care, thanks for your time. Thank you.

As the man moves on, Steve reflects on his predicament.

I mean, I've got no doubt that he was setting himself up to beg,

without any question, but obviously, living rough, isn't he?

Shaking, obviously alcohol, I think would be the issue there,

but he was decent enough.

Further down the road,

Steve comes across another homeless man.

This time he's not begging, but street drinking in an area

where consuming alcohol in public is banned.

You know you can't sit here and drink beer, don't you?

Just a minute, just before you go,

I won't take your sealed ones off you.

Just have a quick look at them, mate.

It's all right, OK, mate.

Can you do me a favour, will you put that empty can in your bag

-and pop it in the bin for me when we get off?

-I don't mind.

We'll be two minutes and then you can be on your way. Obviously,

you know you shouldn't be sat here drinking beer. You know that, yeah?

OK, mate, you can get off. All the best.

Steve doesn't confiscate his alcohol on this occasion,

but warns the man off and moves him on.

As Steve continues his patrol, he comes across another problem.

Three-zero, I'm on George Street, Grimston Street.

I've just come across a vehicle

that's got the front passenger window smashed.

It bears all the hallmarks of a theft from.

Can I pass you some details?

It would appear, initially, that there are no suspects or witnesses.

I'll just see if I've got sufficient for crime details

and I'll add those to the log.

The downside is, that's the only reason somebody's broken the window,

because they've seen your mobile phone in there.

-I know.

-I'm going to pop back to the office now,

I'll get it crimed and I'll give you a bell.

Whilst Steve continues being a bobby on the beat,

the team who were earlier securing the derelict pub

have already been tasked to their next job.

We're on Prospect Street now, ready.

We've got a team of three ready for you.

They're responding to a call in a shopping precinct

about three men acting suspiciously,

the concern being they may be looking to shoplift.

Retail theft costs the UK

approximately £1 billion a year in lost earnings.

The men who have been apprehended

are in a store in the city's main shopping precinct.

They were spotted by the in-store CCTV cameras,

acting suspiciously in the aisles.

The team take the suspects' details

whilst they try to get to the bottom of what has, or has not, happened.

Yeah, we've got three, we're talking at the moment.

To avoid causing alarm to other shoppers,

one of the men is taken to a detention room

in the back of the shopping precinct.

The police give the low-down on what they have found out so far.

The other two lads, they're with the male

that they've got in the detention room at the minute.

Checks have been completed on the other two.

Although they were in company with him,

they've not actually committed any offences as such.

Cos they've not done anything, we sent them on their way.

They've been banned from the store.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

Well, go back to wherever you're going,

don't be going round the shops

because it's obvious what you're up to and everyone's watching you,

so if you're out trying to commit further thefts,

you won't be very successful and you'll end up in the cells.

With the man released with a warning, the team explain

why they had reasonable grounds to detain him in the first place.

We know he was going to attempt to leave.

He didn't have enough money to pay for what was in his basket,

but we'd rather get in there and prevent the crime from happening

than sit there and basically witness the commission of an offence.

It's... He's in there, we've sent a message out to him

that we're aware of him, we know what he's doing

and he's not welcome in the city centre.

For the neighbourhood team,

warning people off committing an offence carries greater rewards

than having to chase down a criminal and catch him in the act.

Over a quarter of all calls the neighbourhood team receives

relates to anti-social behaviour caused by youths.

In Humberside, the police are always looking for new ways

to put a stop to this problem.

During the past three years,

the number of teenagers who admit to drinking in public

has soared to 70%.

It's a growing problem across the country,

and one the neighbourhood police teams are determined to stamp out.

We did have it when the youngsters,

there's a church next to us and they were sitting in the garden there

-drinking and smashing bottles.

-Oh, yeah.

We did have that for a few months, the summer before last,

but the police soon sorted that out as well.

In Hull, they've started an initiative

to keep teenagers away from booze and give them a place to hang out.

The council, in partnership with the police,

run a special alcohol-free club night.

PC Alan Cowley and the team are tasked with making sure

that no-one tries to get into the club already tanked up,

and it's not long before they spot some potential trouble-makers.

-All right, boys, what we up to?

-Nothing. We're off in Pozition.

You're off in Pozition, are you?

You seem to be hiding on the benches away from me cos I was there.

-We're waiting for his girlfriend.

-Waiting for my mate.

Waiting for your mate? He says you're waiting for his girlfriend.

Are you? Where's she coming from, then?

She's coming from, erm...

her mam and dad's house.

Coming from her mam and dad's house? All right, then.

How much have you had to drink tonight?

Alan is unconvinced. The lads look worse for wear,

and he suspects they are heading to the under-18s' nightclub.

You've either smoked something or had something to drink tonight.

-No, I had a cig, that's it.

-You had a cig?

-What was in the cig? Anything that shouldn't be?

-No.

When you go to the door in there, they're going to breathalyse you.

-All right, then.

-We haven't had nowt to drink.

Okey-dokey, then. So as I say...

We're waiting here for his girlfriend cos she's got the tickets.

You seem to be acting out the ordinary and keeping out my way.

No, she's literally over there.

-Have you started on a few?

-What do you mean, "started on a few"?

-(LAUGHS)

-No, I haven't, no.

-All right, mate, have a nice night.

-See you later, cheers.

Those lads go on their way quietly, but further down the street

Alan spots a group of youths hanging around the club

that he suspects haven't been drinking lemonade all night.

Just as we was approaching the club tonight,

the three youngsters who I spoke to,

I saw from a distance tossing aluminium cans away.

Get them picked up and pop them in the bin for me.

-Will do.

-Thank you.

On speaking to them and asking them to pick the cans up,

it was obvious their speeches were slurred and their eyes was glazed.

How much have you been drinking tonight?

-Nowt.

-No alcohol whatsoever?

-No.

-Why's your speech slurred, then?

-It ain't.

-It was.

They've been drinking alcohol.

For that reason, I've asked them to leave the area tonight.

If they go in the club in that manner, they could cause problems.

What were you drinking? You've not just been drinking energy drinks.

-No, nothing.

-Nowt at all?

You stink of it. What you been drinking?

-Just the one beer.

-Beers.

-Just one.

-One beers.

How old are you both?

-Age?

-16.

-16.

-17.

-17.

-16.

-16.

You're not going in here tonight, boys,

because you've been drinking on the streets.

You've had that energy drink, that's not just energy,

I can tell by your eyes and the state of your speech, OK?

So what I'm going to do is ask you all to leave the city centre

-and not come back here tonight.

-All right.

If you don't do that, I'm going to issue you with a Section 27 notice

which'll order you to do it, and if you come back then

or refuse to leave, you'll end up getting arrested.

I'll not take that option at first, I'll ask you to leave the area.

All right? So you go and you don't come in here tonight.

Thank you very much.

One of the lads Alan sent on his way

was just heard shouting abuse back at the police.

Alan goes to check if he's still around.

Just to make sure he goes. If he carries on playing the clown,

I'll lock him up for drunk and disorderly.

If he goes home and takes my advice, that's OK.

They took the option of running off up the street,

so that'll solve that problem for tonight.

The lads getting sent on their way

sends a warning to the queue of over 100 teenagers

that's building up outside the club.

-Steady breath into there for me.

-The place will be shut down

if the no-alcohol ban is breached, and security teams stand on the door

to spot-breathalyse everybody entering.

It's preventative rather than reactive.

We'd rather turn people away that have possibly had a drink

zrather than get into fights later on

and sort of criminalise themselves by getting arrested.

It's easier to turn them away and turn them back into the care of adults, really.

With incidents of teenagers drinking on the streets

having almost halved in Hull, the initiative seems to be working,

but the neighbourhood team always needs to be on hand

to pick up the pieces when things go wrong,

as we find out later.

Coming up...

Buster uses his crime-busting nose to sniff out a hidden stash.

Don't be silly.

And the classroom of children

who get the chance to become young Sherlocks.

We need to treat this very seriously

because if me or PC Anderson go to a crime scene,

we can't just mess about and laugh. We've got to treat it seriously.

Earlier, a raid on a council estate

saw two grandparents arrested,

but so far, no hard evidence has been found,

so it's time to send in the dogs.

Earlier on, when we came in,

he declared there was a bit of cannabis and that amphetamine

that's been seized and taken over there,

but the dog's been knocking really hard on this. It's got some bags,

and did you get something else as well, Amanda? Or just...

-That.

-The little box...

-All right, yeah.

-..with a little bit of amphetamine as well.

But despite moving them, although it might just be residue left over,

the dog's really interested in this area

so we need to get stuck into that area.

The systemic search of the house is a slow process,

having to be all the more thorough because dealers are always coming up

with new and imaginative ways to hide their stash.

But the ever-eager Buster just keeps finding

more and more mini-stashes.

Another tin of cannabis this time.

Hang on.

Downstairs, the police make a discovery

that could place the suspects in even more hot water.

When we first looked under this table,

we looked up and wedged into the table,

literally, so that if anyone was at this table, they could...

It was hidden, but you could retrieve it from the table like that,

which obviously, if confronted with somebody like that,

would be very worrying. It turns out it's only a CO2 pistol,

but it's the fact that obviously it's exceptionally realistic-looking,

and if it was pointed at you, you would think

you were being pointed at with, you know, a fully lethal weapon.

As the high-low search of the house continues,

in the kitchen, Sergeant Coffey finds another dangerous weapon.

ELECTRICITY CRACKLES

That's a home-made electrical taser device, basically.

If you drove that into somebody, not only would they get

the prongs sticking in their flesh, but it'd give an electrical shock,

so that's actually a prohibited weapon.

It's not as if they've made it out of curiosity,

just to see if they could do one.

It's attached to here, sat charging, ready.

Hopefully, it'll fit into one of these.

As drugs and weapons continue to be gathered as evidence,

a visit from the local housing officer

brings more bad news for the lady of the house,

who remains under detention in the living room.

-We'll be looking at serving notice on your property.

-For what?

Because obviously you're in breach of your tenancy agreement.

You have been causing a nuisance, you have had complaints.

From who?

From people living around here.

All right, we're walking out now.

No longer wanting to speak to the police,

the woman is now also taken to the station for formal questioning,

but in the back garden, Buster is still going strong

and has alerted the neighbourhood team to something suspicious

hidden in the garden shed.

I've just searched the shed. Buster was showing an interest in the shed,

and in the top up here,

there's been tucked that white block.

It may or may not be amphetamine,

but obviously the only way they'll know is testing it.

His dog was indicating real high up in the shed out there.

BUSTER BARKS

He's obviously still barking, excited.

He's found that hidden in the shed,

in the area the dog was indicating. We're not 100% certain what it is,

but there is a good possibility that it is amphetamine,

and the only way to be absolutely certain is to take it to a lab

and have it forensically tested, so that's the plan. Good find.

Couple of hundred quid there, won't there be?

As the search continues, as well as drugs,

more potential weapons are found.

If you were carrying that on the street

and your intention was to threaten somebody

or to cause somebody distress with it,

you would be committing a criminal offence,

and of course people use this thing

committing robberies and other such crimes,

and drug dealers use them to threaten one another,

because the weight and feel of that is very, very realistic

and I think if you was to go pointing that at an armed police officer

or make a threat, you would probably get yourself shot.

So we don't like to see these out and about.

The search is interrupted when the back doorbell goes.

On opening the door, there is a surprised-looking caller.

Because of what's happened at this address today,

as of this moment, you are detained for the purposes of the search.

Oh, for the search, all right.

-My colleague'll search you, all right?

-No worries.

-Is there anything that you've got on you now that you shouldn't have?

-No.

-All right, we'll go through it now, all right?

-No problem, yeah.

That is paraphernalia, but it's all clean.

The woman is given an on-the-spot search.

Coming up clean, she is free to go.

-All right.

-OK?

-Mind how you go.

-Thank you.

But she is a familiar face to the neighbourhood team.

The female is known to us,

and indeed, most of neighbourhood policing in Scunthorpe.

She is a drug user, OK?

And the intelligence we've received

is that people do come to the rear of this premises

when they wish to get their drugs, basically,

so to me, that simply validates what we're doing here.

She wasn't expecting that,

and no doubt got a rather unpleasant surprise.

All the evidence of drugs and weapons gathered

are taken away for examination.

Good ties with the community have seen the neighbourhood team

able to act on good information from locals,

who want to see their communities a safer place.

Before any further legal action was taken

with the male suspect in this case, he unfortunately passed away.

His wife received a police caution for possession of a Class B drug.

No further action was taken

in relation to any of the weapons uncovered at the house

and the taser was destroyed.

Teenage street drinking has become a major problem across the UK.

A quarter of 15-year-olds

say they regularly consume alcohol at least once a week.

PCSOs Vicky Barlow and Vicky Pennington

have picked up the reins of a patrol

looking for kids breaching the Hull city centre alcohol ban.

We'll be out either on foot or on cycle or, like this, on car,

in the car, where obviously we're covering a massive area,

and we've got the time to just drive up and down

any streets, any hot-spot areas, any problem areas.

The streets are quiet, but it's not long before

the pair spot a young man looking very much the worse for wear.

-You all right there?

-Yeah.

On your way home?

Are you all right?

-Yeah.

-Have you fallen over?

Can I go home?

-Course you can.

-Where's home?

Where do you live? You're not in trouble,

just saw you laid on the floor, making sure you're all right.

Whilst the police are not there to provide a child-minding service,

the man's drunken condition, coupled with freezing cold temperatures,

means they can't trust him to get home alone.

Knowing there's not much point in giving him a telling-off

in his current condition, they take the softly-softly approach.

Don't worry about it.

Are you going to be able to walk or do we need to take you home?

Are you going to be all right?

They decide it's safest to give him a lift home,

provided he knows where he lives.

-Like I said, if you're going to be sick, let us know, won't you?

-Yeah.

-Good lad.

-Sorry.

-Don't apologise.

Finally, he provides them with an address,

and the officers can drop him off there.

HE HICCUPS

Can you manage?

HE HICCUPS

What Mum and Dad will think about him coming home in such a state

remains to be seen.

The back seat of the police car may have had a lucky escape,

but the same can't be said for the doorstep.

Let's just hope he's taken them to the right house.

You don't have to apologise to us, fella.

Mum'll probably make you clean it up in the morning.

-Does this one belong to you?

-Yeah.

Can we leave him with you? We just found him laid out on Newbridge Road.

Just bring him in a minute.

Come on, then, we'll keep you upright.

Sorry.

Vicky explains to the boy's parents that he must not drink

or be found drunk in the controlled alcohol zone again,

but they also find out that there were other factors in play

that caused him to fall into such a state.

He's on some kind of medication

where he's not supposed to have too much to drink,

but at least he's not passed out.

With the lad now safely tucked up in bed,

the two Vickys return to their patrol,

hoping they don't have to nurse any more teenagers

who have gotten on the wrong side of the beer can, as well as the law.

All across Humberside,

neighbourhood police officers get inundated with calls from the public

about problems taking place on their doorsteps.

It's up to the police to review these complaints

and to allay residents' concerns.

Today, PCSO Shaun Casson is looking at any complaints

that have come in from the public overnight.

This morning, I've looked through the intelligence reports

and we've come up an address, on north Hull,

which we're going go do what we call a door-knock

and see if we can talk to that person relating to him growing cannabis.

Home-growing of cannabis has escalated in the past few years,

with the majority of the UK's illegal supply

coming not just from gangs who cultivate it on an industrial scale,

but individuals who grow it in spare bedrooms, lofts and sheds.

The team suit up and head in convoy to the destination.

They carry out dozens of these kinds of raids every month,

and have scored major successes

at keeping drugs off the city's streets.

And these kinds of high-visibility raids reassure the public

that the police are doing everything they can

to make their communities a safer place.

Mick could break the door in,

but decides to take the softly-softly approach...

-Mr

-BLEEP,

-come down to the door, please.

..and ask the householder to come and speak with him.

Morning, how are you?

Can I just come in and have a word with you?

Thank you very much.

Once inside, Mick announces the reason for the team's visit.

I'm Sergeant Stevenson from the Community Reassurance Team, OK?

These people with me are obviously my staff.

DOG BARKS We've come because we had a complaint

that there's a strong smell of cannabis coming from your address,

and as soon as you opened the door, first thing I smelled was cannabis.

Are you growing cannabis at this address?

The man says he isn't. Behind closed doors, Mick tells the man

he's going to act on his suspicions and search the property,

-the hard way or the easy way.

-Let me just explain something to you -

if you won't allow us to search with consent,

then, because I can smell cannabis, that gives me reasonable suspicion,

and I'm going to arrest you,

but if I arrest you, you will stay arrested. All right?

If you give us consent and we look round and we do find something,

there's always the possibility that you won't get arrested

and we'll interview you at the address.

I'm explaining it to you, so you know...

The man admits to having one plant.

I'll explain it to you so you know where we stand.

Because you just said you have one plant,

I'm now going to caution you and tell you, you don't have to say anything,

but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned

something which you later rely on in court.

Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand that?

All right, mate. Now you're under caution, be careful what you say.

Are you going to allow us to search with consent?

You are? OK.

Going to have a quick look upstairs.

With the law laid down, the team commence their search,

and Shaun's experience leads him

straight to the heart of the home-growing operation.

And he's used the second bedroom.

As you can see, he's put this plastic sheeting across.

It's just a basic set-up.

This is a basic set-up. He's got just that one plant growing there,

plus he's had a little cutting off that one

and some cuttings off this small one here.

So far, they have found the one plant the man admitted to,

but Shaun's keen nose leads him through to the other bedroom.

This wardrobe here has got three small ones.

But it's not the first time

the man has been found growing cannabis at home,

which places him in a more serious position as a repeat offender,

which this time could even see him made homeless.

What's happened at this address is,

because we've found cannabis plants being grown again,

this is the second occasion in council property,

so on this occasion, he's being arrested

and he's now going into custody at Priory Road Police Station.

We've got the neighbourhood nuisance team down.

They'll photograph the property

as well as our crime scene investigator,

and they'll take their own independent action

in relation to tenancy enforcement,

and I would imagine on this occasion, he'll probably get evicted.

A further search of the house

turns up some evidence of cannabis dried for use.

These have obviously been full at one point

cos they've all got remnants of cannabis in them.

Clearly, he's had some pretty decent grows in that room at the back.

There's three plants in the front bedroom

which are growing inside a wardrobe.

They're about nine or ten inches tall altogether.

They look relatively healthy

and they're just growing under a single normal light-bulb.

They look as though they've got some way to go yet

before they're fully grown

and they'll be ready for harvest.

In the back bedroom, there's another plant, which is more established

and it's quite bushy and quite well on the way to being fully grown.

It's had a couple of other plants growing in there too

which appear to have died, either through neglect

or they've just not established themselves properly.

So, in total we've found four plants.

The team does an inventory

of the drugs and the associated growing paraphernalia

they have found in the search.

The strong police presence on the street sends a sign to residents

that the neighbourhood team take their complaints seriously,

and also sends a warning to criminals

that they will not hesitate to take action

to put a stop to criminal wrong-doing.

The man was found guilty of possession

of a Class B controlled drug and was fined £100, plus costs.

In the Humberside Police region,

the team are looking to get the youngest members of the community

on side in the fight against house burglars.

A new scheme sees officers Paul and Andy

turn a classroom into a crime scene.

Neighbourhood teams are a familiar face to pupils and teachers,

during both good times and bad.

Generally, most PCSOs are spot for certain schools

and it's their job to go into the schools,

liaise with the staff and pupils, ensure things go OK.

Through my role, I've been invited

onto the governors' board at that school as well,

so I've got a good relationship,

good understanding with the staff and pupils at the school.

To complement the regional crackdown on break-ins,

Paul and Andy have come up with a fun way to teach children

about the work of police officers in catching burglars.

They turn the classroom into a ransacked living room

and leave behind some clues.

'We also want to try and get them to work out'

how he's got in, which way he's gone, what he's tried to do,

what he's tried not to do, so it's not just about finding the evidence,

it's also finding the method, the way in which they've come out,

the way they've gone out.

Hopefully, they'll pick up on a lot of it

and hopefully, they'll all get some good clues together

and piece the story together

The budding detectives listen as the police tell them what lies ahead.

We need to treat this very seriously

because if me or PC Anderson go to a crime scene,

we can't just mess about and laugh. We've got to treat it seriously.

Because it's a crime scene,

once you get in there,

you're not allowed to touch anything. OK?

Does anyone know why?

Because they might have fingerprints on.

Mmm. So, we're going in,

we're looking for clues how they broke in,

what they've been looking at, what they might have been searching for

and the means they've used to actually break into the school.

There's some obvious clues in there,

but there's also some really hard clues in there.

The young Sherlocks begin surveying the crime scene

and make a note of everything

they think may be a clue as to what happened.

Time's up. Andy musters the group back together.

Is this everybody?

-The jungle.

-The jungle!

Crowbar -

so he might have used that to do what?

-To get in.

-To get in, yeah.

And how did he get in?

One young lad picked up on a very important clue.

They've reached their arm in, put the key in

and then, because they've cut themselves on the arm,

they went over to the tap, got a paper towel

and left some blood on it.

The idea that the burglar may have been injured during the break-in

-sets the young minds racing.

-He had blood on his hand, on his arm.

-Mr Norton?

-Yeah.

-The school caretaker?

-Yeah.

-Yeah!

-Just a minute!

We can get in a lot of trouble for even suspecting him of doing it,

so let's just hear him out, let's hear what his story is first.

Come in. Sorry, come in.

-Oh, right.

-You know, Kim asked us to come

-and have a look at this burglary?

-Yeah, the burglary.

Our SOCO officers have had a day off,

-so we've had to use these pupils to help.

-Right.

-OK?

For some bizarre reason, they think it was you.

-Me?

-Yeah!

-What happened to your arm?

-I just cut it when I was in my shed last night.

-Shed, OK.

-Yeah, I just cut it on a nail, like, so...

-Do we believe him?

No!

Right, hands down.

Right, OK, where was you last night?

I was at home, yeah, I was at home watching telly.

-Can anyone prove that?

-There was a football match on.

Yeah, my wife. Me and the wife watched that football match, yeah.

- Hang on. - What football match was it?

Went to penalties, Crystal Palace.

But I went out with your wife last night.

CHILDREN: Ooh!

Thank you, Mrs Woods.

-He's lied.

-Why would he lie, then?

If he's lying, why would he lie?

To get out of trouble, to blame someone else.

Mr Norton has a car

which the police and the junior detectives want to inspect.

Aww!

How's that got in there?

-Do you think I've got enough evidence to arrest him now?

-Yeah!

-Right then, sir.

-Oh, dear.

CHILDREN LAUGH

Due to the fact you've got stolen items

or items believed to be stolen in the boot of your car,

-I'm arresting you on suspicion of burglary.

-Oh, no!

-You're nicked!

-Oh, no!

'Could tell by their faces they enjoyed it, they loved it.'

And they've been round school telling everybody

exactly what they've been doing.

In fact, a couple of the teachers even said to me,

"Oh, you did this, you did that, you did the other,"

so they took it all in.

You could tell by their faces, they thoroughly enjoyed it, yeah.

What would you like to say?

Thank you!

'They really enjoyed it, they were really inquisitive,'

they worked the clues out well, they put the story together

and we got the suspect in the end.

As I say, they all did really well.

Another job well done.

Yeah, if only every burglary was that easy.

As we've seen today,

neighbourhood policing teams are there to listen to the public,

act upon their concerns and cut crime,

but they need local people to stay on side

or this style of policing to work,

and the only way that can happen is if they continue to deliver results.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd