Episode 1 Neighbourhood Blues

With unprecedented access, Neighbourhood Blues follows

the police in Somerset as they take on the crimes that annoy us all...

-Don't manhandle me!

-Come over here.

..targeting antisocial behaviour, drug abuse and criminal damage.

Beat officers and PCSOs tackle the problems that,

if left unchecked, could blight the lives of millions.

Armed with the latest cutting-edge kit,

they have the power to strike hard when needed.

Police! Stay where you are!

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

-Good evening, all.

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

-Brilliant.

-SHE LAUGHS

..working together to sweep crime off our streets.

Police! Search warrant!

Coming up...

..a street search catches a drug dealer...

Have you got anything else in your trouser leg?

..neighbourhood teams crack down on antisocial behaviour...

Come on, you've got mouths on you.

You're always gobbing off. Come on, what's the matter?

..and an addict is caught red-handed.

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

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

Good neighbourhood policing means officers getting

to know their beats and the people who live there inside and out.

Knowing which locals cause trouble gives police a huge advantage

when it comes to tackling problems like drug dealing.

Place in Somerset cover over 1,800 square miles.

It's a diverse patch, from lively seaside resorts

to rolling hills and farmland

and picture postcard villages.

But like anywhere, it's got hot spots for trouble

and, for the neighbourhood teams in Weston,

the Bournville Estate is always a busy place.

This is the beat of Russ Millier and Sergeant Colin Batchelor.

So, today is about a proactive response to some of the issues

that we're trying to deal with on the estate.

Any potential issues, drug deals, antisocial behaviour,

anything of that ilk.

And it isn't long before the sarge spots a familiar face.

Oh, hello. He needs turning over. Old Mark.

What are you doing? It looks like you were trying to hide.

Do you want to come out the front?

When we first came round the corner, you looked like you were

trying to hide something. We've come round here again

and it looks like you're trying to hide round the corner.

This area, at a moment, a lot of drug use, all right?

Drug use and drug dealing, OK?

So, at the moment, for your furtive behaviour

and the way you've been acting,

I will be detaining you for Section 23 of Misuse of Drugs Act.

All right?

-Have you got anything on you, Mark, that you shouldn't have?

-No.

Just slip you bag off for me then

and we do everything at my pace, all right?

Drugs crime is a problem on this estate

and anybody acting suspiciously is stopped and searched

as a matter of course.

-Have you got anything in your pocket sharp that's going to hurt me?

-No, no.

-Nothing?

First thing out of the man's bag - scales covered in white powder.

Remnants of what?

Amphetamine.

-You use that at the moment?

-Yeah, I do now and again.

The man's just admitted the stuff on the scales are amphetamines,

-a dangerous illegal drug.

-So do you have any amphets on you at all?

-No.

-He's adamant he's not carrying amphetamine,

but he has got something else stashed away.

-What are these?

-HE MUMBLES

-Sorry?

-Viagra.

Viagra is illegal to have without a prescription,

but it's not being caught with the little blue pills

that makes the man cringe.

Right.

At the moment, you're under arrest on suspicion of possession

-of a controlled drug. Do you understand?

-Yeah.

Mark, due to the amount that's there, and we've got scales as well,

it will be possession with intent to supply, all right?

That explains the wincing face.

As Russ searched the man's trousers,

a big bag of amphetamine powder fell out.

Have you got anything else in your trouser leg? No?

Caught with drugs and a set of scales,

the man is arrested on suspicion of drug dealing.

Supply of amphetamines can lead to a 14-year jail term

and an unlimited fine.

That bag has several hundred pounds worth of drugs in it.

But is it all he's got on him?

My colleagues are a little bit concerned that he may have

something plugged, ie something around his backside

or around the front of his genitals etc,

so we're actually going to do a strip-search here.

What I want you to do is just undo your kecks.

-Have you got pants on or not?

-No.

You've got loads on you, mate, haven't you?

See, I'm switched on, aren't I?

As you can see,

he started to drop his trousers down and this fell out.

It's believed to be amphet, quite a substantial amount of it.

So, we're a bit more happy now with the search.

He'll be re-handcuffed and travelled down to Bridgwater.

They've now found over £1,500 worth of amphetamines on the dealer.

This guy has a lot to explain back at the nick.

-As the man's booked in...

-Kick your shoes off, all right?

..his shoes and socks are searched for the first time.

It's third time's a charm for Russ as, incredibly,

he finds more amphetamines stashed in the man's sock.

-What are you, Houdini, are you?

-I didn't know it was there.

A likely story.

Mark's been searched whilst in custody

and been found in possession of more white, wet powder,

which we believe to be amphetamine, so he's been processed -

fingerprints, photographs, DNA - and he's now been placed in cells.

Happy with the result today so far.

Just fingers crossed everything goes well from here on.

It's a pleasing result for Russ.

In total, the dealer was found with three bags of amphetamines

with a combined street value of almost £2,000 and a set of scales.

At court, he pleaded guilty of possession with intent to supply

and was jailed for six months. He was also given fines totalling £980.

Thanks to the sarge's sharp eyes,

a large quantity of drugs is taken off his patch.

The Bournville Estate's a safer place,

all because of good community policing.

Bath is renowned around the world for its beauty.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site,

visitors have flocked to the city since Roman times.

Now millions visit every year to see its famous Georgian architecture

and Bath stone buildings,

but the very fabric of the city is being damaged.

A spate of graffiti has seen ancient buildings defaced by tagging,

where vandals spray their nicknames on walls.

They seem to think anything is fair game

and there's one name that comes up again and again.

Looking at the actual tag itself, this one

pans out as, "Cruel".

The C, the R, the U-E-L.

This graffiti matches a lot of others Roger Parker's found around town.

There's a Cruel tag with some offensive language underneath it

and this is 20 yards away from where young children play.

This guy's got no morals.

In this very park, a woman confronted this shameless vandal,

known as Cruel.

She's scared enough to want to remain anonymous.

In front of me was a bloke who was actually aerosol-ing on the walls.

He said, "This is my tag

"and my aim is to get 100 of these around Bath."

He was very proud that he had tagged another wall. I was disgusted.

Hopefully we'll be catching this guy fairly soon.

Each and every bit of graffiti is photographed

and filed away before it's removed.

The police now have thousands catalogued.

Roger goes back through the records to see

how many Cruel tags he can find.

We've got stuff from 2008, right up to the end of April this year.

We're looking at seven years of damage.

Roger is shocked at the scale of this guy's destruction.

I think, because it's spread quite widely over the city,

it's only when you get a particular crime,

where you maybe get a member of public who says,

"It's happened to me," that you then say, "Right, let's have a little look round the city,"

and see if you can marry up the tag around the city.

This tagger is clearly one of Bath's worst vandals.

He's caused thousands of pounds of damage to precious buildings.

But before Roger can get on with his investigation,

he gets called to a local business.

Cruel has struck again.

How much is it costing to remove that,

in terms of paying taxpayer's money?

£60 to £100.

So £60 to £100 and you've been tasked with how many today?

-Four.

-It's the honey-coloured Bath stone

that gives this city its unique appearance,

but its porous nature makes removal difficult.

-Does it go in a particular depth?

-It does.

-It's probably from about one down to two or three centimetres.

-Right.

Bath stone is quite difficult to work with.

I have a combination of nine different chemicals to apply,

to raise and bring the ink out,

and then I use a pressure washer to rinse it out of the wall.

As a Bath person, I would say we have a zero tolerance,

so I don't see it as art.

I see it as a nuisance.

Each year, Bath Council alone spends £30,000 cleaning up graffiti,

all money that comes from people's council tax and business rates.

Inside, the owner's not happy.

We bought this unit in the first place cos it's brand-new,

nice Bath stone front, so first impressions are very important

and the fact that we've now got graffiti on the building

is a bad first impression for us.

Roger's determined to catch one of Bath's most notorious vandals,

and coming up later...

And there's our man.

And there, he's spray-painting.

..he gets the break he needs.

Drugs cause huge problems for every community.

Dealers only care about profit

and will keep selling to addicts as long as they have the money.

Those addicts then turn to crime to fund their addictions,

often targeting their own neighbourhoods.

Police take a zero tolerance policy on the drugs trade

and the crimes that fuel it.

Back on the Bournville, Russ Millier has had another busy morning.

We've had a job come in overnight whereby a member of public

has disturbed somebody trying to get into his neighbour's garage.

Next-door to that garage, a car window has been smashed

and CDs stolen.

This happened less than 100 metres from where Russ caught

the amphetamines dealer.

At the moment,

you're under arrest on suspicion of possession of a controlled drug.

The worry is, this crime could be someone stealing to feed their habit.

Russ already has a lead -

footage from a neighbour's surveillance camera.

So, from the CCTV, you'll see our suspect just stood

behind this vehicle up here.

He's walking along the building line.

Our attacked premise is just out of camera shot

and you'll see where he's gone into one of the gardens.

He's set off the security light.

The suspect is now coming back in the camera shot.

You can just see him, he's flicked on the security light

and he's fence hopping the gardens.

The CCTV may be grainy and the guy may have his hood up,

but with 13 years of community policing experience...

Back to the area where he's stored his bike.

..Russ still knows who this is.

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

The amount of times we stop them,

you get to know everything about them.

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

Without a doubt in my mind, that is our suspect.

The man he's after is a drug addict with an extensive criminal record

who lives on the same road as the crime was committed.

He's just been charged with nine offences of a similar nature,

including burglaries.

He's on bail with quite strict conditions,

one of them being a curfew to stay at his home address

between certain times.

This guy's a menace to his neighbourhood and to his own family.

When Russ arrives at the house the suspect shares with his mother,

-he finds her outside at the point of despair.

-You all right?

What's the matter?

Had enough, yeah?

Dave?

Her son, the man they want for the car break and theft,

is upstairs in his bedroom.

Dave!

I need to speak to you about a job, OK?

So, to do that you're under arrest on suspicion of theft

from a motor vehicle last night. Your arrest is necessary,

A - to prevent your disappearance cos you're on bail.

At the moment, you'll be coming with us.

Have you got everything you need?

I have to stay with you, mate.

Huh?

Well, you're under arrest.

What are you worried about? Have you got stuff on you?

Cannabis.

Apart from the stuff on the side?

Already arrested for the theft from a vehicle,

this cannabis is only going to get him into more trouble.

I'll tell you all about it, all right? It's on this road.

Yeah. And I've seen the CCTV.

Many crimes on this estate come about because addicts need to pay dealers

for their drugs.

I'll arrest you further on possession of cannabis

and possession of what I believe to be amphetamine, OK?

Dave, you cannot expect to a commit crime

and then put on the waterworks and say, "It's not fair."

Why's it not fair?

It's not fair on the people that you steal from, is it?

Do you want to explain anything now?

Before we start digging around?

There are a couple of things he needs to explain,

like the syringe full of amphetamines on the windowsill,

all set up to be injected.

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

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

To fund his addiction, this man's terrorised his own neighbourhood.

HANDCUFFS CLICK

I've spoken to him, Pauline.

But it's caused an even bigger personal tragedy.

Come on.

I don't think there's anything you can say to that, Dave.

Come on.

Entering the room, he literally had a preloaded syringe,

which is amphetamine, he was about to inject.

Along with that, there's a bit of cannabis.

He's been further arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs.

It's not nice. We've been working with Mum for quite a bit now,

trying to get him on the straight and narrow.

He's not having any joy and we're not having any joy.

It's not nice to see her like that, but what can we do

apart from offer the support that we're offering her?

While community officers like Russ see crime on a daily basis,

that doesn't mean they have grown immune to the suffering it can cause.

Look after yourself, all right? I'll speak to you later.

This case in particular,

it's as a result of having a really bad drug addiction

and their only thought really is how they're going to get that next hit.

The afterthought is maybe when they're sat in the cell somewhere

thinking, "Now my family is suffering."

It's never at the front of their mind.

When any addict is taken off the streets, the local crime rate

will drop, making the estate a little safer.

Russ' detective work and local knowledge paid off.

At court, the addict pleaded guilty to the possession of drugs.

He also admitted six outstanding charges.

The man was given £245 in fines

and a 24-week custodial sentence suspended for two years.

Still to come on Neighbourhood Blues...

All right? Is this a fag or a spliff?

..Colin catches a man with drugs outside a school...

Look, you've got people going to collect their kids.

..and police chase after a drunken menace.

You stay there, mate.

Across the UK, shoplifting is on the increase.

This is bad news for everyone as shopkeepers have to hike up prices

to cover their losses.

Local shops often operate on the tightest margins,

so when they're targeted by shoplifting,

even a small loss can hit them hard.

In Bridgwater, Jen Atkinson is investigating a blatant case

of shoplifting.

We are off to an address where I believe a shoplifter may be staying.

The theft from a local store was caught on CCTV.

Shift manager Jamie Blake deals with shoplifting on a regular basis.

The other Sunday we had loads of people steal.

In one day we had three. It was absolutely crazy.

I don't understand theft, personality.

I think it's ridiculous. You should pay for it.

This time, the shoplifter was particularly brazen.

I was on shift with another girl and I was facing up the store,

which is when we bring the products forward so it doesn't look messy.

CCTV shows a man entering the shop in the world's least subtle outfit.

Less than 30 seconds later, he saunters out without paying

for the case of lager wedged under his arm.

And this is one shoplifter who just can't resist showing off.

Some bloke started shouting. He said, "All right, mate, see you later!"

I thought, "What's going on?"

So I went and looked, and the girl I was with said, "He just stole that."

So I charged out the store.

I was going to go get it back, but he started running

and cos I'm fat and he's quite a small bloke...

He was running. I wasn't going to chase him. I just went, "Maybe not."

Jen recognised the man from the CCTV immediately.

He and his brother have both been on her radar for a while.

Well, they used to live on... There's a caravan park on my patch.

They got drunk very regularly and caused a lot of problems,

so they got evicted off of the caravan park, unfortunately,

which means I now don't know where they actually live.

For a crime like this, Jen knows there's little hope

of recovering any of the stolen property.

Any goods that he's stolen will be long gone,

mainly as they were Stella Artois. They'll be well and truly drunk.

Jen checks out an address where the man could be staying.

Someone's definitely at home, but is it the man she's after?

Hello, sorry to bother you. I might have the wrong address.

-Is there a James...that lives here?

-Yeah. James!

Oh, he's here. That's handy. Can I just step in a bit?

You can hide behind the door if you want to.

I need to speak to you about a theft from One Stop.

You nicked a 12-case of Stella.

Jen knows he took the lager and the guy knows he did too,

but rather than clog up the courts, she has a cunning plan.

Don't say anything now.

Obviously I need to speak to you about it in an interview.

If you come down... Are you going to be free tomorrow at any point?

Her idea is to find an appropriate punishment

that the shop will be happy with.

Yeah? So three o'clock tomorrow, yeah?

I'm going to write you in my diary. Make sure you're there.

'There's no point arresting him, I've got no necessity to.

'It's not a lesser punishment. It's just a quicker way of doing it.'

I can then get on with every other crime I've got

and it leaves us free to be out and about more.

Court cases are usually the best way to ensure victims get justice,

but sometimes they aren't the most appropriate route.

Next day at the station,

the offender arrives for his interview hiding behind a hoodie.

-Right. Ready?

-Yeah.

Take a pew. Are you going to want to see the CCTV?

When he is interviewed under caution, he quickly fesses up.

The man doesn't have a record for shoplifting,

so Jen thinks the best solution is to get him to face up to his crime.

So, summary of that then is you got drunk,

you went in, you stole some alcohol and you left again.

-Yeah.

-Yeah? Happy with that? Anything else you want to add?

An apology is a good start and she's told him

that he'll have to pay for the beer, too.

Jen now needs to persuade the shop that it's the best course of action.

If they say, "No," then the man may have to go to court.

Hello, Jamie, it's PC Atkinson

calling from Bridgwater Police Station.

Jen speaks to Jamie to discuss her plan.

He's fully admitted the offence. He'll pay for what he's taken, yeah.

Perfect. Well, thank you very much. Thank you, Bye-bye.

The chap I just spoke to was absolutely ecstatic

by the idea of him paying back the goods

cos usually they get sent to court, and they'll get their conviction,

but it's very rarely that the store

will ever get their money back, actually,

so I think he's just more chuffed with that idea.

Good news.

The store's happy for you just to pay back,

but you will be banned from the store.

-That's all right.

-I think that's fair.

Community policing needs to ensure that victims get the justice

they deserve and, in this case, Jen's solution has been a success.

Well, I've just been round and seen him.

There is your £11.

Ah! He must feel like a right idiot. What did he say?

He just said he was drunk on the night, he did an idiotic thing.

He's very sorry for it.

I'm sure he is sorry.

-I've also given him a lifetime ban from One Stop...

-Oh!

But if you're happy with that,

if I can just get you to squiggle there where the cross is.

Goods paid for and apology accepted, the shift manager is pleased.

I'm just so happy that the bloke must feel like a right idiot

because he had to pay the money, so that's great.

The beautiful city of Bath is being damaged

by a handful of graffiti taggers,

but there's one name which comes up again and again - Cruel.

Roger Parker is determined to bring this man to justice

and he is tracking him down.

The same tag.

This is a back street leading up into the Royal Victoria Park,

which suggests that this gentleman has got local knowledge to areas,

cut-throughs, and this is tagging on a prolific scale.

It's not art. This is just damage, criminal damage.

There is one thing that does deter taggers and vandals -

security cameras.

There's no graffiti here because a CCTV camera has been installed

and that's 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

These people who are doing this graffiti are a cowardly.

They are aware of where cameras are or aren't.

Roger gets a breakthrough. Cruel has slipped up.

He's been caught by a discreet camera.

This may prove to be his undoing.

So, one of the buildings that he committed the criminal damage on,

it actually had a CCTV, a very small camera.

For the first time in seven years,

they might be able to identify the man who's defacing Bath.

It's actually a very good camera and it actually captured him

in the act of committing the damage.

And there's our man.

And there he's spray-painting his graffiti tag,

which is unique to him, right in front of the camera.

Shockingly, this tagging happened in the middle of the afternoon

in full view of a busy road.

And goes away like nothing's happened

with the can still in his hand.

You can see the tag, which is the tag that we're looking at, Cruel.

The man's image is circulated to see

if anybody on the force can put a name to this face.

When they do catch Cruel, they want to charge him

with all the seven years' worth of tagging they have on file,

so Roger calls in one of the council's

environmental crime investigators.

With this tag, all the styles,

all the forms are the classic Cruel tag.

There was a bit of rivalry going on here.

He's dissing, hating another person, saying, "I'm much better than you."

Andrew Plummer is as close as you can get

to a handwriting expert for tagging.

The U is always scooped in that way

and the E is especially... With a little scoop back.

And the L with the little scoops.

Andrew needs to be sure that all the Cruel tags

are the work of the same man.

For somebody to be able to copy that,

they'd have to spend a lot of time.

But spending time on doing somebody else's tag is nonsense

because you want to get your tag out there, not anybody else's tag.

It's your name you want to get out there.

The expert analysis does tie all the tags to the same man,

and there's more good news.

The images were circulated and a police community support officer,

with her local knowledge of the city centre,

identified this gentleman and where he lives,

so we're now off to try and arrest this gentleman.

It's right down on the end...

It looks like the reign of Bath's worst tagger is at an end.

Roger has a name and an address - a city centre flat.

But nobody's in.

So we've established the exact address now that we believe

this gentleman is living in.

We're going to have another look all around the Royal Victoria Park

and try and locate him in this grassed area

in and around this building.

Just when it looks like Cruel may have slipped through the net,

something comes through on the radio.

Yeah, that's all noted. Right.

Sarge, bloke with the blue shirt.

So nick him out here and then get him back for the...?

Oh, there he is.

This could be it for the prolific tagger.

Right, Stu?

Stuart? Just a quick word a minute?

-What's up, bro? Sorry, man...

-That's all right. No, that's all right.

-Just come over here.

-What's up, mate?

Just keep this as nice and relaxed as we can.

What I'm going to do is I'm going to arrest you on suspicion

of criminal damage to buildings within the Bath City Centre.

We want to prevent any further offences and it is criminal damage.

Yeah. No, listen, that damage, ie graffiti,

has been done around the streets of Bath and CCTV footage

and they've been identified as yourself, all right?

With Cruel arrested, they can search his flat for evidence

and seize all his aerosol cans.

-We'll have a quick look round.

-We're going to have a look round.

-Do what you want.

-What it is, it's a Section 32...

There's a lot of evidence

-but you're saying there's graffiti on the walls, as well.

-Right, OK.

After seven years and thousands of pounds worth of damage,

they have finally tracked down one of Bath's worst taggers.

-That's my tag, all right? You can see it quite clearly on my wall.

-OK.

At court, this tagger pleaded guilty to 23 counts of criminal damage.

He was fined a total of £950, given an indefinite

criminal behaviour order banning him

from carrying paints, pens or any items

that could be used for graffiti in public.

He was also given a four-month curfew

banning him from leaving his flat overnight from 7pm.

Maybe this will act as a deterrent to anyone else who thinks

vandalism is fine.

Up and down the country, finding ways to manage drunk people

on a big night out always presents police with a challenge.

In Bridgwater, the town centre neighbourhood team is keeping

a watchful eye on everyone having fun.

Dom Bryant is facing a difficult night of foot patrol,

keeping a lid on any trouble.

To help him do this, he's got a tracker radio

linking him to all the town's door staff.

People start down that end of the town

and then they make their way through the town slowly,

frequenting the pubs up here as we go,

and they end up in The Palace Nightclub.

As we make our way through the town, we just touch base with the doormen,

make sure everyone's happy. If they're happy, I'm happy.

Everyone happy in there?

-Yeah, nice, quiet evening.

-That's good.

Community police like Dom work together with bouncers and door staff

to ensure everyone has a safe night and a good time.

There's actually a hen party going on and there's 30 people

dressed up as police officers, so that could be interesting as the night goes on.

At least I'll have some backup tonight - that's one good thing.

The guys can't resist meeting their backup.

It's a dangerous move as ladies on a hen do may think

they're tonight's entertainment.

LOUD MUSIC AND SINGING

-There we go.

-Thank you!

-Brilliant.

-Thank you very much.

With everything in order, the guys leave them to their night

and head back out to the street.

I think they genuinely believed that we were the strippagrams for a minute.

They probably want their money back but there we go.

Right, let's move on, while we still can.

But before they can leave,

a commotion down the road catches everyone's attention.

It sounds like a youth possibly caused some criminal damage

to a motor vehicle.

-Which one? Who did?

-The one on the floor!

-Where?

-He's got up now. He's run away.

-He's gone.

-This one?

-Him! Him!

-No.

-This gentleman?

-No.

-No, not me, bro.

He just ran into a car and he knocked the wing mirror off.

He's wearing a white top.

The bouncer spots movement down the alley and he's off,

with Dom hot on his heels.

You stay there, mate.

All right, sit yourself down.

-Keep your arm where it is there.

-Let's get some details.

-Have you got any identification on you, please?

-In my wallet, yeah.

-Where's that? Can you get that one out for me?

-Ow.

They've got the lad.

The bouncer checks out the guy's shoulder while Dom checks out his ID.

-Do you need an ambulance?

-No, I think it's all right.

-Is it?

-Yes, it's going to bruise up lovely cos you've hit it.

How did you get over this fence?

Right, are you going to be able to climb back over?

All right. I'll walk him round.

This sort of drunk behaviour can cause real damage and it's

the type of thing that community teams are trying to stamp out.

I'm not happy with your conduct or your actions,

so I'm going to formally arrest you for being drunk and disorderly in a public place, OK?

I'm now going to put you in compliant cuffs this morning...on to your wrists.

All right, I'm not pulling away or anything.

I know. I'm going to make sure I don't hurt you either.

I'm double-locking them so they won't get any tighter.

And as long as I can get my finger in there,

both cuffs, I know they're not too tight for him.

They are quite uncomfortable,

but they won't cut his circulation off or cause him any problems.

Thank you very much.

Alcohol-related crime is estimated

to cost the UK around £21 billion each year.

Hopefully, the shock of being arrested

will make this guy see sense.

I had some drinks and I messed around with my idiot friends,

and I got in trouble.

-Dom helps the man into the car on his way to sober up in a cell.

-OK.

Watch the step. It's not a conventional police vehicle.

Just mind your... That's it.

Fire up the Quattro.

And it's a short ride back to Bridgwater nick.

Here we are, the Heartbreak Hotel.

The man's checked into custody, where the amount he's drunk becomes clear.

12 pints might explain the lad's decision to rugby tackle a car

and, as the owner of the vehicle was never found,

after a night in the cells, no further action was taken.

Maybe the pain in his shoulder will teach him

a valuable lesson about behaving on a night out.

Weston-super-Mare's Bournville estate was born out of poverty,

or so local legend has it.

It's said a chocolate factory was planned to revitalise

the local economy and the estate was built for workers.

Certainly, that factory never came

and now it's still one of the most disadvantaged places in the country.

Local sergeant Colin Batchelor thinks the best way to improve the area

is to take a zero tolerance approach.

By cracking down on illegal and antisocial activities,

the police want to show people that they care and that they're watching.

All right? Is this a fag or a spliff?

Right, where have you just thrown it?

Colin's spotted a young man smoking cannabis outside a school.

-You've got a primary school there.

-Yeah, I know. Fair enough.

-It absolutely stinks.

-It is an issue round here.

-Yeah, I know. Of course it is.

Look, you've got people going to collect their kids.

3467, are you receiving?

The lad looks surprised to have suddenly been

confronted by police and is immediately apologetic.

We can look at it as a caution for you,

so we're not actually taking you through the court system,

but it's not just a warning. It goes on the record.

If you get stopped again, you don't get a second chance at it.

-The chances are, you'll be put before the court and end up with a drugs conviction.

-Yeah, yeah.

Which, any way you look at it, it isn't great, is it?

It's indicative of some of the youth that just seem to completely ignore

the fact that it's illegal, and you can walk up and down the street

having a smoke whenever you fancy. No, you can't.

After dealing with the drug user,

reports come in of a fight next to the local shops.

A little bit of tension on the estate. There's obviously been

some kind of altercation between a couple of the young lads

on the estate, so we're just going to come down and have a chat.

Although neighbourhood policing is all about getting to know the locals,

today, no-one's feeling chatty.

-Get the camera off my face, bro.

-Come on, you've got mouths on you.

-You're always gobbing off. What's the matter?

-Yeah...not to you!

So the other party's not from here.

They're staying here for the weekend and there's been

a bit of chest beating between them and our local lads.

It's a sunny day. You can just feel a little bit of argy-bargy

in the air today, so...we'll try and keep a lid on it.

By being a very visible presence on the estate,

Russ and Colin want to reassure law-abiding residents,

while making life difficult for those who flout the rules.

Russ has just spotted a car he thinks looks out of place.

We just saw a Vauxhall Vectra of interest to us.

Two lads in it, comes from Plymouth by the look of it,

holding no insurance on PNC.

I just want to see what they're doing down on the estate, really.

By the time they reach it, the occupants are trying to wander off.

Can we have a word, chaps? Just have a word. Don't go running off.

It's about... Are you the driver of the car, are you?

Don't run off on me. Let's do this nicely.

I just want to check who you are. I don't recognise the car, all right?

-I've just seen you...

-Colin and Russ talk to the guys,

trying to establish who owns the uninsured car,

-but no-one can agree on anything.

-Why is he driving your car?

It's not my car, it's his car.

I'm buying it off him, but it's his car at the moment, yeah.

-It's his car.

-Oh, it's your car at the moment?

-Yeah.

-The car isn't even in my name.

-Whose name is it in then?

-We bought it off someone and obviously...

-No, you've got the key?

COLIN LAUGHS

-He's saying it's his car. I'm confused.

-I just told you.

It's his car, mate, and I'm buying it off him.

That's why I just took it for a test drive down.

With both men claiming that the other owns the car, no-one will fess up.

You've seen him drive the car, didn't you? It's not in my name.

-You own the car, mate, don't you?

-Yeah, I'm buying the car off you.

-Yeah, you're buying the car off me but the car...

-As it stands...

-Shh!

Russ may not know who owns the car, but he knows who he saw driving it.

Have you got ID on you?

Nope, I've no ID whatsoever.

In the absence of any ID, Russ checks with the Police National Computer

to see if the man is wanted using distinguishing features,

like his tattoos, to identify him.

Where's the cross with the name "Andy" running through it? OK.

Now they know who he is,

a quick check with the DVLA reveals he's not got a full licence.

-As it is at the moment, it's 14:45...

-I'm nicked, I know.

No, you're not nicked. You're being reported for driving otherwise

in accordance with a licence and driving with no insurance on a road.

The vehicle will be seized on the no insurance scheme,

so you won't be getting that today.

We're doing a bit of work on who owns it before we move forward

with what happens next.

But either way, the vehicle will be coming with us.

The boot is full of remote-control cars.

-Can I get my remote-control cars out the back?

-No.

-Why?

-Cos no-one can prove who they belong to.

-They're mine.

-Well, are they?

-I bought them off a bloke yesterday, mate.

-How do I know that?

-You can come with me if you want.

-How do I know that?

-Oh, for God's sake.

-The vehicle and everything in it is being seized

until the owner comes to us with proof of ownership, all right?

The man's more upset about the toy cars being seized

than losing the actual car itself.

-I can't even get my

-BLEEP

-cars out, mate.

Hey, unfortunately, when you drive a car on the road with no insurance,

-this is what happens.

-Aw, cheers, mate.

Pleasure. Lads, you may as well go if we're not doing anything more

with you cos the vehicle will be coming with us.

There was just something not right with it

and there were some discrepancies over who actually owned the vehicle,

and they were just messing us about, really.

And then the actual owner can come with a licence and insurance

and prove the vehicle's theirs and take it away.

It's a good job.

The driver of the car was given a £300 fine at court

for driving without insurance

and received a hefty six points on his licence.

As for the car, nobody ever came forward to claim it

and it was eventually crushed,

along with all the remote-control cars in the boot.

Rigorously policing this estate sends a message to the community.

It's part of a programme of measures designed not just to catch wrongdoers

but to safeguard the future.

Still in the Bournville, these measures have started to get results.

The last year or so, we've seen a real regeneration

and rejuvenation of the centre of the Bournville area.

It's had a real positive impact.

When you drive around now, it's got that real fresh,

real vibrant feel about it.

People are proud to live here because they've got a nice place.

They want it to look after it.

And one of the areas that's changed the most is what used to be

derelict wasteland behind some shops,

now home to the Whizzy Wheels.

It's been transformed by a joint project

between the local housing association

and local businesses to make something useful for the area's kids.

It's a cycling community, as such.

There's a lot of people and kids on bikes especially,

but there's nowhere for them to learn how to cycle safely.

The school don't have the facilities,

so places like this are perfect.

Nationally, under-18s commit a quarter of all crimes -

that's more than a million offences a year.

By engaging with children early, projects like this go a long way

to helping forge a safer future for the whole community.

It's that holistic approach. It's not just about policing.

It's not about us coming along and forcing and giving messages.

It's about us working WITH the community IN the community.

That reliance on the community benefits both the police

and the neighbourhood.

Today, as well as being able to check out the new track,

the launch event has advice on the bike maintenance

and security tagging, along with more fun things,

like bicycle limbo and pedal-powered smoothie making.

I can't show the benefits to neighbourhood policing tomorrow or next week,

but I'm pretty positive we're going to show it in ten years' time,

when we've been able to improve areas like this for the long-term.

The sun's shining, everyone's having fun.

We've got the juice bike.

You are Mr Speedy Gonzales!

I love this part of the job,

being able to just come down to the estate, engage with the kids,

get to know them as well, cos they sometimes see me

coming along to spoil their fun sometimes,

whereas today, they're coming to me and asking to speak to me

in an informal way.

Aw!

-There you go. That's you good to go.

-Excellent.

-All right?

This project isn't just designed to keep kids safe on the roads,

it's also about ensuring the estate itself has a healthy future.

It's safe for them, as well.

You know they're not out on the roads on their bikes, which is nice.

I wish this was around when I was little.

The future of the estate is in the young people here. They're the future.

They're the people who're going to be living here come ten years' time,

so if we can work with them and the other agencies,

providing them with something to do, a positive image of us

and other agencies, so they invest in the area they live in

as well for the future to make it a better place all-round.

CHEERING

We've seen today that the police work tirelessly

to keep communities safe and crime-free,

but if you do need to contact your neighbourhood team

then dial the police non-emergency phone number, 101.