Episode 3 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...

-Evening all.

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

Brilliant.

..working together to sweep crime off our streets.

Police, search warrant!

Coming up,

neighbourhood teams hunt down a man preying on pub goers...

-Michael, just calm down.

-All right.

..officers come face-to-face with a vicious dog...

Hold the dog back.

Get hold of the dog, get hold of the dog.

..and when 7,000 people descend on Weston,

the town-centre team have to keep a lid on trouble.

-Get back,

-BLEEP,

-get back, get back.

Police in Somerset have to patrol a huge patch, almost 2,000 square miles

covering everything from sprawling farms to urban estates.

Police, police!

A large amount of crime in any area is committed by a small

number of criminals.

Neighbourhood teams are always on the lookout to catch repeat offenders.

Weston-super-Mare is a party town.

It's packed with people concentrating on having a good time,

rather than paying attention to their possessions.

There's recently been a spate of bag thefts from pubs and clubs

and the neighbourhood teams are on high alert.

There's a report that a male responsible for the theft

of a handbag yesterday, I believe, is being followed by street wardens.

Street wardens are civilians who help the town-centre officers

and one has caught sight of the thief.

RADIO CHATTER

All right, Dan?

Yesterday, a man was spotted stealing a handbag from a pub.

He was chased through town but, despite the CCTV,

he managed to escape.

Now he has been spotted again and Wayne Hughes is determined

he won't get away this time.

He's run off and now we've got the street wardens together with

members of security staff looking for this male in

the town centre at Weston.

Dan, who is one of the street wardens in the town,

can identify that person.

Dan has seen the thief near a town-centre pub.

Now the police, CCTV and street wardens are all on the man's heels.

-RADIO BLEEPS

-Yeah, go ahead.

Yeah, that's received. En route, en route.

The CCTV has tracked the man running through town

before bolting into the Charles Dickens pub.

RADIO CHATTER

Just one look and Dan is sure this is their man.

But he isn't coming quietly.

You can't just run and grab me and say I fit a description.

Yes, you do. You've been nicked on description, end of.

That's fair enough...

Put him in the back of the car, yeah?

Have you had a van come in?

-Mate, what's your name?

-I live in Weston too.

-What's your name?!

-My name's Michael.

-You been arrested on suspicion of theft.

I've just come in here to drink and you've jumped on me.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Michael, Michael, Michael.

-Just calm down. Michael, calm, calm.

-You're the one grabbing me.

Calm down.

I will do.

I know, but I haven't done anything wrong.

RADIO CHATTER

Wayne and fellow officer Chris Weekes take the struggling man outside.

Wayne's in no mood to mess around.

Listen to me, listen to me, I'm carrying a Taser today.

-If you play up, then I will use the Taser.

-What for?

-All right, I'm just...

-What are you going to Taser me for?

Listen, listen. I'm just warning you.

I'm not playing up, mate. I'm not giving anyone any grief.

Let's keep it like that, then, shall we?

I'm not resisting arrest or anything.

I've not done anything wrong.

The man is still pleading innocence as he's put into the van.

Keep them on there. Lovely.

Chris does a quick search on the national police computer and

the man's claim of being mistakenly identified as a bag thief fall apart.

Received. First one was 19th of May, the second one was the 4th of June,

is that right?

He is wanted on two warrants in Westminster as well.

Theft of handbag, which is obviously exactly the same as what he's

been arrested on suspicion of now.

Through this door here, all right?

Faced with the mounting evidence he is a thief,

the man's forced to change his tune.

He made a couple of admissions to us about the bag theft yesterday,

that he is responsible.

He will be interviewed, put his side of the story across.

At the end of the day, the fact that he's now admitted it to us

in custody makes our job a hell of a lot easier.

A good job well done.

In court, the man put his hands up to a bit more than the bag thefts.

As well as admitting to taking two handbags,

he also pleaded guilty to two cases of fraud and a further two thefts.

He was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison, suspended for a year

and a half, handed £2,220 in fines and ordered to undertake drug rehab.

Thanks to the coordination between the street wardens

and the police, the pubs in Weston are a little bit safer.

Elsewhere in Weston-super-Mare, the police have a different

challenge on their hands. Corona Sunsets is a beachfront

dance music festival that has brought an extra 7,000 people into the town.

Go ahead.

It's Inspector Sharon Bennett's job to lead the operation

to keep everyone safe...

That would be great, yeah, get their names on log, thank you.

..and that starts by reminding revellers that

the police are keeping a watchful eye.

I've walked up the promenade and there's quite a few groups of them

heading towards the entrance. A lot of them drinking.

Very happy but I just wanted to get a couple of mine

and the horses visibly going up and down here because we've still

got a lot of families out with kids and these are all drinking and

in high spirits, just want to make sure we get that message out there.

One of the festival team spots a group of teenagers who

she thinks are selling potentially deadly nitrous oxide.

Guy has walked past me as I saw it, so I think they're nicking him now.

-They doing that now, are they?

-Yeah, just by the toilets there.

-OK.

Sorry, I grabbed him.

Nitrous oxide is more commonly known as hippy crack or laughing gas.

It used to be used in hospitals as an anaesthetic but it's now more

commonly taken recreationally, inhaled from balloons.

Owning and taking the drug isn't currently illegal

but selling it to under-18s is.

-He's not selling it.

-Isn't he?

There's three of them doing it, I've checked his bag,

he's got a very small amount on him.

They're just going to finish it before they go in.

I've advised them of the health implications of it but...

They know they can't take it in, which is

-why they're just finishing it off now.

-They're not selling it?

Our hands are tied, really.

While they have no powers to stop them,

officers have a duty to keep these teenagers safe.

So they are kept under a watchful eye until they're inside the venue.

If they're under the influence of it,

it's up to the event organisers if they let them in, isn't it?

All right, OK, yeah, thank you.

With so many police on the beachfront, some of the regular

street drinkers seem to think they can get away with drinking in town.

Officers Jon Phippen and Gemma Harper are out to put them right.

-Can we have the rest of it then, yeah?

-One more swig.

-No.

Drink in the pub. Do you want to give us the can?

Basically the whole of the town is a non-drinking zone,

so people can only drink in licensed premises.

-Whey! Ooh!

-You all right?

Do you want to get rid of your drinking glass, mate?

It's so intimidating to other people who want to just come in

and use the space and it's not fair on them.

You know, the street drinkers are fully aware

that they can't drink in town.

The two or three now that we've taken alcohol off have all had

a bit to say for themselves.

It's - what? - seven o'clock.

So it potentially could be a long night for us.

-Hello.

-Hello, mate, you all right?

As well as clamping down on street drinking,

Jon is checking in on a few regulars.

My worry for you tonight, there's a lot of drinkers in town.

The neighbourhood team has a duty of care to all those on the streets.

Got an increase in vulnerable people sleeping rough in the town.

On nights like tonight when there's a lot of extra people in the town,

we like to just make sure that they're OK

and they're not getting caused any problems.

Back on the seafront, Sharon's on patrol checking the local

bars are prepared for the influx of festivalgoers.

Have a wander into town, speak to some licensed premises,

go and speak to the door staff, get a feel for what it's like in town.

Find out if any of them have got any preplanned events on.

Hopefully they've got some extra staff on, that sort of thing.

All right, ladies? Where are you from, then?

-Bridgwater.

-Well, you haven't come far, then.

-No, not too far.

-You out all night?

We're going back to Bridgwater tonight.

Oh, are you?

Sorry? Yeah.

Am I real? Of course I am.

Have you?

-Oh, well, anyway, have a good night.

-Thank you very much.

-See you later.

That was quite a nice group.

It's always worth just touching base, just chatting to them

because then you find out if they're here all night

and, actually, they're a responsible group.

I also just managed to find out they're leaving town later,

which is also nice to build into the picture.

For me, it's about providing that visible reassurance to

the public, the young families here,

people who are not here for the festival

and just giving that reassurance that we are here to police it,

giving that bit of confidence that we're here to deal with any issues.

The biggest test for the team will happen in five hours when

the dance music festival kicks out and a host of people flood into town.

The next challenges we'll probably face over the next few hours

is just being able to identify those troublemakers

who are inside the event.

It's about making sure those people who are evicted

don't then enter our night-time economy

and making sure they're given an order to leave the area.

But, as we'll see later, some people don't want to do as they're told.

-Get back,

-BLEEP,

-get back, get back.

Got allegations and allegations, haven't we?

Let us do our job.

Still to come on Neighbourhood Blues,

police clamp down on casual drug takers...

The mix of coke and alcohol normally leads to violence.

..and a suspect makes an unexpected confession.

We've got information, OK, that there's cannabis plants.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Regardless of your patch,

the life of a neighbourhood officer is never dull.

And, sometimes, the countryside throws up potential crimes

unheard of in town.

Sergeant Andy Whysall is Somerset's lead officer on wildlife crime.

Today he's preparing for an unusual raid involving peregrine falcons.

The information we've got on the gentleman is that he is

allegedly working in cahoots with another gentleman in West Mercia,

where they are taking wild birds and passing them off as domestic bred.

We've no intention of smashing the door down or anything

like that, it's not one of these sort of jobs where

they can flush the evidence away.

The neighbourhood team are working alongside

specialised animal officials who want to see

if the birds are properly registered and, also, check on their wellbeing.

-Excellent.

-OK, then.

The fastest animal in the sky,

the peregrine falcon is highly prized by falconers.

As a result, the birds can change hands for high prices

and are a target for unscrupulous dealers.

But trading in wild birds can be a serious crime and offenders

can expect a fine of up to £5,000 and six months in jail per offence.

We've got an address to search the house and the grounds under

the Illegal Trade In Endangered Species,

which is a European regulation.

The team need to know if the birds are legal or not.

It turns out that searching the house and grounds may not take too long.

Far from being a sprawling farm, the address is a small terraced house.

And it looks like nobody's home.

This seems like an unlikely location for keeping

magnificent birds of prey.

And a peek through the window reveals very little.

Oh, sorry, pooch.

Nothing in the back?

But before they put it down to bad intelligence,

the team need to check the back garden.

No easy task in a row of terraced houses.

If we need to get in the back door, we need to go over the wall?

-NEIGHBOUR:

-Yeah.

-Mummy, mum!

-OK.

-We'll do that then. Thank you.

-OK.

But when they do get to look in the back yard, they're in for a surprise.

-Yeah, it is. A chest marking.

-Yeah, yeah.

Basically, it was just two birds in the back garden.

One in an aviary and one on a bow perch.

With confirmation that there are falcons on the property,

they phone up the owner.

James, it's Sergeant Andy Whysall...

'Yeah, I'm on my way home now, what do you want?

-'I don't know what you want.'

-Where are you, mate?

'I'm at work, I'm coming home now, what do you want?'

You're coming home? That's brilliant.

I'll explain to you when you get home.

'Yes, regarding what, though?'

We've got some information I need to talk to you about.

'About what?'

I'd rather do it face-to-face in person if that's OK.

What I didn't want to tell him

over the phone was the fact we had a warrant to go in his house

because if he then turned round and says,

"Well, up yours, I'm not coming back,"

I would have been in the situation where he now knows I've got

a warrant, so it would have forced my hand for us to actually,

potentially, you know, have broken the door down to get into the house

to do what we had to do.

This is an unusual job for the neighbourhood team but police

take rural crime very seriously.

It's not obvious police work, it is very important. People tend to feel

very passionately about animals and wildlife

and I think it's important to show that we do work

in conjunction with other agencies to uphold the law and deal with

people that do break the law in relation to wildlife and animals.

The birds' owner returns to let the team into his property.

-Andy Whysall, how are you?

-Yes, I'm all right.

-Warrant, have you?

-Yeah, basically, we've got a warrant.

Worldwide, wildlife crime is estimated to be worth

over £12 billion a year,

making it the fourth most lucrative illegal trade after drugs,

counterfeit goods and human trafficking.

The price of peregrines has gone up dramatically in the last year,

two years.

We're looking at prices between 5,000 and there's even talk of going

up to 10,000.

So there's an incentive for people, if you're taking three chicks,

three eggs from the wild,

you launder them into the captive-bred market,

mark up price - £15,000 minimum.

With a claim that something is not right,

the team need to thoroughly check the man's birds and their documentation.

Situation inside is that the birds that he's got,

he's got all the relevant paperwork for.

And the rings on the paperwork match up to the birds,

so we haven't got any offences in relation to the birds he's got.

Every bird legitimately born in captivity needs to be ringed

and registered but to sell or breed a bird,

the owner needs a certificate called an article 10.

He has got some article 10s for birds that are

no longer at the address.

Some of which are dead,

some of which he says are out with other people breeding.

If the bird's dead, he should have returned the article 10,

so we're taking those bits of paperwork.

Seizing the redundant certificates means that

the documents can't be used to trade birds in the future.

Something the man denies ever having done.

As a lover of wild birds, he's happy to introduce his falcons.

Rosie. You can see, you know...

This is a...

Oh, sorry.

This is a falcon, she's five now, she is.

I want to breed so I can fly my own falcons.

Maybe sell one or two or gift them to friends

or people I know but definitely to fly around,

you can't beat flying your own.

I've seen ridiculous money but you're talking...

A female peregrine, I saw one for sale for 7,500.

Seven and a half grand for one bird. People will pay it.

What do they say? A fool and his money are easily parted.

Although the man is not an illegal bird dealer,

he can understand why people take the risk.

If you get caught once out of 20 years, then you've made £200,000

and go six months in prison. Does it really matter?

I know some people say it would and it wouldn't but, you know,

when you're talking that sort of money for birds...

The team are happy that all the birds in the house are legal and healthy

and they've also taken the stray paperwork.

Satisfied no animals are being exploited,

they head back to the station.

Keeping crowded town centres safe on a night out is always

a challenge for officers.

After too much alcohol, people can be unpredictable

and things can unravel fast.

It's 11:30pm in Weston-super-Mare.

The dance music festival has closed

and almost 5,000 people have spilled into the already busy town centre.

Sharon's operation to keep them all safe now swings into action.

We're just helping to manage the entry to some of the clubs

because we've got large queues gathering,

so just trying to help the door staff,

get people in nice and quickly,

so in the clubs we find there are less problems.

Large queues are a potential flashpoint.

People can get upset, angry, tired.

In exceptional circumstances, officers like Jon Phippen

take on additional duties to prevent antisocial behaviour.

Normally I wouldn't get involved in ID checks but,

because of the length of the queue,

trying to save the doormen some time and get some people off the street.

Police keep up a high-profile presence,

and the tactics to control the flow of cars seems to be working,

stopping the narrow streets becoming clogged up with taxis

and vulnerable drunken revellers.

Back at the nightclub, door staff alert Jon to a man

who has been caught trying to enter a club

with a bag of suspicious white powder.

You obviously know they've found what is probably coke, I'd imagine.

I'm going to give you two bits of paper, mate, all right?

The first is going to be a date to see me at the police station.

The man is arrested for the possession of cocaine

and street bailed.

This way, police keep more officers in town,

but while the man's not going to the nick, he can't hang around.

Second piece is going to be a piece of paper

-kicking you out of town for the night.

-Yeah.

-All right?

And the reason being, the mix of coke and alcohol

normally leads to violence.

To ensure the man does what he's told

and doesn't try to sneak back into town,

Jon takes him somewhere the CCTV can get a good look at his face.

Just so they can get you on CCTV.

But getting a clear shot is proving difficult...

Get out of the way. I won't tell you again. And you.

Ohh!

Come and walk with me, out the way of these idiots.

..as he's getting the man to agree a date to come back to the station.

What are you working next Friday evening? Are you about?

It's all right. We'll sort out a date that's convenient.

Why? Where are you next Friday?

OK. What about Saturday?

Are you back Sunday?

3892, can I have another jurisdiction unit

into Regent Street, please?

Trying to deal with something,

but we're getting some interference from the locals.

Jon wants to be flexible,

but there's only so much leeway he can give him.

What about the 27th? On a Monday.

The thing is, what we need to do is find a date,

cos the option is, if we don't find a date,

I'm going to have to take you down the Bridgewater nick tonight,

where you're going to have to stay the night.

The threat of a night inside opens a slot in the man's diary.

What about the 25th? Are you about in the daytime?

-Yeah, I'll be about.

-Right. So, 25th, yeah?

I've seized the drugs and he's going to come back and answer bail to me,

where he'll be dealt with for the small amount of possession.

If we can, we're trying to street bail them, not arrest them tonight.

The important thing is keeping enough officers on the street

and create a visible presence in our fluorescents

so people know that we're here to keep them safe.

If we have to arrest someone, take them to custody, we will.

If we don't have to,

we use other means to try and keep that presence on the street.

Events like this are a challenge for the police.

Sharon has been planning for this night for weeks.

And that preparation isn't undertaken just by her.

There's been a special meeting to ensure there's a coordinated plan.

Last year, we saw numbers just under 5,000.

We'll have an enhanced presence in the town centre,

cos we just don't know how many of those people are going to come in.

They could also, of course,

be quite under the influence of drink or drugs as well.

The police get together with local representatives,

including the ambulance service and taxi firms,

to work out a plan to keep everyone safe.

It looks like there probably will be an agreement

where we can drive up and down the seafront

to specifically make these people priority...

if they're in trouble of any sort.

The objectives we have are the same.

They're working with us and I think we're making some fantastic gains.

So far, that strategy is working well,

with lots of boisterous people in town,

but few real disturbances.

At the moment, they seem to be in good spirits.

But as the clubs fill up and people start getting refused entry,

moods can change very quickly.

It turns out that this is the calm before the storm.

Jon is urgently called to the pier, where it's threatening to kick off.

The man in the green jacket has been arrested

for assaulting someone outside a takeaway.

His friend's saying he was only defending one of the girls.

She hasn't made a complaint...

Officers need to assess the situation quickly or risk an escalation.

Somebody has assaulted me, grabbed me...

Somebody has grabbed me,

he's tried to push them away from me,

and now he's been arrested.

One male's been arrested for some kind of assault

that's taken place in the kebab shop.

His friends haven't taken very kindly to it

and are now alleging that, actually, one of them's been assaulted

and their friend's come to their aid.

So, my colleagues are trying to get to the bottom of it,

see what's going on.

INDISTINCT CONVERSATION

Sharon listens carefully

to the friends of the man who has been arrested,

one of whom now claims that she was assaulted first.

It's a complex situation that needs to be handled delicately

and with tact and diplomacy.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

BLEEPED SPEECH

But the arrested man is getting increasingly agitated.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

She's been assaulted.

With so many people involved,

the police are reluctant to restrain the man, and try to reason with him.

-Why has he not been arrested?

-BLEEPED SPEECH

BLEEPED SPEECH

But taking his jacket off and throwing it on the ground

is a clear sign that things with this man

may be going beyond the point of reasoning.

-BLEEPED SPEECH

-He'll be dealt with.

-Why's that man

-BLEEP?

-He'll be dealt with.

-Why's he not been arrested?

-He'll be dealt with. Just bear with us.

-One thing at a time.

-One thing at a time? It's ridiculous.

A lot of the time, neighbourhood officers want to slow things down,

take a calm and methodical approach.

But sometimes, you don't get a choice.

Don't I get dragged?

Dragged! Dragged! Go on!

BLEEPED SPEECH

Ah! Ahh!

Get back. Get back, get back.

The man punches a PC in the chest.

The female officer on the right immediately responds

by delivering a dose of CS spray to his face.

Ordinarily, this would be enough to incapacitate most people.

But it requires five officers to restrain him

as he continues to fight.

-Get back, get back.

-Jon's taken some of the spray in his own face.

But he needs to remain composed and calm

or this could be a flashpoint.

Hang on, he's kicking off, isn't he? So, he needs to be calmed down.

He's kicked off, which is why he's been sprayed.

So, let's stay calm. Don't make it worse.

Don't make it worse. We'll deal with the other thing for you.

-Get off his legs.

-We've got allegations and allegations.

Let us do our job.

Officers are forced to restrain him with both wrist and leg straps.

But despite the CS spray, the restraints and five officers,

the man continues to fight.

Jon tries to defuse the situation.

Just get to the front of his head and tell him to calm down.

Ah!

BLEEPED SPEECH

Jon's plan works.

The man's friend calms him down enough for them to take stock.

The male who's been arrested has decided to put up a struggle.

He's been CSed and then, obviously, we've restrained him on the ground.

A lot of that has transferred onto myself and my colleagues.

I've got a face full of it, which, with the rain, is not helping.

He's still struggling, but we're just waiting for another van now

so we can transport him away.

Ah!

Other officers grab the girl's alleged assailant

and he's taken away in a separate van

to be interviewed back at the station.

When he's gone, the man officers sprayed

is loaded up for a trip to the station, too.

-Mind your head, bud.

-There you go.

-Duck down a bit. Duck.

This incident has involved some serious manpower,

but Sharon planned for just such an eventuality.

We have a mix of officers on duty.

We have officers from across the force, from Bristol and other areas,

so we can provide a visible presence to show people that we're still here

and that we'll still deal with any disorder that breaks out.

It's a successful tactic, and the rest of the evening is peaceful.

When the man with the cocaine came back to the station,

he was given an official drugs caution

that will stay on his record for the next five years.

There was no evidence that the man had assaulted the woman,

so after interview, he was released without charge.

The aggressive man who was CS sprayed was subsequently charged

with assaulting the police and resisting arrest.

He awaits his day in court.

When police are given information from the public

about their own neighbourhoods...

Yeah. What threats did he make?

..it's vital that they act on it.

There's just one or two bad apples that will insist on dealing drugs,

committing antisocial behaviour.

It's important that we tackle those people, deal with them robustly,

give them the right message that they can't do that on these estates.

However good the intelligence, raids are always a leap into the unknown.

Officers are acutely aware

that anything could be waiting for them on the other side of the door.

Hello.

Police are met by violence, weapons, or even animals,

so they need to be prepared for anything.

The police are always refining how they get through doors,

from hydraulic rams

capable of exerting several tonnes of pressure...

..to good old-fashioned Enforcers.

They don't always smash their way in.

Today, officers are responding to locals' complaints about a flat

and Marc Stephens has to quickly deal with the door.

Fast entry allows us to take the occupants by surprise,

so then they don't have any chance to try and dispose of any evidence.

Receiving, go ahead.

It's an opportunity for Marc to try out a new piece of kit -

the lock snapper.

We're going to use our snapper kit.

You roll off part of the lock

and then snap off the barrel inside and push it through.

That leaves the lock in pieces, but the door intact.

At the address, the team gets into position,

ready to rush in when the lock snaps off.

But there's a problem.

The snapper kit can't get to the lock

but, prepared for any eventuality, they've always got a backup plan.

The door is in, but there's a nasty surprise, as a dog attacks.

There's no option... DOG BARKS

..but to Taser it.

Call the dog back. Call the dog back.

DOG BARKS

Tasers are always a last resort for police.

-Go.

-Police.

-DOG BARKS

-Taser!

But using the stun gun here

means both the police and the dog escape permanent damage.

Grab hold of the dog. The Taser's switched off.

There was nothing illegal found on this raid,

but police are pleased to have dealt with neighbourhood complaints

and sent a strong message to the wider community.

Word gets round quickly when we're out and about

and we're taking action.

If the van drives down a road

and we jump out and we smash someone's door in,

I'm sure there's another ten houses across the estate

that are flushing their drugs away.

Word does get round, you know,

and social media's a good thing for that as well.

They're letting each other know the police are out and about, taking action.

In recent years,

cannabis has had its classification changed from class C up to class B.

But to be clear, it's always been illegal.

Nationwide, 67% of the drug crime police deal with is due to cannabis.

You can be jailed for up to five years for possession

or up to 14 if you are found to be cultivating it.

In Bridgwater, Tex Freeman and PCSO Dan Wheller

are on their way to investigate a house.

Local housing officers are worried

about somebody growing plants at one of their properties.

Right, we've had some information come from a housing authority.

They've done a check on an address.

When they've gone in there,

they've found that the occupant has been growing cannabis

and he's currently...

He came in yesterday, he's got six plants,

or six pots growing cannabis in his house.

They've talked to him about it.

Apparently, he said it's for his own personal use.

Acting on that information, hopefully, we're going to visit

and see whether he has got the cannabis,

and if he has, deal with it.

As the plants were found yesterday,

there's a chance the man may have already got rid of any evidence.

When they get to the property, Tex goes to the front door

and Dan goes round the back in case the resident makes a run for it.

-Hiya, buddy.

-Hello.

-Is it all right to come in, speak to you?

-Is it all right to come and speak to you?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-OK.

What it is, we've got information that there's cannabis plants...

Yeah, yeah, yeah. This happened yesterday.

Surprisingly, the guy seems happy to admit having cannabis plants.

-Have you still got the cannabis?

-Yeah.

-Yes, OK.

-What that means, cos you're...

-I'm going to put in the bin...

Right, well, I now have to deal with it, OK?

So, I now have to come in and take the cannabis

and then question you at the police station.

Yeah, OK. But I am staying, finish my cooking.

The man seems more worried about spoiling his dinner

than being arrested.

He may well be a gourmet chef, but upstairs in his bedroom,

he's been growing a different type of herb - cannabis.

Can go...to shake my cook in the...

-Yeah, it's best if you turn that off for the minute.

-Yes.

-Yeah, can you just go with him, Dan?

-Yeah.

It's best to turn the cooking off.

While the man takes care of his cooking, Tex checks him out.

Yeah, can I have a code one person PNC, please?

Yeah, he's come back as no trace,

so that means that he isn't known to be in trouble

on the Police National Computer database.

The man is clearly not from this country,

and while his English is good,

Tex is worried that some of the technicalities of his arrest

might be being lost in translation.

What we need to do, OK, is at some point ask you some questions

regarding the cannabis plants.

OK? Um...

Would you be...?

Would you be able to do that now

or would you say you need an interpreter?

I can try.

There are many ways police can deal with non-English speakers,

from specialist phone services to calling in translators.

Tex falls back on to that old favourite -

speaking loudly and slowly.

You've got no previous for cannabis,

OK, so we should be able, OK, to hopefully give you a caution.

Looks like the man's cooking will get cold,

as he's coming down the station.

What were you having for tea tonight, Carlos?

-Sorry?

-What was your tea going to be tonight?

-Er...

-Easy food.

-Easy food, yeah?

-Sausage and...some cheese, potatoes.

My first time I'm ever in trouble.

I ring my friend. My friend tell me, "No problem, no worry.

"The next Sunday, everything go in the rubbish."

The man's friend may have told him that he'd be fine

if he threw out the evidence,

but it doesn't sound like he's legally trained.

Why this guy tell me no problem?

-Yeah, tell you it was OK.

-Yeah. He's my friend.

Yeah. He told you wrong.

All right, Carlos. Come with me, young man.

Back at the station, the cook faces the music

while Dan deals with the exhibits.

There's seven cannabis plants that have been seized,

and we're going to be exhibiting them.

Three off for testing, to confirm that they are cannabis.

The man accepted an official caution for the production of cannabis.

It's a good outcome for the neighbourhood team.

They responded to the concerns of local housing officers quickly

and it got them results.

Ever since motorcars became a familiar sight on Britain's roads,

police have been concerned about their safety.

So, today as a beat team, we're over in Keynsham.

We're looking at child seat safety today,

so we're going to be pulling in vehicles with child seats,

giving some words of advice on to the fitting.

A study by road safety officers

found that over 66% of child seat passengers

were being put at risk of injury or death

because of poorly fitted seats.

The neighbourhood team in Keynsham has teamed up with child seat experts

to try and make the roads a safer place.

So, the police will stop vehicles

on the main road that are carrying children,

bring them in, we'll check the car seats

and make sure they're fitted correctly,

and also that the children are fitted into the seats correctly.

Morning.

-Good morning.

-Morning.

-We're doing car seat checks today.

This isn't just a problem when people fit their own seats.

Shockingly, almost half of those installed by retailers

were also done incorrectly.

We often get people who'll come in,

"I've only got a couple of minutes, why have you stopped me?"

By the time we've finished talking to them and explained to them

and done adjustments for them,

they're very pleased with what we've said to them and go off quite happy

and, obviously, secure that their children are safe in the car.

-This one for the five-year-old, yes?

-Yes.

-OK.

So, that's great. Side and head protection on that.

Keep them on that till they don't need a seat at all.

Don't be tempted to move them off that onto a booster cushion.

Keep them with that back on it. It is much safer for them.

Very helpful, actually.

What they went through was very constructive

and it's helped me to know that when the children are in the car,

that they're secure and safe.

Over the course of the day, the team hope to stop around 150 cars,

a valuable way to get their message out there.

The harness is really, really loose.

You've got a bit of twist on the seat belt itself.

I'm just going to undo it and redo it for you, is that all right?

Didn't think there's a lot of coverage in the media about it.

I've got three young children,

so it's something I'm quite interested in.

Certainly, most people we're speaking to so far

are very grateful of any sort of advice we can give.

Just take it a bit tighter.

It means she hasn't got any space to be able to get her arms out.

-Is that OK?

-Yeah.

-All right, brilliant, thank you.

-It's just good to get extra information.

-Yeah.

-Every bit of information helps.

-Yeah.

Yeah, we've seen some examples of badly fitted seats,

minor problems and some major problems,

but we've been able to help all those people

and sort them out for them and send them on their way

with a nice, safe, securely fitted child seat.

While the majority of the neighbourhood police work

happens in towns, Somerset isn't an urban county.

It's actually one of the most rural.

And the issues that the neighbourhood teams in the countryside have

are very different to those in the town centres.

We've been called to a traffic hazard

where some cattle have gone onto the road

near the motorway junction.

PCSO Dan Wheller needs to get the cows out of the road

before they cause a crash.

But while he's taking the job seriously,

he's kept his sense of humour.

Hopefully, they've moo-ved on.

Get it? Moo-ved on.

An adult cow weighs around 90 stone

and hitting one with a car could be fatal to cow and motorist.

Luckily, a passer-by has shooed the animals away from the traffic.

No, you're all right.

OK.

OK.

There was about another four in here.

I just need to try and get them into some secure land

and see if we can locate the farmer.

There was two young cows and two heifers

just coming out of the field,

quickly followed by another couple of large cows,

who I didn't want to meet, and neither did the dog,

so we went home and reported it to the police.

Come on.

Hey. That's it.

They're safely away from the motorway here,

but with limited visibility on this road,

the cows could be even more of a problem to motorists.

As a PCSO, Dan is more used

to herding drunken revellers at the end of a night out,

but it turns out he's a natural.

This way.

Right, so that's secured them for a minute.

It's not adequate.

-OK, thank you very much.

-You're welcome.

-Thanks for your time.

Our duty of coming out here to keep the roads safe and clear

are no different than going to accidents

or trying to prevent accidents.

It is a good use of our time.

You know, if I wasn't coming to this, it would be a response car

that we need to keep available for the 999 shouts.

Now Dan is going to have a word with the farmer about that loose gate.

Instead of quick fix and sticking them in a field,

I'm looking at a long-term solution,

otherwise we're going to be called out here over and over again.

We've seen today that neighbourhood police teams

are always willing to go that extra mile

when it comes to keeping communities safe.

See you next time for more Neighbourhood Blues.