Uneasy Peace Police under Pressure

If we don't maintain a good performance in this month,

next month and in December, then we are in for a torrid time.

This programme contains strong language

British policing is under pressure like never before.

Forces up and down the country must cope with new types of crime,

ever changing targets

and the biggest cuts to their budgets in modern times.

We have vastly diminished resources,

we're losing staff hand over foot, we've got much less money

than we had to play with two years ago.

There's very much a feeling back at district that they've just

run out of staff and you're going to have a situation where you've got

literally nobody on.

South Yorkshire Police has more problems than most.

It's struggling to rebuild a reputation tainted by the tragedy

of Hillsborough.

And by some of the worst crime figures in Britain.

We are one of the worst performing forces in the country.

Now that's not something that I think is acceptable.

And tensions in its communities are threatening to boil over

into violence.

You're causing an atmosphere in this area

so that all the communities start fighting.

There's going to come a time when someone - I might lose my head -

might go out and do something stupid, you know what I mean?

MARCHERS CHANT "EDL"

Pressure is on - to improve its reputation,

to bring peace to its streets

and to do it all with a lot less money.

We are doing more for less, we're trying our best.

But there comes a break point, doesn't there?

And that's not just rhetoric from a DCI who's got a vested interest,

it's the truth.

East Sheffield, July 2013.

It's one of the most deprived parts of the country.

Lately a few streets in an area known as Page Hall

have become a battle ground for South Yorkshire Police.

Debs Parker has been a community patrol officer here for five years.

The issue with the kids hanging round, the parents are quite happy

for them to stay out till all hours.

And that affects people that have got to get up for work, really.

They're not doing anything other than talking

but it is classed as... people see it as antisocial.

In the last few years, around 700 Roma families from Slovakia

have moved into the area.

It's led to growing tension with the established communities

of Page Hall, who are mostly white British or Asian.

What about the Slovakians taking over, what do you think?

We can't go to schools no more because there's no places,

we can't go to the doctors' surgery cos there's no place.

Every time I've been to dentist it's full.

We've got no facilities. They've took over.

Community people are cutting facilities back because there's

no funding, it's not just about people coming in and taking over.

They nick everything. You'd be surprised.

I was walking down the street and I seen one and he had my clothes on!

They're the most dirtiest and pathetic people I've seen in my life.

-That's your opinion, which you're entitled to.

-They're like rats!

They are, honestly.

You see 'em in the street around about ten o'clock, 10-15 of them.

So you go outside and say to them,

"Look, can you just move, we've got kids sleeping,"

they'll still carry on talking.

Make a note of it, then I'll go and knock on and advise them and

if we keep doing it, eventually they'll get the message.

It's going to come to the point where it's going to become

a confrontation, do you understand?

And that's what we don't want.

It's the job of neighbourhood officers like Debs to patrol

the streets, offering reassurance and dealing with minor disputes.

In Page Hall, her role has become one of peacekeeper.

-Me in Slovakia, no problem.

-Where do you live?

Pakistani, no problem,

but we work in Slovakia, Pakistani are not working.

Right, OK.

All of you need to move now, right! Where do you live?

Right, you need to move now, please.

Unless you're using the shops, you're not to hang around.

Page Hall has seen racial tension before.

It took years for the Pakistani community to be accepted

by the white British.

Today both groups are united against the Roma.

They're just running up and down, it's like bedlam.

You know what I mean, you can't even sit in your own front room.

29 scratches on our car.

How long have you lived here?

29 year nearly, and for 27 years it's been quite all right,

but the last two years it's a bloody disgrace.

We can't understand how they lived in their own country.

They're wanting to come to better their life,

they're upsetting our life by doing it.

Never mind integrate, I'll be quite honest about it -

I just wish they'd take the bloody hook.

I'd just like to win the lottery and bugger off because

this place has had it round here.

Deb's boss, Inspector Simon Leake, is in charge of community policing

for north-east Sheffield.

Nobody told us that you can expect an increase of 700 families

in a very small area, and, oh, by the way, here's some extra

policing staff, here's some extra doctors, you know.

Here's some extra city council workers who will be able

to support that cos you'll need it - that didn't come.

And there is a tension between communities.

It's about cultural differences, poverty,

a lot of people in a very small area together.

Simon must keep the number of complaints

for antisocial behaviour - ASBs - below a certain figure.

The problems in Page Hall mean he's missing his targets

almost every day.

-WOMAN: I've just spoken to the sergeants about it.

-OK, thank you.

We'll start with yourself, Simon.

Morning, sir. Failed on the ASB front again, 43 ASB.

Mainly down at Page Hall?

So, erm, we just can't seem to get the ASB reductions right

at the moment, but we'll have a closer look at them and we'll see

what the issues are behind as many of them as we can and get them reduced.

OK. If you could review the ASB and come back to me tomorrow,

I'd appreciate that, Simon.

OK, will do.

LINE CONNECTS: Police Communications, Will speaking, how can I help?

How many people?

LINE DISCONNECTS

Night after night, Debs is called to Page Hall.

As the nights get warmer,

so the number of complaints against the Roma goes up.

I can't see anybody fighting.

-Who's fighting?

-Nobody, nobody.

Alpha, hotel 3, where's the call come from, please?

SHOUTING

We've had reports of 100 Slovakians fighting in the street

and then it changed to 10, and then it changed to 15.

We're just trying to defend our house, our residence.

I'm on this road every day telling these kids to get off the corner,

go to their own house, show a bit of respect.

We're British citizens, I'm born and bred here.

I'm English, I'm proud to be British, you get me?

But this bullshit we have to put up with day in, day out.

You don't do nothing. You come round once.

We're here every night to help you.

OK, that's your spot, let me talk to the camera.

They come once and then five minutes later all the kids are back

but the coppers aren't.

I don't know why people are blaming Roma,

always "The Roma community did that, the Roma community are doing this."

But all different communities living in this country. Not only just Roma.

Some in the community may want Debs to clear the streets

but she has no power to do so,

as she hasn't seen anyone break the law.

Sh! You don't live here.

Somebody... Can you tell them, they don't live there,

they need to go in their garden, it's not good for them.

SPEAKS TO CHILDREN IN OWN LANGUAGE

All she can do is try and persuade them to move on.

Too many people,

need to go home, please, thank you.

You all need to be going inside now.

I don't want to see you on the streets, all right?

Thank you.

See you tomorrow, folks.

Routine community patrols in Page Hall just don't seem to be working.

The tension is getting worse.

And the number of complaints of antisocial behaviour is rising.

Simon decides he must take more drastic measures.

He will ask his District Commander for a special order,

giving the police increased powers known as a Section 30.

It's no better down there in terms of the crowds, you know,

at the moment we can go to some of these groups

and we can ask them to move, but they come back.

I've personally attended incidents where the patrol group officers

have turned up and there's large groups of people

becoming involved in skirmishes and fights with each other.

And the Section 30 will allow us to say, "Don't come back

"and reform as a group or you'll end up, you'll find yourself in court."

It's clear that you've got a rising antisocial behaviour problem

in this particular community, so I'm more than happy to move forward

and sign off the Section 30,

but what I don't want to see is ourselves

back in this position again next summer.

The Section 30 will start in Page Hall in a week.

It will give the police the power to break up groups

they suspect might commit antisocial behaviour

and to impose a night-time curfew on teenagers.

Is it a dispersal order?

Yes, it's going to be in place until the 17th of November.

You need it, cos it's horrible here, I mean, you know yourself, innit?

Women breast-feeding their kids at 10 o'clock in the evening in the street.

-Right, OK.

-It's just not on, is it?

Local people that can't live our normal lives, innit?

All the best to you, love.

All right, thanks, bye-bye. Hopefully it will work, so...

Yeah, I hope so.

Page Hall isn't the only problem on Simon's patch.

Just three miles away is Parson Cross.

It's another area of high unemployment and high crime.

But the residents here are predominantly white British.

For the past six months, a Section 30 has been in place here

and helped reduce antisocial behaviour.

But it's just ended and the problems are coming back.

Why don't you go and play on a field?

-Cos fields are crap.

-"Cos fields are crap"?

PC Christine Fisher has patrolled this area for five years.

Go and hang about somewhere else. Come here, come here.

What happened at court today?

-Nowt, I'm going tomorrow.

-You're going tomorrow?

-Yeah.

-Oh, yeah, it's Friday, isn't it? Right, OK.

Right, I don't want to see any of you lot round here.

You can come back when youth club is open.

But don't hang about here, cos we're having complaints about you.

Go on, then.

Two of them are in court tomorrow for, well,

one assaulted myself, spat in my face and had a knife on him.

And the other one's racial harassment towards the takeaways.

And we had a Section 30 in the area and it's just

finished unfortunately, so we can't even disperse them at the minute.

We've just moved you from there. Why are you going back?

For the six months of the Section 30,

Parson Cross was flooded with police.

With increased powers of arrest and a 9pm curfew for teenagers,

it helped keep the figures for antisocial behaviour down.

But all that may be about to change.

The residents are definitely worried in this area that the Section 30

is not on any more, because the Section 30 in Page Hall has

just started, all resources will be down in Page Hall.

So we'll just have to manage it as best as we can, I think.

Every neighbourhood team wants more officers on their patch.

The problem is that the force is being hit by the biggest cuts to its budget in modern times -

a total of £75 million.

And this means fewer neighbourhood officers, not more.

Deputy Chief Constable Andy Holt is responsible for ensuring

South Yorkshire Police balances its books.

Over the next three or so years, you're looking at 300

police officers going from the organisation,

about 100 PCSOs, so that's almost a third of our PCSOs.

We're talking about a further 350 police staff in addition to

the hundreds of police staff that we've already lost, and so those

are going to be really challenging figures to achieve,

as we go forward and the budgets are reducing significantly.

I think it would be naive of me to say we're going to be able

to deliver exactly the same level of policing with the cuts that we face.

Each week, Andy meets with his officers to ensure the force

is on track to deliver future cuts.

And neighbourhood policing is top of the list.

You'll see that from today's date to get us to the 31st of March 2015,

the force needs to save £35 million and we're seeking to take

somewhere round £11.5 million out of district policing

and the force has already started thinking about

how we would seek to address continued cuts

in '16, '17 and '17, '18.

Years two and three of the next period.

Yeah, it's taken us some while to get to the point where everybody

says, all right, I get the scale and the challenge.

My reading of the rumours is, we're in for austere times

for us, as far as the eye can see at the moment.

Afternoon, everybody! Right, let's crack on then.

It's week one of the Section 30 in Page Hall

and Simon has planned a show of force.

Today we are all pretty much going to be in Page Hall,

I want to make sure everybody knows down there in those

communities how serious we are taking this.

A really robust approach to policing the Section 30, breaking up

the groups and making a visible show of breaking up the groups

and talking to people, making sure that they understand that

when the group is broken up,

it doesn't reform either somewhere locally or later on in the evening.

Take time to explain to people, especially those who don't

understand English so well, you've all got your translation cards

and make sure that they are clear about what we mean down there.

Simon has drafted in officers from across his area -

including those from neighbouring Parson Cross.

And for today only he's been lent staff from other units in the force.

We might be tripping over ourselves a little bit, but I want people

to be left with the impression that we've been down here.

You know, what stronger message can you get than actually

investing police resources into an area?

You see, these need moving on.

Go inside, please.

All right, mate, if you look up and down Popple Street

and Iron Street, there's about 60, 70 kids on here all booting balls

against the wall and staff.

Can I get some people down here to get them dispersed and cleared off?

With the order now in place, the police have the power to

break up groups they suspect might commit antisocial behaviour.

What are you doing, fellas? Get off then.

See you later, boys.

I don't want to see anybody on this street any more.

-Get rid of them.

-All right.

And if they start coming back, they've already been warned.

Are you going in? Hey! Go on.

We've just cleared all this lot.

I want to keep it clear now of people.

CAR HORN BEEPS

I've just said one minute.

Just give him a ticket, just give him a ticket.

INDISTINCT

As night falls, the police enforce the curfew against teenagers.

Guys, you need to go home, please. Come on, curfew time.

-Are you getting off now, fellas?

-Yeah, yeah, going.

THEY MUMBLE

OK, good night.

I know it's like herding cats, but some of these are young kids

that need telling, "Get off and get home and get in now."

Simon and his team patrol the area, asking anyone

still on the streets to go home.

Slovakia no good, England good.

-You going home now?

-Yes.

I've just spoken to one of the PCSOs, just be a little bit more robust

about the approach but the faster we clear people...

HORN BEEPS

The faster we clear people, the quicker they get back out

but we've got to deal with it

because if I lived in one of these

houses here and this was happening every single night, I'd be desperate.

Are you moving on then, fellas? I've asked you once.

That's going to generate about 50 calls of antisocial behaviour in the morning.

With Page Hall now the priority, Parson Cross has lost its regular

neighbourhood patrols.

There's just not enough officers to cover

both areas, and the residents of Parson Cross are starting to notice.

CAR HORN BLASTS

I know that predominately we're focused around Page Hall,

away from our area, and I know that feedback's coming in

from communities, "Where are you? Where are you?"

I'll open it up to you all,

is there anybody who wants to talk about it first?

What is there to talk about? We're not getting onto it.

We're not touching those areas.

I got a job up there on Thursday, I think, I went up

and people were saying, "Oh, I thought you were dead,

"Oh, I thought you'd retired. Oh, where you been?"

It is difficult and I think we are going to have a difficult time,

trying to manage being elsewhere.

And reassuring our community that we are still doing what we're doing

-but we have to be realistic with them as well.

-Oh, I know.

We have to be honest, and I think that's...

I'm being honest, I'm just going to say, "Why you down there?"

"Because I'm directed." "By who?"

"Well, the gaffer. "Well, we're not happy." "Well, phone the gaffer.

"I'll quite happily give you his number if you want!"

The realism is, I can't say you can go out today

and start patrolling, that's not going to happen,

there's just physically not that many people.

The resources will go where the resources need to go at the moment

and the decision is, they'll be there.

The depleted number of police officers in Parson Cross

has led to an increase in antisocial behaviour.

Although the neighbourhood team has stopped their regular patrols,

officers must still answer emergency calls about disturbances

in the area.

Go on, then. I need you to go.

Without the Section 30, there's no curfew for teenagers

so once again, groups are roaming the streets.

Guys, it's your last warning, you better go.

Oi!

Officer 1.

Go ahead.

We've got some large groupings again around Buchanan Shops.

Have we got a dog man booked on tonight, please?

Where do you want us, mate?

As the situation escalates, a youth is arrested.

YOUTH PROTESTS

Get in the van!

What the fuck have I done? What the fuck have I done?

But he'd been warned multiple times.

We had five cars, there were three dog men and two beat cars.

It's escalated because we've not been in the area,

we've been tasked elsewhere.

They've been left to just run riot up there and they just think

they can get away with anything and everything.

It has just escalated and escalated and obviously it has

become a problem now and we've got to tackle it,

so I think we've got a bit of a battle on us hands.

For the past three weeks, Page Hall has been getting all the attention.

But despite the greater police presence,

and the increased powers of the Section 30, many local residents

are still unhappy.

Guess what everybody's talking about? Section 30 not working.

Just tell me your opinion on it - has it worked so far?

It's difficult, it's not as straightforward as you may think.

We can't just break up any old group.

-There are other jobs to do.

-Have you got something in pipeline?

Something more severe than Section 30? What's next up from Section 30?

This isn't just about policing an area,

it's about the litter, it's about the numbers of people in the area,

it's about the type of housing we've got.

We probably pick up antisocial behaviour problems

-because of other issues that have put people into an area...

-Yeah, we don't disagree with that.

We don't want to move, we don't think we should, but it's become...

I sympathise with the whole situation, I really do.

What are they waiting for? World War Three to kick off in here?

Many residents were convinced the Section 30 would clear

the streets of the Roma.

The problem is, these residents have a very different view

to the police of what counts as antisocial behaviour.

With this Section 30 now, with this new direction, none of them

have been antisocial or it's a case of "What is antisocial?"

40 people stood outside a chip shop,

people may see as intimidating, having to walk past them.

It is intimidating if you've got to walk past them.

But what are they doing that's antisocial?

All they're doing is standing, chatting.

But this is where we've got to get the message across and

everybody's rights balanced up here, because people have got a right

to a private life or go wherever they please in freedom, but equally.

-It's the way of the Slovakian community, to stand in the street and chat, that's what they do.

-Yes.

That's not, in my opinion, what I would call antisocial but I can see

why other members of the community might think it's antisocial.

If you're not happy that it's not antisocial behaviour,

-don't do anything in terms of act.

-But the issue with the community,

they're expecting us to move on groups.

That's the expectation of the Asian community.

That the Slovak groups will be moved on.

They're even telling us, "There's a group there, move them."

Well, then you say to them, "We can't unless there is."

I think we're heading for a fall.

I think it's been rightly or wrongly explained to the Asian community

that groups will be moved on.

And that's their expectation now and that's what being used to keep

a lid on it for last few months, this up and coming Section 30

and this is going to happen and now it's not happening.

I think we're going to go back to problems with them, it might erupt.

The Section 30 was supposed to reduce community tensions.

But the perceived failures of the police mean it may be having

the opposite effect.

I understand that you need to communicate with our new

neighbours and you need to build some sort of relationship

with them, but I really do think it's sending out the wrong message.

What, by communicating with the community?

No, by not doing anything. It's all high visibility and no action.

If they're not being antisocial then...

Can you define antisocial?

If people are kicking the ball against your window

-or anything like that.

-Well, they do that every single day,

every single day. I can show you at least 20 scratches

that I've got on my car. Is that antisocial?

-Is that criminal damage?

-If you see someone do it, then you...

That's the thing, how do you see somebody doing it?

Well, if people, if you see somebody doing it...

Do I have to keep an eye on it 24 hours a day?

-..then we can do something about it.

-That's the thing, I don't.

It's causing a lot of problems, but you don't see that.

I want people to understand the difficulties that the police face

when they are dealing with this multicultural issue.

That people are perceiving the Section 30 as a kind of

"clear up the streets" order,

they think it's the saviour of the area

and we have to break that myth sometimes.

YOUTHS LAUGH

The protests of the Asian community in Page Hall has caught

the attention of the far right English Defence League, the EDL.

Rumours are spreading that a local derelict pub is going to become

a mosque, and the EDL has threatened to march

through the area to stop it.

Adding the far right to the problems of Page Hall

is the last thing Simon needs.

If they turned up there,

a right wing group in that area

to demonstrate against a mosque without any police intervention,

then I would anticipate there'd be high risk of disorder.

I think there were about 175, weren't there,

that they were saying they were going to protest.

You might need to open a Silver up to manage intelligence

and look at a forward planning process.

It's a Saturday, we've got limited cover on Saturdays

and if they do tip up, we need somebody just to make a definitive

decision about what they feel.

OK, we need to sit down and come up with a plan

to make sure we've got coverage.

There's a likelihood of community tensions rising and disorder

because some people turn up and they've got different views.

We need to keep looking at the community and making sure

that we're not missing something really, and that we're reassuring.

Starved of its routine police patrols,

Parson Cross is generating more and more complaints.

CALL CONNECTS

Police emergency.

-WOMAN:

-Hiya, there's about 15 youths outside.

Racial abuse, saying, "Who do you think you are, stupid Pakis?"

And things like that.

Officers are travelling over, OK?

Just advising you to stay inside and don't get involved, all right?

The neighbourhood team is regularly called to a takeaway shop -

a favourite hang out for local youths.

Why don't you just leave him alone?

Why don't you just move on down here? Him.

Bothering people.

So why don't you just move on?

Go out of way before everybody starts ringing up.

-YOUTH:

-You are gorgeous, you.

YOUTHS LAUGH

INDISTINCT SPEECH FROM YOUTH

Eh?

If you're grouping here in gangs of 20 or 30,

you're intimidating people.

People won't come to shops because they're scared.

-We know everyone round here, they won't be scared.

-They are, they're ringing us.

Normal people wanting to pick takeaways up.

You must not enjoy...

Come away. Come away.

I'm just waiting for a meal. I'm hungry.

Move away and stop bothering them.

Here, shall we get a football off someone?

I'm pissed off with just wandering about, paying them lip service.

It just makes us look stupid.

The one with the hood up who doesn't want to be on film but keeps bothering us.

Without any clear evidence of a crime,

there's nothing the police can do.

But they are soon called again.

CALL CONNECTS

Police emergency.

Hi, I rang up before, I rang up about two, three times this evening.

You've already called us, have you?

-Yes, I have.

-Was it Sanco's?

That's right, the takeaway.

Can you please, please, please do something about it?

-It's not getting better, it's becoming worse.

-Right.

And the police are still not doing nothing about it.

Oi, you lot need to move away from here now.

Go and hang around somewhere else.

Where, though?

Somewhere else, other than here.

Come on, guys, I've asked you nicely.

Go on, go home.

THEY LAUGH AND CHATTER

Hello. Something else gone off?

Same ones?

The problem we've got is we've got no power to remove them

unless they're actually doing anything.

If you have any more problems tonight, phone us on the 101 number.

-Whooooooooo!

-Goddamn!

THEY LAUGH

They've done my head in.

I'm going to ask for it on Wednesday.

I know.

I've said that, we've got no powers to move them on at all.

And it's very, very frustrating.

I want to be able to take these kids to justice.

I want to give peace to the people that are phoning in.

But one, I haven't got the power to do so.

And two, I've not got enough evidence at the minute to do it,

it's frustrating, and I've not got enough staff

or there's not enough staff to physically get hold of these kids.

I mean, I've tried everything, speaking to them like an adult

and then they talk to you like rubbish,

so I spoke to them like rubbish back.

I've tried to offer them, you know, everything

and they just don't respond at all.

They're bored. That's their excuse, they're bored,

there's nothing to do.

"You tell us where we can go. Where can we hang out?"

It's like, "Anywhere other than here."

Later that same evening, Christine is back, responding to yet another

emergency call about the same group of youths.

Move. Move, no, move.

Because I've told you to move.

Move, go home because I'm sick of all of you. This is the fifth time

we've been up here tonight because of your lot.

Shift. Yes, shift.

I see you're all hard now, aren't you? Love it,

absolutely love it.

Go on, go on.

-Come on.

-Get the fuck off me now.

YOUTH: Chase, man, chase, chase!

You're coming, you're coming. Threatening to smash my face in.

Simon has called a meeting to discuss the worsening situation

in Parson Cross.

For Christine and the other officers on the ground, the answer is simple.

More cops and the greater power offered by a Section 30.

We have not got enough staff, we really haven't,

last night there was Fran and Chris out

and there was at least 40, 50 kids out on the street.

How can you do that?

You can't, it's impossible, so you might as well just withdraw

from the area because you make a target for yourself as well,

as well as the victims, you're making a target for yourself.

I'll go round the table and give me the intelligence

as you see it generally, and paint that picture of what we've got.

It's focusing on Parson Cross and as I understand it,

it relates to young people getting well out of hand.

We've got, obviously, loads and loads of incidents called in

from Sanco's, which is owned by the Aslan family,

we've got a load counted.

There's about 20 kids, but 10...

..well known. They've been dragging customers out of the shop

and things like that. And they've been attacking the staff

at Sanco's, but again, no specific people identified for that either.

We've got no power and they were just stood there going,

"Why, what are you going to do?"

I feel like my hands are tied, they're just walking all over us,

they're making us look stupid.

We are struggling, we really are struggling.

All right, so the case is made for the necessity,

the case is made that there's problems there.

I dread to say it, but we might be in dispersal order zone again.

That's going to be a real tough one for me

to manage, not necessarily justify.

But we've obviously got one in Page Hall.

And it's difficult to resource it at best.

My view at the moment is that it's no good implementing an order

that we can't resource.

We'll not go running round the area for them,

we'll only intervene where there's a significant risk of harm

that you would expect us to intervene with.

Simon can't give the team what they want.

He just doesn't have the officers.

It's ripe for a Section 30 this area,

and if I had the resources to do it, I would definitely take that

approach, but I'm mot sure at the moment, in the climate

that we're at, with pressures in other areas of Sheffield,

that it would be the right way forward,

so sometimes you have to pick your battles.

The contrast with Page Hall is striking.

A continuous and heavy police presence coupled with

the greater powers of the Section 30 has continued over the summer.

But the tensions surrounding the Roma community have just got worse.

The police call a residents' meeting to defuse the situation.

-MAN:

-Tensions are building up on the streets, you can either do

something or someone else will do.

Word is spreading. You're going to come out

and it'll be too late for you. We want our streets back.

APPLAUSE

I've told him, I told him last week and I mentioned to him,

he didn't want to hear the word tension.

He's got no answer after Section 30. What's going to happen after?

I understand your point. Your hands are...

But your officers have got to do a little bit more.

It's not working, your police officers don't do nothing.

They don't. And there will come a time,

we don't want to do nothing, we live here but don't cause trouble,

I'm not a bad guy, but there's going to come a time

where somebody - I might lose my head, I might go out

and do something stupid.

You keep telling us that they're not being antisocial,

they spit on floor - that's being antisocial. They litter

on the floor, that's antisocial. But you still won't move them.

I personally think you're causing an atmosphere in this area

so that all the communities start fighting.

This is what's going to happen in the end, this what you're doing.

You're forcing our hand and if you want us to fight, just tell us when.

And watch a fight.

Their patience is short and what concerns me now is that they

were actively talking about taking action of their own.

I'm genuinely concerned that whatever plan we need

to increase activity in the area, police wise, and reassurance wise,

we need to get on with it.

So I just need to evaluate what we've got,

cos the world's changed since we've been down at PACT.

We need a plan for the next 48 hours I think,

certainly the rest of tonight and tomorrow night,

but I think if we up the visibility now,

we might head off something that could affect us long into the future.

Simon decides to deploy his team to patrol Page Hall that night

and briefs his District Commander on the growing threat to the area.

Sarah, it's Simon Lee, good evening to you, are you all right?

It's something that might affect us over the next 48 hours

which I'm concerned about. The PACT meeting today was a bit...

It was more than fractious, about 100 people turned up.

There was a call to arms tonight by some of the Pakistani community,

a real group had begun to develop.

I think over the next 24-48 hours we could see

some dust ups happening, we could see some organisation behind

some of those groups who are making new friends with an anti-Roma line.

With the heavy police presence, the streets remain calm.

The following day, Simon briefs the District Command team

who will assess the level of risk and decide what needs to be done.

The issues around Fir Vale and Page Hall really were crystallised

for us last night at the PACT meeting that you chaired, Simon,

we spoke late last night.

That is the most heated meeting that I've been to, of many heated

meetings at Fir Vale, and I had concerns about the call of action,

really, and I think it's a racist overtone,

"We want our streets back,"

and that was kind of reciprocated by cheers, applause and

people standing up and, you know, cheering those who were most vocal.

We are aware of a Facebook, a closed Facebook group and a closed

physical group of people who are meeting, and my sources say that

that is a pretty racist torrent of anti-Roma verbalisation, if you want.

OK. If the groups who are beginning to talk in vigilante terms

and taking issues into their own hands gather momentum

we're going to see somebody get hurt.

And that's either somebody from -

somebody who they perceive to be from the Roma-Slovak community

and indeed if that harm is brought, then there's likely to be

reprisal, so we could see harm and injury all round.

Who were the people last night making the verbal threats around,

"if you don't do something, we will," because I'd like us

to intervene with these people before they gather any momentum.

I'm not suggesting they are offenders

but they might be the subjects we want to focus on to try and mitigate

any hostility or violence towards Roma-Slovak community.

With violent racial conflict now a very real possibility,

the far right EDL has seized its chance.

Its leaders have announced that they will, after all,

be holding a march between Parson Cross and Page Hall.

This is despite the fact that the derelict pub that was rumoured

to be turning into a mosque

is actually likely to become a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Good morning, everyone.

Assistant Chief Constable Max Sahota will lead the operation

to police the march.

So just in terms of community tensions...

OK, sir, a couple of things then.

The EDL are very aware of the recent community tensions in Page Hall.

The reality of the pub not becoming a mosque, it's going to be

a corporate fast food outlet, is now secondary to their intentions

for the day.

We expect the presence of the EDL to attract counter protest

and an adverse reaction from local Muslim communities

and protest groups.

They genuinely seem to see this as an opportunity for recruitment

with the demographics of the area they're going to,

they think they'll get a lot of local community support.

That's the dynamic that really concerns me because

the area where they're intending to have that assembly is between

two distinctly different areas.

On one side you have essentially white, British communities -

Longley, Southey and Parson Cross -

and conversely on the other side of Barnsley Road, you've got

some very diverse communities.

And it's the reaction that you can potentially get within those communities

that's the added dimension that causes me some real concern.

We need to get out to our communities

so that they understand why we're doing what we're doing,

the fact is that banning... we can't ban certain things.

Whatever our views are on the EDL,

what we have to do is we have to ensure that we allow them to

have their peaceful protest, because that's what they're legitimately allowed to do, that's the law.

So we allow them to protest, we protect our communities

and we safeguard the city and that's what we're about.

On the morning of the march,

Debs and other members of the neighbourhood team are out

in Page Hall, reassuring people that their streets will be kept safe.

Just come to make sure everything's all right today,

are you aware of the EDL march today?

We're just patrolling the area and want to make sure you're safe

-and everything's all right.

-Yeah.

-So you've not heard of anybody

-potentially getting involved or anything?

-No.

Right, OK, we're going to be in the area, a couple of us

all day circling round, so any problems, just give us a shout.

The force has taken the threat of disorder very seriously.

It's a huge and complex operation, involving 1,200 officers

from 15 different forces.

We think there will be about 500 to 600 EDL supporters today.

And it will be South Yorkshire Police - a force struggling to fund

regular neighbourhood patrols - that will have to foot the entire bill.

You can never be sure about how many people you're going to get.

I'm damned if I do, dammed if I don't,

because if I have not enough resources and it all kicks off

and there's massive huge disorder and we get big riots

and vehicles burning, well, I've not had enough resources,

I've not kept the streets safe.

If I have too many cops and nothing happens then I've got

to justify the use of those cops somewhere along the line

to local politicians and to the public I suppose, ultimately.

Yeah, serial ready for deployment, over.

Neighbourhood Officer Gayle Kirby, will patrol the area

between predominately white Parson Cross

and ethnically mixed Page Hall.

The tensions are running a little bit high there,

so there's every possibility that people could jump onto that issue.

We've got a combination that could cause us a lot of problems.

-Thank you.

-Cheers, mate.

Cheers, pal.

Summary EDL meeting up there, marching to Sheffield Lane.

It's the area that divides basically

the two communities that are at odds.

We are basically the meat in that sandwich, we've got to keep

these two opposing factions apart.

If there are problems between the two communities today,

it's going to take a lot a lot of work to get confidence back

and to get those people living together.

THEY CHANT "EDL"

Local Asian and anti-fascist groups have turned up

to oppose the EDL march.

-THEY CHANT:

-Whose streets? Our streets! Whose streets? Our streets!

They have over 40 mosques in Sheffield,

at which point does diversity become takeover?

Got 20 Asian males congregating at the rear of

the opposition groups, who are currently putting on masks.

There are 20 at the county demonstration site.

They are further forward towards Barnsley Road

but no issues.

The concern that I have is that if you get one incident where the

Asian youths attack an EDL member, the EDL attack an Asian youth,

it just sparks a critical incident and just escalates.

# I'm England till I die

# I know I am, I'm sure I am I'm England till I die... #

The EDL try to break through police lines towards

the Asian demonstrators.

Move forward 40 metres. please. Show of strength.

They made a concerted effort to push through

but Simon did an excellent job in containing that,

and they now seem to be moving in an orderly fashion back to Wordsworth.

I think we've just about won.

For the police, the operation is judged a success.

Hostile groups have been kept apart

and the local streets have remained peaceful.

The cost for the force of policing this single event

is nearly half a million pounds.

In Page Hall,

the Section 30 is still in force, as are the regular police patrols.

Off the road, off the road!

The streets are quieter - the longer, colder nights

have forced most people indoors.

But few expect this uneasy peace to last for long.

I think I've learnt that personally to resolve

the issues of Page Hall is out of my hands.

And you've got to sometimes accept it's going to take a lot longer

than anticipated, the problem might get worse before it gets better.

Lads! Take the football to the park.

In Parson Cross, regular neighbourhood patrols

have been stepped up,

but the area is still plagued by antisocial behaviour.

Gayle and the team are doing the best they can

to take the culprits off the streets.

We're here to formally arrest you on suspicion of racially aggravated

harassment times two and racially aggravated section four.

Next time it'll be three o'clock in the morning, the door'll go through.

We're trying to be straight with you, he's a 16-year-old kid

for harassment and what they're subject to up there,

whether he says he's involved or not, is appalling.

-That's your opinion and he's got to have his say.

-Exactly.

But he's not, he's run off and that's what we're saying to you.

He's responsible for his own actions and I haven't told him

to do what he's just done, run off.

I could've handcuffed him, grabbed hold of him,

dragged him out, but I chose not to because you're here as his mother.

-Somebody has to take some responsibility.

-And control.

South Yorkshire Police faces a further £42m in cuts

over the next four years.

The entire neighbourhood policing budget is now under review.

Even the limited service offered in Parson Cross may soon become

a thing of the past.

To me, the future is quite bleak.

This is the first time in my career where we have

seen people saying to us, well, you haven't got that option because

there is no money for that.

I certainly think that the sense of neighbourhood policing needs

to be at the heart of everything but ultimately as an organisation,

we need to make some decisions about how we spend the money.

We've just had a call that the male from earlier on has been sighted.

No.

SHE SIGHS

This is the problem, it is resource intensive,

it's a pain in the backside, to be quite honest with you.

But equally, we need to speak with him.

-OFFICER OVER RADIO:

-We've got him.

'Control to all officers,

'he has been detained, cancel observations and searches.'

Expensive baby sitting.

Locked up till Monday!

YOUTHS CALL BACK

You stand or fall in terms of burglary,

as a force, in Sheffield.

If we don't maintain good performance in this month, next month

and December, then we are in for a torrid time.