Episode 2 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

that are on the frontline.

-What are you doing there?

-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...

-Have you been drinking tonight?

-No.

-Why's your speech slurred then?

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

You have to be careful.

SHOUTS: Who do you think you ARE?!

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 go after a man suspected of dealing drugs from his living room.

SHOUTS: Who do you think you ARE?!

BLEEP!

Could a local family be the unwitting owner of a death-row dog?

Either way, the dog is going to be coming with us today.

And the police take action against troublesome teens.

-Calm down!

-BLEEP!

-Calm down!

Neighbourhood policing has fast become a feature of police forces across the country.

It's supposed to see police taking on people's concerns about crime

and throwing the book at the criminals.

But as crime rates are always threatening to rise,

the challenges just keep getting greater.

For decades, the Humberside police area had one of the highest crime rates in the UK.

But in recent years, things have improved dramatically,

in no small part due to one of biggest community policing initiatives

to be found in the country.

You're under arrest for a shop theft.

But the fight against crime is an ongoing battle

and one which requires the constant support of the public.

This means the police need to be seen and heard.

Because we work on our little patches,

we become familiar with the area and the people who live in it

and they know who their local officer is, as well.

Another way teams are doing this is by holding regular beat meetings,

where residents can meet their local police officer face to face.

I think Neighbourhood Watch is a very positive thing

that people can do to help themselves.

And with the help of their local council and their local police,

I think if more people got involved,

then the crime rate would be brought down.

For the period of the 1st January to the 27th...

Tonight, PC Dave Bullock is hosting a neighbourhood meeting

for the locals living on his patch.

It's a full house and people have plenty to say.

Is it part of the flats or is it part of the road outside?

I had quite a lot of reports from our residents

-of constant drug dealing in the alleyway between

-BLEEP

-and the Co-op.

At the end of the meeting, one woman comes forward to voice a worry.

There's a lot of new faces that I've seen going in and out there.

-Why do you think that is?

-What do you mean? I've seen them going in.

-Do you think it's dealing at the address or just these people using?

-I think they're dealing there.

Neighbourhood teams in Hull get up to a dozen calls a week

from similarly concerned residents

and it's a concern that rings true across the country.

Yeah, if I knew someone was growing drugs next door to me, I certainly wouldn't be too happy.

Not sure whether I would grass them up to the police,

but I would be happy for the police to investigate and put a stop to it, definitely.

Not something I want to live next door to.

..In the back there, for an overview.

Over in Grimsby, several calls from residents on the same street

have sent the team into action.

..Carrying knives before. We've had dealings with him.

So that information is accurate, so there is potential for violence.

More worrying for the team is the news that there are also children living at the property.

The combination of this information means that Martin Coffey is leaving nothing to chance

and wants a fast entry and lockdown of the location and the children protected as a priority.

Part of this job has got to be about safeguarding the children,

if there's drug dealing going on, so let's bear that in mind when we're in there.

The team suits up in their stab-proof body armour

and are also prepared to pack another piece of kit - a taser,

just in case the suspect turns violent.

ELECTRONIC CLICKING

It's just a precaution, really.

There is some intelligence regarding certain individuals that frequent that address

who we've had previous dealings with and who've been violent in the past. So, obviously, it's a precaution.

If we've got to have 'em, we'll need 'em!

All kitted up, Sergeant Coffey musters his men.

And the unit head to the suspected dealing den.

The van parks up just outside the house.

On arriving at the location,

carrying all the tools needed to force entry, the team hot-foot it to the property.

The dead-locking door isn't going to give way easily,

so the unit unleash their full force against it to gain entry.

SMASH!

SHOUTING

-Oi! What are you doing there?

-Police!

As the door gives, the team rush in,

sweeping the house to isolate the suspect and remove any children to safety.

A woman is quickly located upstairs looking after the children.

-If you'd said it was you, I'd have let you in, mate!

-BLEEP!

The male suspect is apprehended in the front room.

He's more concerned about his door being smashed down, than the heavy police presence.

-I watch telly enough, man! You don't just beat the door down!

-Sit down!

-I don't want to sit down.

-I'm going to stand up.

-You knew the police were here.

-Stop walking about.

-I'll stand in the middle of the room.

-No...

The officers try to calm the man down,

but his agitated state means they are left with no option

but to arrest him and take him into custody for questioning.

-..Has a written agreement to say that you shouldn't even be here.

-BLEEP!

BLEEP! BLEEP!

I love you, yeah?

As the man is led out of the house,

another man is also arrested in the garden.

But the main suspect continues to behave aggressively,

refusing to be led away quietly to the point where officers have to physically restrain him.

-Eh, don't start!

-SHOUTS: Who do you think you ARE?!

-BLEEP!

-Eh!

-Pack that in now! Stop it!

-Keep yourself calm!

-Are we understood?

-Look, calm it!

Just cos we're outside in front of your neighbours, don't start acting the big man.

-Oi!

-BLEEP!

-Calm down. Just calm down.

Come to the van, walk with us, otherwise we'll have to carry you.

The other man arrested in the garden also begins to put up a fight,

meaning he, too, has to be restrained by force.

-Leave that

-BLEEP! BLEEP!

-Aaagh!

As the main suspect continues to protest and level accusations at the police,

an on-the-spot search reveals he is carrying close to £1,000 in cash

stuffed into his socks and pants...

-There you go!

-He's lying! They put drugs in the house...

-Where's this money from?

-..Last time I got raided!

My money!

..Reinforcing suspicions that he may be dealing drugs.

-Are you working at the minute?

-I don't need to work, mate.

-More money!

-I earn my money my own ways, all right?

After an initial struggle, the suspect and the other man

are finally restrained and locked in the van.

They will be taken to the local custody suite in order for a full strip search to be carried out,

after which they will be formally questioned.

Find out later if Buster, the force's champion sniffer dog,

can use his nose to track down the suspected dealer's illegal stash.

BARKING

There are over 8 million dogs in the UK.

Whilst most are much-loved family pets,

a select few are a danger to the public.

Last year, there were over 5,000 attacks by such dogs

that saw the victims sent to hospital.

BARKING

Sometimes I do see a lot of people, individually or in groups,

carrying dogs because they think a lot of people are scared of dogs.

They seem to used as vanity pets

for the purposes of getting angry and intimidating other people.

But they definitely do use dogs these days as a weapon, definitely.

Many of these attacks were by so-called "dangerous dogs",

classified under schedule one of the Dangerous Dogs Act.

These animals include pit bulls.

Ownership of such a breed can lead to a prosecution of the owners

and the destruction of the dog.

Today...

over at Pearson Park Police Station, neighbour police officer

Gareth Walker is responding to a call from a member of the public,

who has been bitten by an animal she thinks may be a dangerous dog.

Do we know where the dog's kept within the house?

Just at the back, in a rear compound...

The Hull city centre neighbourhood team dealt with over 60 dangerous dog cases last year

and Gareth knows that dealing with these animals

comes with its own unique set of challenges.

-I've arranged with the designated kennels...

-Right.

-They will attend and pick it up in an unmarked vehicle.

-Right. OK.

Because the animal is feared to be a schedule one dangerous dog,

the police have no choice but to go to the address and remove it.

It will be examined at the local pound by an expert.

If the dog is found to be a banned breed,

two options exist for the owner - to agree to its immediate humane destruction,

or to plea the animal's case in court.

-Hiya.

-Hello there.

I need to speak to you in relation to your dog that's barking away in the background. Can I come in?

Yeah, but what about the dog? It will go mad that you're all coming in.

Is the dog in a compound in the back? Is it secure?

-No. I'll get my partner to go in the back with him.

-OK.

Gareth and the team wait patiently

whilst the dog is locked in the garden.

Once inside, the officers explain the reason for their visit.

Gareth goes on to break the news that Bailey must now be taken to the pound,

so he can be examined to determine if he's a banned breed.

Dealing with dangerous dogs comes with a high risk of attack

and the neighbourhood team take no chances.

This is what we call a dog shield.

The front of it has some equipment which delivers a shock to the dog.

The dog comes towards the officer, presents the shield.

The dog, generally - its nose touches the shield, give it a quick burst,

and the dog, generally, doesn't want to play any more.

The capture shield works by creating a barrier

between the police officer and the animal.

If, whilst attempting to put a leash around the dog, the animal attacks,

a small electric shock emitted by the shield

will temporarily stun the dog and enable the police officer to securely leash him.

In Bailey's case, the officers hope the shield won't be required.

As preparations are made to remove him,

Bailey's owner makes a final, desperate attempt to keep him at home.

-I've seen loads of them about.

-There are lots, I'll grant you that.

-I know you're upset, because he's a family pet.

-I love him so much!

Please! He's everything to me! Please!

SHE SOBS

With the situation explained once more,

his owner eventually relents, allowing her partner

to lead Bailey to the dog pound van.

BAILEY BARKS

With all the attention focused on him, Bailey is clearly distressed

and great care is taken to ensure he is put into the van

without any harm coming to him or anyone else.

If Bailey is a dangerous dog, his outlook is bleak.

He will either need to be put to sleep,

or his owners will have to ask a judge to spare his life.

The dog handler now takes Bailey to the kennels,

where we will find out later if an expert thinks he is a dangerous dog.

I'll ring you tomorrow. Then, any time after that, you can ring me to discuss what's going on.

-Is that all right?

-Yeah, fine.

All this now means an anxious wait for his owners.

Bad behaviour caused by kids on street corners

is an age-old problem for the police.

But in recent years, a new menace has surfaced.

Last year, the police received over 1,000 complaints

about bullying and harassment on social networking sites.

You see a lot of things on Facebook, like people commenting on photos,

or just saying slightly nasty things that are a little untoward,

or creating an argument that you wouldn't normally have if it wasn't on the internet.

I think people have to be careful what they put online.

It's a public forum and people have easy access to that information.

People think that they can just hide behind a screen or a keyboard.

But now it's becoming more serious, especially with things like Twitter.

When it was first introduced, people thought they could say what they want to say.

But now people are going to prison for that, people are being made more aware

that whatever they say on those public forums

is, you know, legally permissible in court.

So, it's, erm...

It's a very real threat out there.

This type of cyber-crime is on the rise

and the neighbourhood team have been quick to pick up on it.

We're going to see a gentleman who's reported problems on Facebook.

Neighbourhood officer Matt Lingrick has just received a call

from the father of a teenage girl.

-Hi.

-BLEEP!

-Doing all right?

-Come on in.

-Let's come in.

A fake social networking account has been set up in her name, using her pictures.

-It logged on as her here.

-Right.

-And that's what it put.

-And then started arguing...

-And her friends are sticking up for

-BLEEP!

So technically this is still your profile, isn't it?

Yeah, but I've got a new one.

The family think that the culprit may be the girl's ex-boyfriend,

who has been using the account to post abusive messages to friends and family.

-That's probably the most damning bit that we've got.

-Yeah.

-That's him on his Facebook with his name on.

-Mm-hm.

That's his status - "Hacking your ex and changing her Facebook name to 'I touch real lots of kids'".

The neighbourhood teams have seen a tenfold increase in the past two years in this type of complaint.

The internet is a difficult sphere to police,

but fast action against the perpetrators can often stop a problem spinning out of control.

Because where does it stop when you're dealing with somebody with this mentality?

The haven't got the intelligence sometimes

to be able to knock it off when they know they should, so...

Matt has dealt with similar cases before,

but knows that feuds with teenagers usually take a different shape to those between adults.

But I'll do the usual. I'll do the checks and keep you fully updated.

I'll contact you on your mobile, if that's OK, and we'll go from there.

-Right, I'll keep

-BLEEP

-posted then.

-All right, cheers.

-Cheers for now. Thanks.

-See you later.

Having spoken with the victim, the team head over to the ex-boyfriend's house.

-Come in.

-Thank you. Is he in?

Cyber-stalking and harassment is a growing crime

and one the neighbourhood team take very seriously.

I'm not going to mince my words because it's quite serious

and, at the end of the day, this is causing a lot of distress to people.

-What do you know about...? Why is that on there?

-I don't know.

-You don't know?

-Admittedly, I did it.

-You did that?

-Yeah.

-Being honest.

-I appreciate your honesty.

-Yeah.

In the face of overwhelming evidence against him,

the boy confesses to committing the offence straight away.

After a firm talking to from Matt,

the boy deactivates the fake social networking page.

What I want you to do, if you sign there, next to that star...

In a bid to draw a line under the matter, the boy signs a statement

promising not to behave in such a way again and to leave his ex-girlfriend alone.

He is also left with a warning from Matt ringing in his ears.

Please take my words of advice on board because...

it's caused a lot of problems that you may not be aware of.

It's been another good result for the neighbourhood team...

-Bye-bye.

-See ya!

..In their bid to kerb troublesome teens.

The social networking faker has been paid a follow-up visit by the team

and has continued to refrain from posting offensive material on social networking sites.

Dangerous dog attacks are on the rise,

with somebody killed every year by a banned animal.

Often these dogs are trained to attack other animals and people

with ferocious and deadly force.

The police have received a report from a member of the public,

who believes they were bitten by a banned breed.

PC Gareth Walker is investigating this serious complaint.

On visiting the house, the dog Bailey was removed to a local kennels,

where he now awaits examination by a police officer with experience of classifying dangerous dogs.

Gareth is now on his way to the pound to find out what the future holds for Bailey and his owners.

We're going up to the police kennels in relation to the dog that we seized yesterday

as a possible schedule one dog.

We're meeting an officer there from North Yorkshire police,

who's a dog legislation officer for their force, who can identify the dog,

hopefully, one way or the other.

One arriving at the kennels, Gareth is greeted by PC Mick Atkinson,

an expert in dangerous dogs.

In order to inspect Bailey, Mick gets out a long leash,

but, immediately, the dog goes on the attack.

BARKING

It's going to take all of Mick's 15 years of experience dealing with dangerous dogs

to try and calm him down.

Sausage or fingers.

Good boy!

No, no, no.

But despite Mick's best efforts, Bailey remains hostile

to any kind of approach.

Whilst a visual identification of a dangerous dog is sufficient...

BARKING

Mick would like to measure Bailey and examine more closely some of his characteristics.

BARKING

Need to be able to get hold of him and put a tape measure on to him

and measure him up - that's what we've got to do to identify him.

There's no point in putting him under undue stress to get him out,

when somebody's only going to get hurt from him.

You can see he's a pit bull-type. I'm not prepared to put him under any more stress than he is already.

He's frightened. His tail's under his legs. You go near him, he's snarling.

If you go into him, someone's going to get hurt and it's not worth it.

BARKING

-You're quite happy to say he is?

-It is, yeah, pit bull. Pit bull-type.

-Yeah.

Being branded a dangerous dog,

is not good news for Bailey, or his owners.

Only two options exist now - his owners agree he be put to sleep,

or they take the case to court for a judge to determine the outcome.

Come on!

Still to come...

Could it be that Bailey's dog days are done?

BARKING

I want a fag!

And the search of the suspected drug dealer's house

sees the neighbourhood team find the hard stuff.

I would suggest it's probably crack cocaine.

Nobody wants a drug dealer living on their street,

but an even bigger concern for most people

relates to troublesome teenagers creating a menace.

The neighbourhood teams are not afraid to get tough against antisocial youths,

because it's a problem that upsets people everywhere.

The crime in my particular area is definitely young people, yes.

From my personal experience, it's gangs of sort of feral children

roaming the streets and getting up to no good.

Throwing stones at windows and that sort of thing.

And I've seen children with bottles of vodka on the street in daytime, just after school, as well.

So quite worrying really.

There are actually groups of youths on the streets,

ranging from, can be ten, 15.

There has been house attacks on my estate, yeah.

Like bricks thrown through windows.

Bottles thrown at doors, doors kicked in.

ASBO's are still used when a youngster repeatedly

creates a menace in a public place.

If an ASBO is breached, it can lead to arrest and a criminal record.

Today, PC Rich Watson and Sergeant Mark Peasegood

are on their way to the home of a 15-year-old boy.

He has an ASBO for continued troublemaking at a local library,

and he's breached it, so they are off to arrest him.

He's going to the library, erm...

and he's, basically, being abusive to members of staff there.

They've provided us with a statement to that effect as evidence.

So we're going to go and arrest him now

and we'll have him interviewed this afternoon.

-Now then, mate, you all?

-BLEEP.

The police officers enter the boy's house

and the full seriousness of how much trouble he is in hits home.

-Right...

-BLEEP!

-You've breached your ASBO.

-No, he hasn't!

-No, I haven't! You listen to this...

-This is what I'm going to say to you...

Despite the boy and his mum being in denial,

the police are not softening their stance.

No, he hasn't!

They have ample evidence to prove he has breached the ASBO

and he now has to be arrested and taken into custody for continuing to offend.

-Calm down!

-BLEEP!

-Calm down!

-No, he hasn't breached his ASBO!

-Calm down!

-Where's the breach then?

-Breached it at the library on the 17th January.

-Calm down.

Sit in the middle.

The teenage boy is now under arrest and is taken to the station.

-Shoes off, please.

-Bear with me.

There, he is fingerprinted, before being bailed whilst he awaits a court date.

It's a disappointing day for all concerned,

as the boy can now be looking at a criminal record

and the extensive efforts of the neighbourhood team were not enough

to curb his bad behaviour.

You listen to this...

Following his court hearing, the young lad was found guilty of breaching his ASBO.

Tearaway teens are something most families have to deal with at some time or another.

But sometimes the problems can be too great for parents to control on their own at home,

as their children's aggressive and antisocial behaviour escalates,

causing a problem that a mere telling off or curfew won't solve.

Over in Cleethorpes, the team have been working closely

with families who have teenagers with anger-management issues.

PCSO Richard Moore is about to pay a follow-up visit

to a family who have been having

ongoing problems with a teenage son, who has been violent and abusive to his parents.

The boy's bad behaviour has created tensions at home.

..You can work out the ones that you want to do in the short term...

Well, it all started about a year ago.

I just like saw red and then every time Mum and Dad said, "No,"

I saw red and was just going to go for the target.

I used to bang 'em on the walls

and hit 'em in the face.

Causing a split in the family and pushing Mum to breaking point.

In the end, I rung social services and said, "Look, I need help!"

Social services said, "Every time he attacks you, you need to ring the police."

Obviously, she'd seen all me bruises and stuff what Jack had done.

And that's how Richard got involved with us.

Richard's role on behalf of the neighbourhood team

is to try and mediate between the boy and his parents,

showing him that his actions are bordering on being criminal.

But there is help and support there to put him back on the right track.

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

-Er...

What's your behaviour and your aggression been like?

I think we've had two arguments, but not like physical.

OK. What were the arguments about?

One of them was tonight, cos I was going to go down to Kent Street to play football,

but me Mum and Dad said no, so I said, "All right then," and went back out.

No, you didn't say, "All right then."

He turned round and said, "I want to go to Kent Street." And we said, "No, you're not going."

Obviously, cos of the weather. Go upstairs, play on your Play Stations, laptops, whatever.

He turned round and went, "Why don't you just clear off and go back to Albert Place?"

-To Paul.

-Right.

Well, firstly, well done for not throwing any punches.

But, at the end of the day, Jack, what Mum and Dad says is what goes.

You've got to understand that.

-And what they're telling you to do, you've got to do it.

-Yeah.

I've got some charts. What I want you to do is,

-write the date down.

-Yeah.

I've put "Mum and Dad issues". If you've got an issue with the way Mum and Dad's treat you,

write it down and write what the incident was.

-That's yours.

-Thank you.

Mum and Dad get their own forms to fill in, too,

a bit like a diary of how things are going at home.

Mum has already told Ricky that her son's behaviour has been greatly improved

since the weekly neighbourhood visits began.

Because of this, Ricky has brought with him a certificate

that congratulates the teenager on the steps forward he has made.

But Mum and Dad get the final say on whether or not he gets it awarded.

The question I'll ask Mum and Dad, since my last visit,

do you think Jack's behaviour's improved enough to merit this certificate?

All in all, it's not as bad as what he usually is.

The physical abuse has stopped, Rick.

And also the banging and smashing of doors and what have you have also stopped.

-So we are on the right track.

-Lovely.

-Yes.

It's a good feeling for the family when the boy gets the certificate.

-Right, there you go, Jack.

-Thank you.

Dad can see, first hand, the benefits of families developing a close bond

with their local neighbourhood bobby.

There's just been a relationship built up between them.

I'll see you later, Jack. All right?

And I think the relationship is helping,

because it had just got out of hand to where, at some stage,

it would probably have come to physical violence towards Jack from meself.

Because of the abuse that he was giving to the wife and to me, as well.

-Bye.

-All right, good night. Bye-bye!

Since the regular support visits, the boy has stayed on the straight and narrow,

and the family are much happier for it.

Back over in Hull city centre,

neighbourhood officer Gareth Walker seized a dog

the police feared may be banned and a danger to the public.

After being examined at the local pound,

the outlook is very bleak for Bailey.

BARKING

His owners now face the possibility of being prosecuted for owning a pit bull,

as well as facing up to the dilemma of whether they will let Bailey be humanely put to sleep,

or take the case to court.

We've given the owner a couple of days to get her head together.

I've come back into the police station and the owners have turned up to see me at the front.

So, hopefully, we will get an answer one way or the other.

Just grab a seat. It's not ideal, but... Go in there for me.

My recommendation would be that there will be no prosecution,

because it's not in the public interest to prosecute you

and go through all the costs, court appearances and things like that,

when Bailey's being put to sleep.

There's no chance of him breeding, escaping. So there would be no point

to carry on prosecuting you for that offence.

If we...agree to this and agree to it being put down now,

is it possible just to be there when this happens?

I'll have to ask permission of the vets. They're the people that are officially doing it.

If you can go and do it, are you looking at signing him over?

Yeah, we would do in those circumstances, yeah.

-If you're not allowed to go...

-No.

-..then you will go for the prosecution?

-Yeah.

-Right.

Let me see if I can get the answer for you as quickly as I can.

-You take a sit and I'll come back.

-Right. Thank you.

-All right?

-Yeah.

Taking the owners' concerns on board, Gareth contacts the local vet

to ask if their request to accompany Bailey come be carried out.

Hello there, it's Gareth Walker from Queens Gardens.

Hello there. We've got a dog that we've seized off somebody

that's possibly going to get signed over to us euthanasia.

The couple have come in and said they're willing to sign it over for destruction...

It's in our kennels at the moment, but one of them wants to be there to witness it,

to sort of go through the grieving process.

Would you have a problem with that?

OK, do you want to come through?

The owners' anxious wait is over, as Gareth returns with news.

Right, I've spoken to the vets.

OK? The vets agreed that, yeah, one of you can be in the room. He doesn't have a problem with that.

The owners are told that they can be with Bailey at the vets' surgery.

But the reality of the situation now begins to hit home.

-..Four o'clock.

-Tonight?

-Yeah.

-Oh, tonight?!

SHE SOBS It has to be done, don't it?

It has to be done. It will only be other nights...

Despite emotions running high, Gareth still has the difficult task

of getting the order signed that will allow the vet to put Bailey to sleep.

OK?

Just a signature at the end, so I can't add anything else on,

so you don't think there's anything untoward.

OK.

With one of Bailey's owners remaining at home,

too distraught at the thought of losing her pet,

the other makes his way to the vet's to meet his dog one last time.

Aw! All right?

-BARKING

-If you just hold him on the lead.

Aah! Come on!

The police agree to let Bailey to be taken for one last walk

to calm him down.

Gareth stands by, looking to ensure the whole, difficult situation is resolved

as quietly as possible.

He's got the dog out of the kennel's van that's turned up.

He's going to try to oblige by putting a muzzle on the dog

for our safety and the vets' safety.

As soon as he's done that, if he is able to do that,

we'll take the dog through to the vets and they will carry out the procedure that they need to do.

OK?

With Bailey successfully muzzled,

he is led inside the vets' surgery.

With his dog now put to sleep,

emotions are too much for his owner to bear.

HE SOBS

The affection that people hold for their pets

has made this a particularly tough case for the neighbourhood team.

-When it actually comes down to it...

-BLEEP!

-It's over, sir. Thank you very much for your help.

-It's all right.

-All right, thank you.

But with dangerous dog attacks on the rise,

this sad outcome was nonetheless necessary to protect the public

from any further risk of attack.

Despite owning a dangerous dog,

the police took the couple's willingness to co-operate into consideration

and no charges were pressed.

Dangerous dogs are not something the neighbourhood teams deal with every day,

but drug dealers are.

In Humberside, the police are working hard to put the dealers, working from home, in jail.

Back over in Grimsby, following complaints from local residents,

the neighbourhood team have launched a raid on the house of a suspected drug dealer.

Two men have been taken into custody.

-SHOUTS: Who do you think you are?!

-BLEEP!

-Eh!

Aaagh!

Police are now commencing a systematic search of the property

to see if their suspicions about it being a dealing den are true.

But the team must first contend with the woman.

You stop raiding people's houses!

Instead of upsetting... Did you see how he...?

The untidy state of the house means Martin wants his officers to take extra care when searching.

PCSO Lisa Howie is updated about his concerns

as the search for illegal drugs continues.

There's just risks all the way through this house.

Obviously, it's all on the floor there.

WOMAN: Aw, I want a fag! I want one!

The woman, by now, is becoming increasingly agitated.

The combined effect of a police presence and her partner being in for questioning,

is making the situation increasingly fraught.

All attempts to calm her down fail and, ultimately,

she, too, has to be taken into custody,

struggling against the police every step of the way.

We've done some further checks and we've found that the male party shouldn't be at this house.

The lady signed an agreement that she wouldn't have him at the house.

And he's been found here residing over night.

He's been found with quite a large sum of money.

He's got no means of legitimate income, as far as we know.

Once we get the staff back, we should be able to get on

and, hopefully, find some further evidence.

With the occupants all back at the police station being questioned,

it's time to send in Buster, the force's sniffer dog,

to hunt out any drugs that may be stashed in the house.

His powerful nose sweeps through every room

and it's not long before he makes his first find.

What looks like a large wrap of cannabis, alarmingly, in a toy box in the children's bedroom.

Experience tells Martin that dealers can be very cunning when it comes to hiding their stash.

We've had everything from hiding it in a tennis ball,

to hiding it in children's toys, to dolls and ornaments on the wall.

We have to explore everywhere as every time we find something, they use something different.

So we have to look in places all the time.

As the search continues, thousands of pounds in cash is found and bagged as evidence.

He'll have some explaining to do as to why he's got that amount of money.

And if it's through his criminal activity or any criminal activity,

the cash is seized and he doesn't get it back.

Something else that catches the neighbourhood teams' eye

is a mobile phone, which dozens of different people are ringing constantly.

There's about 22 missed calls on this phone.

If I was to hazard a guess, I'd say that was a dealer's phone, yeah.

PHONE BUZZES That's the same the person.

If we keep rejecting it, you'll see how persistent these people can be.

Down in the kitchen, Buster's nose comes up trumps again,

sniffing out another cash of hidden drugs.

I would suggest it's probably crack cocaine.

Once again, drugs have been worryingly concealed inside a child's toy.

We're looking at these trains and the whole drawer, everything,

feels as if it's contaminated with a fine white powder.

And the drawer is crammed with more tools of the drug dealer's trade.

We've got bits of broken mobile.

There's a set of digital scales. A sharp Stanley knife blade there.

And, again, this is all contaminated with white powder.

I would hope, at the end of the day, that we're going to prove some drug-supplying offences

and somebody's going to receive a custodial sentence.

That might go some way to improving the situation for some of the more innocent occupiers in the address.

By the considerable amount of incriminating evidence uncovered already,

the search of the house continues.

Out in the back garden, Lisa makes her own surprising discovery.

Obviously, malnourished. He seems to have difficulty walking on his back legs.

I don't know whether it's a disability or due to the condition of the dog.

Concerned about his poor condition,

Lisa calls in the RSPCA to take care of the dog.

Back inside the house, Martin makes a deadly discovery in the kitchen.

There's no need for a knife like that in Scunthorpe.

It's part of the culture of these people involved in drug dealing.

It's either to protect themselves or to intimidate others.

So we find those kind of things all the time in these kind of properties.

Not the kind of thing you find in the average family home.

The man was not charged for possession of a dangerous weapon.

Outside the RSPCA has arrived to collect the dog,

which on closer inspection is found to be in extremely poor condition.

-The neighbours said when we came, "You're not going to leave that dog here, are you?"

-Everybody said that.

Unable to walk, the dog is carried away into the waiting van

to be taken to the vet for a full examination.

With all of the evidence bagged,

the house is secured.

It's another positive result for the team,

acting on complaints from residents

and making the community a safer place.

The suspected dealer was found guilty of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs

and given 28 months inside,

plus an extra month for possession of a Class B drug.

His friend was convicted of obstructing a police officer during his duties

and given a 12-month conditional discharge.

The woman was not charged with any drug offences

and was released unconditionally from police bail.

Neighbourhood policing offers up some of the greatest variety of work

any police officer can expect to encounter.

Experiencing so many different problems means the teams

have to be prepared for anything that may come their way.

And, as you'll find out next time, trouble is always just around the corner.

Coming up next time, an aggrieved shop owner bangs up a couple of burly bailiffs.

..Deprivation, demoralisation, dehumanisation, innit?

-It may well be, but, unfortunately, they're there legally, mate.

-No, I asked them leave!

-What can I do?

-They've got a warrant.

-They don't have to leave.

The team investigate a man suspected of cultivating cannabis at home.

-WOMAN: Hello.

-Now then, are you all right?

-Is there anything that shouldn't be here?

-Not as far as I know.

Except there is a little bit of a smell of cannabis.

And it's time to crack down on drug-taking in pubs.

Half a white packet was there, like it had been placed by the guy.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd