Episode 2 Police 24/7

This time on Police 24/7 - on the hunt for a suspected drug dealer.

We'll be seizing that. That may well be being used as the surface to cut the drugs.

That's not good.

In custody, the all-day breakfast hasn't hit the spot.

This is why I don't eat baked beans. Yuck!

It's the police!

And a missing student gets traffic cop Peter breathless.

I'm getting too old for this. Oxygen will be kind, actually.

This is a week in the life of the largest police force in Wales.

Seven days of action with the cops on the street

and the criminals that they try to beat.

This is Police 24/7.

10am in Cardiff and traffic officer Peter Hoole is on a stakeout.

INDISTINCT FROM WALKIE TALKIE

As I said, I've got eyeball on Glyn, so Glyn will see it first.

So now we wait.

The police have received a tip off that a 26 tonne council

refuse truck is being driven by someone in possession of drugs.

We've only got the intelligence at the moment and we don't know the validity of that intelligence.

It could be genuine, we don't know.

So the only way we are going to find out is if we stop them

and if they've got nothing to hide and they've done nothing wrong, then no harm done.

Just come over here for me.

You stay there. Just keep your hands where I can see them at all times.

Away we go. Empty your pockets for me, please.

Because your colleague has got some cannabis on him

-I'm going to give you a quick search.

-He can check the ashtray.

-Have you had a caution for drugs before?

-No.

-Never ever?

-No.

Just never been caught?

I'll tell you what though, back in the '80s I got done for it.

I had a £30 fine.

It's been a positive result.

We found the driver in possession of some cannabis.

Because it's such a small amount and we're happy it's for

personal use, it's possible he's entitled to, we might give him what's called

a street caution. We'll obviously seize the cannabis.

He can't have it back.

And potentially it will have to be reported to his bosses

because he's a council worker on duty and let them

take any internal action that they wish to take.

To check if the driver is under the influence of smoking the

cannabis, he needs to take a sobriety test.

It's a simple test just to make sure we're happy.

As you can see, it's a big unit, we don't want that driving

around the streets if he is under the influence.

The police are happy the driver is not intoxicated.

But the council are not taking any chances with public safety.

We've brought a driver to take the vehicle back,

-so we'll take the extra driver and the vehicle back ourselves.

-Right.

We'll have to deal with that ourselves with our policies

-and procedures.

-OK.

I don't want to comment any more than that because we'll have to investigate it.

The driver was cautioned for possession of cannabis

and dealt with by his employers.

If you're arrested in the capital you will be visiting

the custody suites in Cardiff Bay.

MUFFLED SHOUTING

Able to host 60 detainees, it's one of the largest lock-ups in the UK.

It's open 24/7.

Hopefully now it will be not too bad.

Mopping up after the guests...

Oh, Jack...

..are cleaners Jackie and Lesley.

That's not good.

I said it was too good to be true, didn't I?

-Yes.

-It's on the side of the toilet and everything.

Somebody obviously didn't want their all-day breakfast.

He didn't like the sausages. There's two full sausages there.

What a waste.

-Angry maybe. Bored.

-I don't know. It's not good.

This is why I don't eat baked beans. Yuck!

I just for the life of me don't understand why they do it.

I also think if they were made to clean it up themselves,

they probably wouldn't.

But there you go. I guess that's what we're paid for.

-I think it should be left to us to decide what food they can eat.

-Yeah.

They'd live on toast, I think. You can't do much damage with toast, can you?

Are you going to mop these beans off the floor, or do you want me to do it?

I can cope with that, I think.

Yuck. It's the smell. Eugh!

On B wing, custody sergeant Darren Jones-Matthias is on duty.

In there. If you go and sit down on the orange chair.

29-year-old Jadine has been brought in for questioning.

She's in for a shoplifting and a minor public order offence.

However, the nurse believed

when she came in that she was under the influence of something,

probably drugs, cos she didn't smell of drink.

-I'm Jan, OK.

-Hiya.

Darren wants Nurse Janet Whitwell to assess

if Jadine is fit for interview.

-So, you take heroin?

-I haven't recently.

-For a few days.

-Monday is the last time I took.

-What day are we on, Friday?

-Yeah.

-MCAT? Today?

I've partied from, like... Tuesday on MCAT.

How are you finding the depression on MCAT?

MCAT seems to, like, block out what's going on in my life,

do you know what I mean? I've got a hell of a lot going on.

I mean, I'm homeless. So it's like, you know, it's chaotic.

-My lifestyle is chaotic at the moment.

-How do you do MCAT?

-IV.

-IV, is it? Have you got any ulcers or anything?

I don't know if it's going to develop.

OK, well, I'll have a look at them.

It's red. It's inflamed, so...

-MCAT will destroy your veins quicker than heroin, OK?

-I know.

-It's destroying people quicker than heroin. Let me tell you.

-Yeah.

MCAT, also known as meow meow, is a highly addictive drug

and it's cheap,

so more and more young people are being arrested

for MCAT-related crimes.

Clearly, she's been partying for the last three days

and she freely admits she's been injecting MCAT.

And, although you didn't see it,

but she's got quite bad ulcers on her arms because she's injecting.

It's quite a caustic substance.

You can see the health deteriorating because of it.

Jadine's in no fit state for interview

so she's given a cell and encouraged to try and get some sleep.

MCAT is a Class B drug

and tackling its use is high on the agenda for South Wales Police.

In Pontypridd, Sgt Chris Peters is preparing for a drugs raid.

We've got a warrant now and we'll go down there now to execute it.

Primary concern is child concern. All right?

So for that reason it's going to be a soft knock to get in.

There are four children there. They're aged twelve down to age four.

And I don't want those children

getting upset by seeing a load of police traipsing through their house.

This suspected dealer has been on Sgt Peters' radar for a while.

Both us and the local authority are well aware that there

is drug misuse at the address.

Possibly the supply of controlled drugs, in particular MCAT.

MCAT is the scourge of society at the moment.

I've not seen anything like it in my 14 years' experience in the police.

It says 14 there, see it?

With no-one answering the door and armed with a warrant,

a more robust approach is required.

Dave is going to be getting our magic red key now, which opens most doors

and...

he'll be putting the door through.

-That's it.

-That's got it.

-There we are.

Obviously, there is no-one here or children in at the moment

so that's one relief, that they haven't been left here on their own.

What we're going to do now,

we're going to carry out a search of the house.

The priority is to find any evidence of drug use or dealing - fast.

There's a lot of used needles in there.

There doesn't appear to be any insulin in the fridge,

so it's not used as a diabetic...

Here's a mirror that we found on the fridge here.

If you look closely at that, there are white lines across there.

We'll be seizing that

because that may well be being used as the surface to cut the drugs.

Sarge! Found it.

It's not long before Officer Rhys hits the jackpot.

I don't need any tests to confirm to me what that is.

You can see the flaky texture of it.

-I'd say that's MCAT, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's quite flaky looking.

Mam is now an outstanding suspect

and the priority now is secure the evidence here and be deploying

some officers to locate Mam and arrest her this evening.

South Wales Police looks after 42% of the Welsh population.

And it's the job of the traffic cops to keep the roads safe and sound.

2758 Grand Avenue check-in. Yankee, Echo, 5-4.

Officer Peter Houle is on a night shift.

That car, I think, has just come off the pub forecourt so

I'm just going to have a look at that Clio

in case they've had a drink.

Hi, thanks for stopping. Just pop the engine off for me a sec.

Right, do us a favour, can I have a chat to my car a second?

We'll just try and sort this out.

Yeah, I can smell some alcohol on you, so I've got this lovely device

which I will now ask you just to blow into for me, OK?

So, nice, long, hard, continuous blow until I tell you to stop. Keep going.

Keep going, keep going, that's it.

So, as long as that number is 34 or less.

BEEPING

-OK, it's showing 52.

-OK.

So what that indicates to me is you might be over the drink-drive limit.

It doesn't say that you are but it gives me

an indication that you might be. So, based on what that tells me,

I've got to actually arrest you now on suspicion of drink-driving.

I've got to take you down to Cardiff Bay Police Station where we'll put

you on another machine and it's that machine that we go

by that'll tell us if you are or are not over the limit, OK?

Last year, nearly 2,000 people tested positive for alcohol

by South Wales Police

and those who drive after a few beers can risk losing their licence.

Just grab a seat there for me for a sec. The legal limit is 35.

This force, we don't prosecute you unless you're over 40.

So we give you, in effect, an extra five as well.

So we take the lowest number

and give you an extra five as well. So it's pretty fair.

So, the odds are sort of... The odds are pretty good.

You've got a sporting chance.

When you're ready away from the tube, breathe in...

HE GASPS

Get as much air as you can, then blow and keep it in the middle for like 10 seconds.

Blow, blow, keep going, bit harder, keep going, bit harder.

That's it, keep it there. Keep going. That's it. Great, that's one.

When you're ready, so get it in the middle and keep it there again.

Keep going, keep going. That's it, keep going.

Keep going. More, bit harder. Bit harder. That's it, perfect.

Grab a seat, mate. Well done.

-Do you want to know the result?

-Yeah.

-Your second one was 41.

So that's over. Your first sample was 38, which is under.

-You're under the limit.

-Lovely.

You've passed by the skin of your teeth.

That's about as close as it gets, yeah.

Second sample was over the limit, the first sample was under the limit.

So...

Yeah, he gets to keep his licence. So he's a happy chap.

Not everyone's as lucky to leave the custody suite scot-free.

Jadine?

Sergeant Darren Jones Mathias is checking in on Jadine, who needs to be

interviewed for the shoplifting charges made against her.

-Your moment has come.

-What?

-Sorry? Interview.

-Interview? OK.

But he's not happy.

-Have you been smoking anything in here?

-Smoking?

-I can smell an acrid smell.

-Acrid? There's some bruising.

-Hi, Jadine, all right?

-All right.

-Mick?

-Yeah.

Can you come down with Kate, or someone?

It smells like she's been smoking something or burning something

in here and she's a little bit more dopey than she was.

Can you give her a quick search and I'll just double-check on the camera.

-Check. Check all you like.

-We will.

-You can check all you like.

-Come on.

Clothing is routinely inspected on arrival in custody.

However, a full body search may be required

-if a detainee is suspected of concealing something.

-Sorry.

-Well, tough. You're not

-BLEEP

-doing...

-And give you some privacy.

-BLEEP,

-right.

-And I'm not, right, stripping off, right, for

-BLEEP

-you...

I haven't done nothing!

Shut the door while they do that.

The reason why we're strip searching her is

because when I went into the cell then, it smelt really acrid.

There is no smoking in the place, so has she been burning something?

It smelt like heroin to me and her eyes are all glazed again,

whereas she's quite clear, the last time we spoke to her.

I think she's probably been smoking something.

We can't interview her while she's intoxicated with something.

She is delaying the process.

I demand a solicitor. I didn't have a solicitor.

Jadine is going to have to wait again to be questioned.

I sprayed that one. Sorry.

In cell C29, Jackie and Leslie aren't wasting any time

clearing up after another unhappy occupant.

Ooh! That's disgusting.

Don't need a work-out when you do this, see the muscles.

When it comes to handling food, Jackie's got previous.

I used to be a catering manager. Ha, ha, ha.

Quite ironically.

Catering manager, coming to this, she's still in contact with food.

It just means it's all over the walls now as opposed to

dishing it up to somebody.

I just haven't got to cook it this time.

And I haven't got to serve it, just got to clean it.

As much as we clean them, I wouldn't want to be locked in one overnight.

Trust me, when my grandkids are old enough,

if ever they come in here, I'll be the first one to batter them.

Never mind their mum, I'll do it.

And there's no fear of me ever being locked in one.

Because I clean them.

-REPORTER:

-Does it give you a sense of satisfaction, looking at that?

-I'm quite proud of myself, are you?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, me too.

-Why not?

Got to blow your own trumpet sometimes.

-Somebody's got to, nobody else does it.

-No, nobody else does.

Back in the Rhondda Valleys, Sergeant Peters

and Constable Rees are on the hunt for the drugs raid suspect.

SHOUTING

When a few choice words bring them to a halt.

-Why, why say that?

-Why say that? What? Say what?

So you were having an argument with your friend,

so you thought you'd shout, "effing pigs" as we drove past?

That's just the way it goes, isn't it?

-Have you got anything on you you shouldn't have?

-Do you want to check me now?

-Yeah, we're going to search you because I can't understand why...

-No, honestly ,I insist, go on.

We're telling you we're going to search you

and the reason is your behaviour suggests you must be under the influence of something, all right?

I can't imagine a normal person would behave like you tonight.

-Stand away from the fence.

-No problem, yeah.

Sorry.

There's no need to tense up. No need to try and be tough. All right?

You've had your warning under the Public Order Act, all right?

You're going to make your way home quietly. Right?

Any further problems with you tonight, you'll be locked up.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-All right?

-Yeah.

-OK, off you go, then.

-Thank you very much.

-Goodbye.

Right, just make sure he gets home and doesn't get in any more trouble, all right?

Little bit disrespectful. So he's had his word of warning.

He can go home quietly. Any further problems, we'll lock him up.

With hundreds of bars and nightclubs, Cardiff is

a honeypot for party people seeking thrills and spills in the capital.

SIRENS WAIL

Traffic officer Peter Hoole has been

called to a 999 incident in the city centre.

I've got a report of what's called a PIRTC, which is

a personal injury road traffic collision in the city centre.

It's pedestrian versus taxi.

It's right outside The Castle, just down from Revolution,

so obviously it's chaos down here.

The vehicle has hit her stationary and that hasn't moved.

She's fallen onto the ground and landed underneath a parked

and unattended vehicle.

Until the medical team have assessed her injuries,

Officer Hoole holds the area as a potential crime scene.

All I seen was something come into the back of my car, and bang!

I felt the thud on the back of the car. I felt the car move, like.

-Taxi driver is the gentleman in the hoodie, yeah?

-Yeah.

-OK, you guys saw it all happen, yeah?

-Yeah.

Standard procedure if you've been involved in an RTC is to give you a quick breath test.

And basically, a nice, long hard blow into the end of the tube until I say stop.

That's it.

It's nought, as I'm sure you already knew. OK.

Obviously I've got to call out all the boys and toys now

if you're concerned this is life-threatening or potentially life-threatening.

-At the moment I don't think it's either.

-You don't?

-Thank you.

-All right.

-Thank you, Doc.

The patient was taken to hospital

and PC Hoole was able to clear the accident scene.

It could have been a lot worse, when you pick a fight with a taxi.

So, thank goodness the young girl now,

she's got a bit of a headache I think, but she's fine. She'll, er...

She'll obviously learn to look both ways now,

when she crosses the road next weekend when she goes out.

Down in Cardiff Bay, the custody suite provides 24/7 room service for the detainees.

Sergeant Jones Mathias and the team dish up around 500 of these ready

meals to their guests each week.

Everything's microwaveable, near enough... We've got lasagne.

Curries, tuna and pasta Italian,

one of the favourites is the all-day breakfast.

I'll show you my cooking skills right now.

As Delia would say, open the microwave.

Pop it in.

Press one. Start.

Lovely meal in seconds.

-REPORTER:

-Have you tried this one?

No. No, the smell of it cooked isn't pleasant.

That's not to say they haven't been tried and tested and they're approved by the Home Office,

but people are very keen on all-day breakfasts.

They can't seem to get enough of them. So they can't be too bad.

Right, ding. My dinner's done. I am the ding chef.

Give Delia a run for her money, anyway.

Take it down to him.

OK, mate. Still here.

Jadine has finally made it to the interview room

and is about to answer Detective Constable Nick Miller's

questions regarding her shoplifting spree with another drug user.

Roughly what time was it you woke up this morning?

Erm... Around nine.

I sent him to the shop to get some cans.

He bought four cans of Oranjeboom, 8.5.

Obviously I didn't...rocket fuel.

Erm, two cans of that and you're on your way, I'm telling you.

So we drunk them and then we had some MCAT,

we had a gram of MCAT between us.

And we went to Morrison's.

What did you think was going to happen when he was persuading you to go to Morrison's?

-What was going to happen?

-Just to fund my drug habit.

-All right.

When you've got the issues that I've got, do you know what I mean?

-It's hard to stop taking them because it helps, like, a bit.

-Yeah.

But it's hard for you to understand because you're not going through it,

-do you know what I mean?

-I appreciate that.

No-one will help me and that's the only reason I'm taking drugs at the moment.

You know, I'm sick of my life. That's how I feel.

-OK, are you in any kind of programme at the moment?

-No.

-Not at all?

-No.

In Rhondda Cynon Taf,

Sergeant Peters is playing a game of cat and mouse,

searching for the suspect wanted for possession of the MCAT.

She's probably on pins now, not knowing when she can go home,

not knowing if the police are waiting for her.

We've got absolutely no doubt she knows about what's gone on.

So...

..she's in limbo

and she's going to want some sort of conclusion

as to what's going to happen to her tonight.

The team have to check

every possible connection known to the suspect.

Right, that would appear to be an ex-friend who I kind of belief

doesn't know where she is, at the moment.

HIGH-PITCHED NOISE Certainly, the drums are beating down here

as to what's going on.

So she may well go to ground now.

I don't think she'll survive long doing that.

But we'll keep looking for a bit anyway.

And then suddenly,

the suspect appears.

It seems she's caught wind of the fact

that the police have raided her house.

Listen to what my colleague is going to say to you.

You're going to be arrested, OK,

on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs. OK?

You do not have to say anything

but it may harm your defence if you don't mention when questioned

something which you later rely on in court.

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

I'm going to put these on you, all right?

Cos you are under arrest.

-OK, not too tight, are they?

-No.

All right, let's get you in the back of the van.

It was obviously the right move to go in there

and take a search warrant

so that we could give the house a thorough search.

And apart from the welfare of the children,

now we've taken a large amount of the scourge of society, MCAT, off the streets.

And this is what this job is all about, really,

protecting the public and thinking on your feet.

Because the house was being used by many people to take drugs,

further investigation resulted

in another suspect being charged for the drugs found.

-'Police, what's your emergency?'

-'I'm lost in the woods.'

'I'm lost, I'm panicking,

'I've got a disability called Asperger's syndrome.'

'OK. We won't be too long, all right?'

Roads Policing Officer Peter Hoole is on the case.

Leave it to me, I'll find him. He does sound genuine.

-Do we know how old this guy is?

-'He's 20...'

-'I am now at a building.'

-'Which building?'

-'I think it might actually be Castell Coch.'

-'Castell Coch.'

'What we'll do, we'll get someone to meet you there, all right?'

Student Nathan has tried to walk home along the Taff Trail

to save money.

But he's lost his way in the woods.

'Where are you, mate?'

I am on foot, walking up a long, steep hill

towards Castell Coch,

shouting "Hello!" and shining a torch

and...nothing so far.

'He's on the way up to the top car park now

'so keep an eye out for me.'

Nathan?

Nathan, it's the police!

Oh, I'm getting too old for this. Especially at four the morning!

-Yes...

-OK, oh, I think I heard something. Stand by.

'Shout a bit louder. I think he got that so try again.'

Hello!

Yeah, I think I've got him. He sounds very close. Stand by.

-'Yeah, I see a torch.'

-'You see a torch? Yeah.'

-Nathan?

-Hello.

-Hello, mate. Let me shake your hand.

-I've never been more satisfied to see a police officer!

-Good man.

What are you doing up at Castell Coch

at four o'clock in the morning?

HE LAUGHS Trying to walk home!

-It backfired.

-It backfired, it did indeed.

-Very, very badly.

I think what you've done, at the very least,

you've earned yourself a ride home.

I think I've bitten off more than I can certainly chew!

Well, get a taxi next time. Come and jump in the front, mate.

Oh, you've got sandals on as well?!

-Oh, my goodness.

-Yeah.

Not exactly suitable footwear for a 25km walk.

-That's what I'm thinking.

-There we are.

Tonight's trek home has been a learning experience for Nathan.

Yeah, I'm fine.

I'm on my way home now... in a police car!

I felt absolutely terrible when I was at the top.

I was panicking, I was stressed out

and I've got Asperger's syndrome and that makes it a lot worse.

But the relief that I had from when I saw the officer...

it was indescribable.

It's kind of what I like about the job, I suppose,

is that you don't know what's going to happen

literally from one hour to the next, never mind one shift to the next.

In Cardiff Bay, Jadine is ready to be released.

I'm dressed...ish!

I'm going home.

If you could just sign to say you're getting your property back.

Will I go to prison?

-Will I activate my suspended sentence?

-Well,

you are on a suspended sentence so they may.

They may activate it, mightn't they?

It depends how much is left and what's...

I've been good with probation and that.

Don't get arrested!

Go on and bring your coffee with you.

Jadine's hunch was right.

Having breached her suspended sentence,

she was sent to prison for 12 months.

Next time on Police 24/7,

crime scene investigator Joey is looking for clues...

I don't see how you can examine a crime scene

if you are not getting into that mindset of that criminal.

..it's a proud day for the Chief Constable...

APPLAUSE Thank you.

..and new recruit Stacey gets a grilling

on her first day in uniform.

I hope she's got a boyfriend

cos she'd make a lovely little wife, I'm sure.

I'll have to keep kissing a few frogs, I think.