Episode 4 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.

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 is your speech slurred, then?

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

Can't be too careful.

Who do you think you are?!

-Hey!

-BLEEP

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, we discover a leafy secret hiding in an attic...

Get your hands up!

You're under arrest, mate.

..the team try to mediate between two warring neighbours...

I don't even want to be in the room with her.

Yeah, CCTV, you've got a fight going on outside Diva's.

..and there's ranting and raving on the city street.

No way! No way! You lied last time! You arrested me!

Neighbourhood policing is dependent on the public

keeping their eyes and ears peeled

to inform the police about criminal activity

taking place where they live.

But in Humberside, the neighbourhood teams are calling in the help

of a host of very different sets of eyes.

Those attached to CCTV cameras.

There are around 4.2 million CCTV cameras in the UK,

roughly one for every 14 people.

Despite concerns from some

about Britain becoming a surveillance society,

cameras have made a major impact on the way crime is policed

and criminals are caught.

And it seems they have the support of the public.

I think it's probably had quite a lot to do with helping combat crime.

I mean, they say, "Big Brother's watching you,"

but I think that in some circumstances, some cities,

there's a need for it,

and I do think it helps a lot, actually, that CCTV is used.

I think that CCTV is an effective tool in fighting crime

because not only does it deter the criminals

from committing that crime initially,

but it also can help solve a lot of crimes.

In terms of thefts or break-ins or fights, anything like that,

people can re-look over the CCTV.

The Hull city-wide CCTV system

is one of the biggest in the country.

The control room, which is manned 24 hours a day,

is run by Martin Walker.

At any one time, Martin has up to eight operators

constantly watching the screens for any sign of criminal activity.

Yeah, CCTV. Go ahead.

Hull has around 300 public area cameras.

That's cameras that are actually out on the streets.

Yeah, punched the window through first,

or tried to, and then kicked up at the window.

The majority of those cameras cover the major routes,

which usually include shopping routes outside of the city centre,

as well as inside the city centre.

Every so often, the CCTV cameras placed around the city

capture shocking crimes unfolding and the criminals in the act.

Take a look at this man.

From a distance, he just looks like he's walking into the pub.

But look more closely.

He's carrying a chainsaw, which he fires up

and thrusts at people standing on the pavement.

Leaving them in shock, he enters the pub.

But not before warning another punter off.

Once inside, he waves the chainsaw wildly at customers,

causing them to run for their lives.

He proceeds to charge around the bar,

waving the chainsaw and screaming at anyone in his way.

Some of the customers try to fight him off.

They even throw furniture at him,

but he cuts through it with the saw

and charges at them.

Eventually he flees the pub,

slicing through the door as he goes.

Back out on the street,

he continues to brandish the chainsaw dangerously.

Somebody from the pub tries to stop the man

by throwing a beer barrel at him,

but even this fails to slow him down.

Eventually, a mob storm out onto the street.

They surround the man and wrestle him to the ground.

Despite overpowering him,

one of them sustains injuries to his arm from the saw.

The whole incident was captured on CCTV

and led to the fast and successful conviction

of the criminal by the police.

He was jailed for three years for his deadly rampage,

which fired up all because he was angry

about being thrown out of the pub for smoking on the premises.

Tonight, the Command Centre doesn't have anything

nearly so horrifying as a chainsaw attack to contend with,

but it's a busy night nonetheless,

mostly featuring acts of drunk and disorderly behaviour.

Chicken George, there's a chap in Chicken George

that's going to be arrested.

Can you see if he... Make sure he don't leave before they get there?

Three jobs, four jobs, both sides of the city!

Yeah, CCTV, you've got a fight ongoing outside Diva's.

He's going to get locked up now.

As the police are having a word with one group,

over on another screen, the CCTV operators

pick up another potential troublemaker.

This time it's a man seen hanging around

with bags of alcohol in the no-drinking zone.

The CCTV team radio their suspicions through to the police

and the call is picked up by neighbourhood officers,

Allyson Carter and Paul Cracker.

You're causing anti-social behaviour. I don't care where you go...

-Will I see these to buy my food?

-No, you're going to leave the area.

I want you to stop shouting and waving your arms around.

All I've asked you to do is calm down.

There you go. My name's (BLEEP). Date of birth, (BLEEP), Doncaster.

Born and bred and a daughter here, mate. End of.

Thank you. They're the details I was going to ask you for.

Know what I've done, I've gone to the shop

and bought some batteries, OK?

By the way, there's a pub over there. He's got his register...

It's not what you did in the shop,

it's what you've been doing outside the shop.

-Drinking alcohol in a no-drinking zone.

-I wasn't drinking!

You were. CCTV have seen you doing it, sir.

Look at the CCTV. Prove it!

-We've had complaints from the public.

-No, you haven't! Nobody's been here!

-They've called it in to us.

-I've just got out of a taxi!

-Sir, stop shouting.

-I've just got out of a taxi.

-Stop shouting, please.

-Please don't lie. Stop it!

-I don't lie.

-Yeah, you do!

Go to the taxi rank at the train station!

-Get your stuff together.

-You're a waste of space.

Thank you very much, then.

I've just gone to the shop and bought that!

The man has his drink confiscated, which triggers another outburst.

-What the

-BLEEP?

-I haven't been drinking in the street!

-You've been seen drinking.

-I'm going to prove this.

Excuse me, excuse me, have I just come in here and bought that?

And I was walking away with it? And my batteries?

Thank you. Thank you.

You've just robbed me of my Giro.

You've just robbed me of my Giro, and I ain't done nothing wrong.

Sir, you've had it explained that it's a no-drinking zone.

-I haven't been drinking here!

-You were drinking that open bottle.

That bottle...

If we believe you're going to drink the rest of it,

it's going to be seized.

-Just stop shouting.

-Can I have my stuff back and then go?

The alcohol's been seized,

because you're in a designated no-drinking zone.

I have to come through this area to see my daughter.

I've spoken to you three weeks ago and told you the same thing.

Yes, you did. And sent me all the way to Scotland!

And who's the one who's going to court with me next week? You are!

I've no idea, but you've had this information from me before,

-so you know it's a no-drinking zone.

-You keep going on my case!

As the man continues to rant and rave,

Allyson enters the shop to talk to the owner.

You've got to think about the impression

it's going to give your business outside.

I appreciate that he's not so drunk that you can't serve him,

however, he's drunk enough to cause anti-social behaviour outside.

So it's not good for your business and anybody else's.

I'll just walk in that courthouse in the morning

and I want your number and I want...

Back outside, the man continues to protest, louder and louder.

This time to PCs Gareth Walker and Alan Cowley,

who have arrived to provide backup.

Last time, you arrested me, you arrested me.

Put your fingers down when I'm stood in front of you.

It's signed for! By the way, it's signed for!

It's signed for, it's signed for!

Come over here. Stop messing about.

As the situation escalates, the neighbourhood team

are left with no choice but to arrest him.

It's signed for, from the prison. It's signed from the prison!

Who's broke the rules now? That's from the prison.

They put their number on my bags for me to get home.

-You're in a no-drinking zone.

-I wasn't drinking here!

-No, I ain't committed no crime!

-Right, you're under arrest

-for Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

-I haven't been drinking!

-You're causing a disturbance.

-No, you started it!

You've tried it, mate, you've tried it. It's not going to work.

Bruv, do that, because it's going to prove a point!

-It's going to prove a point.

-You all right, fella?

-Yeah, I'll be all right, mate.

-Watch your step.

-Mind your step.

-BLEEP

Oh, he stinks!

That male down the street, the PCSOs have stopped him

for drinking alcohol in the street.

They've seized the alcohol, which they're entitled to do,

because it's a designated no-drinking zone.

As you see, the male's become abusive,

not abusive, but shouting and bawling in the street,

and is causing or is likely to cause alarm and distress

to members of the public who was passing by.

Other members of the public in the area was clearly looking on

and doing their best to avoid him.

We was going to issue him with a Section 27 notice

to order him to disperse from the area,

but PC Walker found some more alcohol on him,

went to seize it, and he started throwing his arms about

and became more vocal.

So therefore, he's been arrested for Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

He gets a night in the cells to sleep off his hangover,

before a trip to the magistrates.

Although initially charged with being drunk and disorderly...

..he was cleared of this on his appearance at court.

More than 60% of the cannabis smoked in the UK is also grown here.

Not the kind of green-fingered neighbour

any law-abiding citizen in the UK would want.

Every day, the police shut down

an estimated 20 cannabis farms in the UK.

I wouldn't like my neighbours to grow drugs next to me, my house.

I think that would attract a lot of people coming to buy drugs

and it would create quite an unsafe area,

so I would not like it at all.

We're looking at hundreds and thousands of pounds, really.

Gangs, mostly from Vietnam,

are using hydroponic technology to produce massive amounts

of strong varieties of cannabis in warehouses around the UK.

But not everyone who grows marijuana is a member of a gang.

So-called solo operators produce their own crops

which they then deal on the streets.

All across Humberside,

the neighbourhood teams have launched a major clamp down

against home-grower dealers.

Most of the information they receive about these people

comes from the worried public.

And today, over in Grimsby,

a tip-off has led to the team mounting a raid.

They get a brief from their boss, who pulls the team together

and gives them some information about the target.

We've got keys from the letting agency

and they have been recently in part of the flat,

and they say that they can smell a strong smell

of what they believe to be cannabis.

Local criminals have been disturbed around the flat,

and it would appear they have been targeting his flat

to burgle it for the cannabis grown.

A team of 12 officers head to the property.

As they have a key from the letting agent,

they shouldn't need to force entry, but they are taking no chances.

Surrounding the house,

they gain entrance from the rear and front doors.

The house looks clean,

but an overwhelming smell of cannabis wafts through it

and it's coming from above them, in the loft.

There it is.

Yeah, that'll be it.

-Ladders!

-Yeah.

It's often the smell is what's complained about initially.

If it's like this, in lofts and attics,

it permeates into other houses,

and that's where the information usually starts.

Check for heat sources and confirm it that way,

and then issue a warrant.

How the hell is he getting up there?

Here he is, here we go.

Getting up there to investigate it isn't going to be easy.

Armed with a ladder, the team climb in for a better look.

And they are greeted by a very compact

but professional cannabis-growing operation.

As well as the mini-farm in the rafters,

around the house there are signs of a possible drug-dealing operation.

Several boxes of dried cannabis

ready to hit the streets are found,

along with a number of deadly weapons.

Some are even strategically placed around the house

to be used in an attack.

I assume, to protect himself if unwanted people came in.

A quantity of used notes is also found and bagged as evidence...

That's £200 cash.

..along with what could be some stolen bicycle parts.

Basically we found these wheels in the flat.

There's various items in the flat

which kind of don't fit in with his lifestyle.

These wheels are quite expensive wheels and they match...

We were working on Christmas Day

and there was a theft of quite an expensive, high-value bike.

It had red wheels which are the same make and model of these,

so it's likely these are the wheels.

The bike's obviously been stripped for its parts

and they're the wheels, which we reckon about £400 in value

for a set of mountain bike wheels,

which we'll take to the owner, try to get them identified,

and hopefully get them back to him.

So he'll be pleased to get them back, I'm sure.

Midway through the police's search,

the team find the missing piece of their investigation.

Put your arms up!

Get your arms up!

The suspect unwittingly returns home

to be greeted by a house full of police officers.

You're under arrest, mate.

The man is arrested on the spot.

With the suspect taken into custody,

the team now have to collect and catalogue their findings

to be used as evidence in court.

It's another good result for the neighbourhood team,

showing how tip-offs from the community

can really lead to suspected dealers being taken off the streets.

It's quite common, this.

I mean, we'll often, what happens these days,

we'll go to arrest someone for something completely unrelated

and then it's almost every other person

has a small-grow in their wardrobe.

I've found them in wardrobes,

six or seven plants and stuff like that.

And it varies in size from six or seven plants in the wardrobe,

a couple of dozen plants in a loft,

to a full house or warehouse on an industrial scale.

So, it varies.

The man is currently on police bail awaiting further interview

in relation to the suspected drug offences.

No further action was taken on the bicycle parts

police suspected were stolen.

No charges were brought in relation

to any of the potential weapons discovered at the property.

The guns were just legal air pistols.

Having a drug dealer living on your street

is something no-one wants to put up with,

but just as tough can be living next door

to a neighbour you just don't get on with.

Anti-social behaviour in town centres,

with the public feeling threatened and unsafe,

sees the police taking fast action.

But what happens when there's trouble closer to home?

Last year the police were called

to over three quarters of a million neighbourly disputes,

and it's something millions more have had contact with.

Absolutely horrible.

The people downstairs scream at each other from day to night.

Minor feuds over the garden fence

can easily erupt into bigger, longer-term bust-ups.

I just can't understand it.

It's like she's deliberately doing it.

So the neighbourhood teams are keen to resolve disagreements

as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Best fix solution is you don't engage with them,

they don't engage with you.

In Hull, the neighbourhood teams get called out

to an average of ten such arguments a day.

These things like neighbours' disputes

are described as low-level issues.

They're not low-level for the people involved in them.

They totally take over people's lives. They affect people.

We've been in people's homes where they're crying, you know,

they can't go to work, they just can't operate in a normal way.

With the problem so prolific,

the police are always looking for new ways

to arbitrate between these spats

without resorting to criminal proceedings,

which is where restorative justice comes in.

So, restorative process is about getting people together

in an environment where they can talk about the issues they've had.

We supervise it, there's facilitators.

They talk about what's gone on and they go back to how it started,

which in a lot of cases, honestly,

people can't even remember where these problems started.

PCSO Carole Forth is the officer

who takes the lead on restorative justice in the area.

She's heading out to try and resolve a dispute.

It's between two families who live on a housing estate

just down the road from the police station.

What began as a few choice words has escalated into an all-out war.

It's two ladies having the main problems.

Both with families, both with children.

I think that both of them are at the end of their tether.

They don't know what to do next.

And people don't want to move. That's the problem.

People want to keep on living where they live.

So how are you going to get on with a neighbour

that you've reached this sort of level with?

It's the first time that I've met this woman is tonight,

so I'm just going to try and talk about a restorative conference to her

and see whether she'd be interested in taking part

and tell her what it's about in principle,

and hopefully she'll be interested and we can set it up.

But some people I've thought are just vastly unsuitable,

and other people have just said,

"No way, I don't want to sit opposite this person in a room.

"I don't even want to be anywhere near them."

Which I can understand as well.

One of the neighbours has agreed to meet Carole in their home.

She's going to get a chance to sit down and hear the complaint,

explain how restorative justice can help,

and hopefully rise to the challenge of working out an amicable solution.

What we do in a restorative conference

is getting the people that have the problems together

in a neutral place to talk about

what's been going on and try and bring some closure,

if you like, or to move people forward.

Now, it's not about anybody winning or anybody having to back down

or be friends, or that I'm expecting you, you know,

to be friends with your neighbours when you come out of this.

It's not about that. It's a chance to get round a table and talk to each other

about what's happened in neutral surroundings

with myself facilitating the conference. I would facilitate it.

There would be no shouting or screaming or swearing,

We'd make it clear that would end the conference,

and the people would be dealt with by the criminal justice system.

But it's a chance for you to speak to each other and say,

"How have we come to this?"

If we walk out of that room and the way that you want to resolve it

is you both agree to completely ignore each other,

no more swearing in front of the kids, no more of any of this,

-then we've got a result, haven't we?

-Yeah.

We've got something positive out of it, and that's in there.

I have got a 100% record so you can honestly trust me.

I wouldn't be here wasting your time this close to Christmas

-if I didn't think we could get somewhere with this.

-Yeah.

So we'd set it up somewhere possibly like

the Partnership Learning Centre on Greatfield.

I don't know if you know it?

Or some nice venue that's neutral, where we can get a room

and we can get together and get you round the table

and get you to talk and just talk about what's happened.

Yeah, and then you find out it's all for something ridiculous?

Usually you do, yeah. Usually you do.

Carole knows that neighbourly disputes can begin

over the most minor disagreement and soon spiral out of control.

Real nice people.

And you think, "How have they got to that stage?"

I'm not saying it solves everything, but we're saying it's worth a shot.

You know, there are so many things...

if you've got another tool in your tool-box to use,

and it works, then why not give it try?

I don't understand the mentality of not, really.

Find out later if the other neighbours are so willing

to see their problem resolved by restorative justice.

Hull city centre's network of over 300 cameras

keeps the area well-covered for crime.

But sometimes even Big Brother can't believe its eyes

at the sights that can unfold on the streets and roads below.

Chaos that is usually left to the police to get under control.

We now get a unique look

at some of the CCTV archives' more curious clips.

Take a look at this. A quiet evening.

Traffic running smoothly,

until this bullish beast decides to give cause for concern

by appearing on the railway line.

That's right, a cow has escaped from a nearby field.

And maybe fearing his time had come for the chop,

he's decided to go on the run.

Leaving the rail tracks, despite the efforts

of police officers already on the scene to stop him,

the bull charges down the road.

More used to going after reckless road hogs,

this pursuit of a crazy cow is a first for the police.

Trotting along, the bull soon hits a busy road.

The police know that two tonnes of raging bull

is certain to cause serious carnage,

should he get struck by a truck or a passing car.

Two police cars are now following the beast and warning off motorists.

Possibly having run out of steam, the bull suddenly stops,

and it looks like the pursuit may be over.

But as a police officer approaches,

the animal changes its mind and makes a run for it,

much to the bemusement of startled motorists.

Fortunately, the farmer who owned him

was able to get him back to his field shortly afterwards.

This next crime caught on camera

has to be one of the most outrageous car thefts witnessed on CCTV.

Camera operators pick up a man

breaking into a car and driving away.

As he goes, the owner spots his car

and, in disbelief, approaches the driver.

They exchange some words, and the owner goes around the passenger side

to try and get into his car...

..but the thief holds the door shut.

And the owner has to watch his car being driven away under his nose.

He tries desperately to give chase...

..but quickly loses sight of his vehicle.

But with every move being followed by CCTV

and relayed to the police,

it's not long before the car is picked up by the boys in blue.

A full pursuit is now on, with the stolen vehicle speeding away,

and almost getting wiped out by an oncoming bus in the process.

The man thinks he is getting away,

only to find himself boxed in by an oncoming police car.

The police get out to try and apprehend him.

But, in an audacious and dangerous move,

the driver floors it, squeezing through the available gap.

A van driver turns Good Samaritan and blocks his exit.

But as the police move in on foot,

the driver spots another opportunity to escape

and makes a break for it through a gap in the parked cars.

One police officer bravely tries to open the passenger side door

but, obstructed by a tree,

he gets knocked out of the way.

Bolting along the pavement,

the driver careers back onto the road,

once again narrowly avoiding a collision.

The driver of the stolen car may have thought he was home and dry,

but he was eventually apprehended

and, unsurprisingly, lost his driving licence

and received nine months inside for dangerous driving.

Raging Bulls and crazed drivers may not be on the charge list today,

but back in Hull city centre, the police have once again teamed up

with the CCTV Control Room

in a bid to cut crime.

CCTV has two principal ways of operation.

There's reactive and proactive.

And reactive is the major part,

because you're acting on information received,

wherever that comes from.

Whether that's from the police,

whether that's from the retail crime people over the radio system,

general public ringing in,

or from more detailed information that you get from the police.

Things like that, that are telling you where to look.

The police have received a call

that a car has been broken into and a sat-nav stolen.

Back in the CCTV Control Room,

they haven't caught the thief breaking in to the vehicle,

but witness information passed to them by the police

has enabled the operators to use their network of 300 cameras

to track down someone matching the description of the man

that the police want to question.

The neighbourhood team are on scene, and have new information

about who may be responsible for the thefts.

Gareth obviously has seen one of our prolific

theft-from-motor-vehicle men this morning,

-a kid called

-BLEEP,

-wearing exactly the same clothing

in the description for the male that's just been passed for this job.

The police pass this info onto the CCTV Control Centre.

They quickly get a fix on the man matching the description

of the person the police want to speak to.

But the Sgt Steve Lamb knows they need to act fast.

If he's in possession of stolen property,

he's either going to take it straight to his home address,

or potentially take it to a second-hand shop

where he can offload it.

With info on the man's whereabouts

fed from the CCTV Centre to the police,

-they head to the location to talk to him.

-There he is!

Three-zero, I'm with it.

As Steve spots the man, suspicions are further raised

as he is seen to start running.

Stand still, stand still!

Not wanting to lose him, Steve moves in.

-Don't move!

-What have I done?

Believing the man is the suspect that they are looking for,

Steve and Gareth detain him.

Section 1: Peer search. I'm going to handcuff you.

Till I've done that...

I've only just ran from that bus stop up there.

Yeah?

Right, what's your name, mate?

-BLEEP.

-I don't even see what I've done wrong,

I don't even see what I've done.

-That's it.

-It's me?

I haven't even gone near any cars!

The description you've just passed,

we've just confirmed that's the description of the male

seen running from that vehicle.

But Steve begins to wonder if they have the right guy.

As Steve runs some checks, further down the road

CCTV picks up another police unit

arresting one of the most notorious thieves in the area.

Have you got a CCTV camera

-monitoring the PCSO with

-BLEEP

-on Ferensway?

And if that's a yes, will you give me a description of him now?

The team are mistaken in thinking the man they have stopped

is the prolific offender on their books.

-Come out, kid.

-The man is totally innocent.

He just happens to be dressed similarly to the actual suspect.

I understand your job, mate, I really do.

Listen, I'm going to go. I promise.

The innocent man is sent on his way

with a thumbs up for the neighbourhood police.

But is it going to be second time lucky

in the team's bid to catch a thief? Find out later.

Whilst technology like CCTV may assist the neighbourhood teams,

it's still good old-fashioned police work

which makes them an integral part of the community

and the teams prove to be invaluable

when trying to help resolve problems and disputes

wherever they may arise.

Back over in Hull, Carol has been trying to convince

two warring neighbours to resolve their differences

as peacefully as possible.

She's managed to convince one party to take part in a mediation process

in a bid to resolve the issue.

It's now up to her colleague, Nigel, to convince the others

to also get around the peace-making table.

They both want it to stop for a quiet life.

Well, if they want it to stop, it's quite easy -

don't speak to each other.

But obviously every little thing seems to be flicking a switch at the moment.

There's two houses and no independent witnesses,

so you always struggle to prove it.

-Hiya.

-Hello there.

I'm a fresh set of eyes. Sam works for me,

so I'm looking at what I can do and what we can settle on going forward.

Sam's been round, done work with it. I know she's offered you restorative

-which you didn't really want to go for.

-No, I still don't to be honest.

That's fine, that is an option...

Not when I have six of them threatening to kick my head in.

That's one of the options that we do try to push down

because we've had success with it in the past.

The problem with mediation is it wouldn't work

in the sense that what'd happen is you'd go in there,

you'd have a slagging match. You'd sign a bit of paper, you'll come out

-and two weeks later down the line she will start again.

-Yeah.

Because it's all started again when I started work again.

-Now I'm back on my own, going to school...

-She's on her own, it starts kicking off again.

Right. Cos that's the one thing with the mediation side of it. Sorry if you're upset.

-SOBBING:

-I don't want to be in a room with them, they're awful.

-That's fine.

-If you don't want to do it, no problem.

-I don't.

We have had success from the past and that's why we do it.

It's in a controlled environment. If it got out of hand, it will shut down straightaway

-and it's obviously not worked. BLEEP

-had an argument with her the other day walking back from school

-you said to her, "Calm down,

-BLEEP,

-and tell me what your problem is."

-"Tell me what I've actually done."

-Her words were, "You think you're better than every

-BLEEP

-else."

-Yeah.

All right, fair enough, if we think that, fine.

But what's that to cause a major situation like we had

for the last year? There's no reason.

The one thing I did say to her as well is someone's got to be the better person.

As in, I know it's hard and you want to flip out sometimes,

but ultimately someone's got to say, shut up and take it.

I've asked her. I've said, I don't want anything to do with them.

I know they live next door, there's nothing we can do about that.

There was an incident where I was at work on the Friday,

-BLEEP

-went to Aldi with a friend.

-And she said I was stalking her.

-Now, unfortunately,

-of all the shops, she was in there as well.

-It was a Monday actually.

Apparently we're stalking her cos she goes to the same supermarket.

I'm concerned that obviously, you speak there about the stress and the strains.

They're saying exactly the same thing, OK.

The couple are still adamant that they don't want to go through

the process of trying to resolve their problems

through restorative practice. So Nigel breaks it to them -

that the next stage will be

the commencement of a criminal investigation

that could see one or both families end up in court.

There's plenty of lines of enquiry and avenues to go down,

but it's just, where will that take us? Will it resolve it?

I hope so, but we'll see.

Eventually after further meetings with the police,

both parties did agree to take part in the restorative mediation scheme.

However, days before the set date, things took an unexpected turn.

They agreed to do the conference, but in the meantime

from them actually agreeing to it, the time-span of setting it up

when it was convenient for them,

other people got involved - extended family, friends.

It's kind of a small estate that they live on

and people had got involved and took it upon themselves

to take sides and so it's ended up with an act of criminal damage

and other offences have taken place

so we can't do the restorative conference now.

As it turned out,

no further action was taken and the families stopped arguing.

No criminal proceedings took place.

However, keep watching,

because later in the series we get an exclusive insight

into just how successful restorative justice can be.

We get to see Carole bringing charity-box robbers

eye-to-eye with the victim of their theft.

As well as information from the public,

the neighbourhood teams regularly rely on information

fed to them by the city's CCTV Command Centre.

As a crime-fighting tool, it's of widespread significance.

I work in an industry that uses CCTV for fighting crime,

so we do use it quite a bit where I work to review crime

and see what's going on and see what actually happens, so yeah,

I think it's a great tool and I've got no problem being filmed on CCTV.

It's a definite deterrent because you see the number of crimes

that do get solved, in spite of

what appear to be fuzzy-looking photographs,

they do track people down and they track their movements.

As long as I'm a good boy, I've got nothing to worry about it.

I can think of no instances I've come across

where those images have been misused.

So why should I be concerned?

Manned by skilled operators who control almost 300 cameras...

Yes, at the one-way sign, I can't guarantee it's this vehicle but it's the only one what pulled out there.

..the network has had a major impact on catching criminals.

We work for the council, but obviously we just

work in conjunction with the police cos obviously information-sharing

between all parties, obviously you get to catch more criminals.

We have the police radios,

so we hear what's happening obviously through that.

We then find the area on our mapping system,

so we're generally the first on the scene before the police.

You can write in where, which area you'd like,

get the nearest camera to it, we'll get as many facial shots, witnesses,

perpetrators, and obviously that goes then through to the police.

Today, the CCTV operators are helping to track a man

who witnesses saw break into a car and steal a sat-nav.

-What for?

-You're being detained for...

A false alarm saw a totally innocent man

matching the suspect's description detained then released.

But then the cameras soon picked up another man who may be the thief.

CCTV gives the police a fix on his whereabouts.

He is quickly apprehended.

Steve and Gareth are now heading over to talk to the real suspect.

As they go, Steve explains why he had reasonable grounds

to pick up the first man,

who ultimately proved to be completely innocent.

Now what's happened there, that male quite clearly fits

the description of the offender for that job to a T.

As we're driving along Carr Lane here,

CCTV reported that that male is now running frantically up the street.

I get out of the car, he's still running,

I obviously shout to stop, get hold of him, we've stopped him,

searched him, got some details from him.

He's given us an alibi in that he's got a betting slip

from a local bookmakers which was within five minutes

of the job taking place so in the back of your mind

you're thinking, it's not him.

As that's happened, one of our PCSO colleagues

has detained the original male just around the corner.

Steve arrives on the scene to find the suspect waiting, in cuffs.

Excellent.

-BLEEP

-Good afternoon, my name's Steve Lamb

from Queens Gardens Police Station. Step out a minute.

Background checks are being run on the man.

They come back to reveal he is what the police call

a "gold offender" and one of the most prolific thieves in the region.

You're obviously not in possession of any stolen property.

-However, you match the description for that job to a T,

-BLEEP,

-all right?

An eagle-eyed Gareth spots something that may prove

to be incriminating evidence.

Just where he's been stood, after being searched,

there's some bits of glass on the floor.

Obviously if a car window's been smashed, which it has...

..then there may well be DNA transfer moved across from the glass

onto his clothing so it's just a case of looking to see what other evidence is about.

As the man is taken into custody, Steve reveals

what he knows about the suspect.

-We know

-BLEEP

-is a prolific car thief.

He's just come out of prison,

just a matter of ten days ago for those offences

and that's what he does, that's how he earns his money.

-Come on then, young

-BLEEP.

Just step down, mate, watch your head. I'll help you down, mate.

Back at the station, the suspect is booked in.

Things are not looking good for him.

Three witnesses have now come forward.

Gareth talks to the victim who had her sat-nav stolen.

My colleagues are taking further statements from witnesses

who've seen the male in the car and somebody earlier that had seen him

leaning against the car.

As the witnesses give their statements,

back over at the crime scene, another officer is looking

for any clues or a trace of the stolen sat-nav.

Steve is bagging the suspect's clothes for a forensic analysis

that could help with the conviction.

Consisting of an outer jacket, trousers, his training shoes

and a pair of black woollen gloves.

As well as searching the area

for the stolen sat-nav, the team also check with local pawn shops.

They've all proved negative.

In the time-scales we've only checked the ones

in the city centre and unfortunately they've all come up negative.

The victim can only look on at her vandalised car.

Unfortunately she has become one of the estimated

quarter of a million victims of sat-nav theft recorded last year.

Scene Of Crime officers arrive to take samples

from the car that they hope can link the suspect to the crime.

The vehicle is dusted for prints.

Don't slam your door too hard.

-BROKEN GLASS CRUNCHES

-With any potential evidence removed,

the victim is now free to take her car, and the police have some advice

for anyone thinking of leaving a sat-nav on display.

It's a harsh lesson to learn, once you've been a victim of it.

She clears everything out of the vehicle.

Doesn't leave anything on display.

The suspect was arrested and charged with theft

from an unattended motor vehicle,

but his case was dismissed in court

as no evidence was offered and he was found not guilty.

The woman has not left her sat-nav on display again.

As we've seen today, whether it's stamping out drug dealers

or chasing down thieves,

no two days are the same for the neighbourhood team.

But convicting criminals is the only way the scheme can stay on target,

because the public demand results.

Coming up next time,

the police mount a major missing person's search.

They've not been seen now for getting on for 48 hours,

we've had no contact from them at all.

Things could be about to go off with a bang

when an unexploded bomb is found.

They've decided to do an evacuation of the building.

And police bring a victim of a charity box theft

face-to-face with the young lads responsible.

And you realise what you've done,

and I think you do realise what you've done.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd