Episode 4 Street Patrol UK

Our lives are blighted by antisocial behaviour.

Whether it's nuisance neighbours, graffiti on the streets

or too much booze.

Come in, enjoy yourself, have a drink, but don't be a twit all night.

This is the story of police officers, council wardens

and local volunteers, whose job it is to keep it off our streets.

There's some things that people don't want to see that we're out to try and put a stop to.

Welcome to Street Patrol UK.

Coming up on today's programme.

Extraordinary scenes of outrageous behaviour on residential streets.

It was that loud that all you could hear was cars, engines screaming,

just racing up and down the road.

Policing the passengers trying to get home after a big night out.

You're not fit enough to travel. You will not be going on a train.

And Paws on Patrol, the dog picking up litter on its daily walks.

Lucky, tidy!

It just makes it nicer for everyone.

We've all seen boy racers tearing around the streets at high speed,

weaving in and out of traffic.

It's not just antisocial, it's also dangerous.

One slip of the wheel and who knows what might happen.

That's bad enough if there was one or two idiot drivers, but imagine if there were hundreds

racing around the roads near you almost every night of the week.

ENGINES ROAR

That's what we're looking at in Cannock in Staffordshire.

Dozens and dozens of drivers have been meeting up on public roads with one thing in mind.

Street racing.

To make matters worse,

many more people have been pitching up to spectate,

basically encouraging them in their extreme antisocial behaviour.

There's even kids there.

I'm particularly upset about them doing it because a friend of mine,

who I knew quite a few years ago, was killed on that stretch of road

by not a joyrider but somebody speeding, so that's very sad and

I think it's dangerous. People with speed should be severely punished

and have their cars destroyed. The harder the police come down on them,

the better for me in my opinion.

Racing at speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour,

and performing stunts,

doesn't just drive other road users round the bend,

car engines revving to achieve high speeds create huge noise

at a time when lots of people are trying to sleep.

When all this started,

it was a Sunday evening in August,

a nice warm evening, we'd got the windows open, we went to bed

at ten o'clock-ish,

and then, er,

at about 10:15, 10:30,

the boy racers started with their antics.

This is happening probably half a mile to a mile away

from where we're living.

And it was that loud

that all you could hear was cars, engines screaming,

just racing up and down the road.

I don't think they really care, or even think, about, you know, people

who are living nearby who might want a nice bit of peace and quiet.

I don't think they even think about that.

It's just, oh, look at me, look what I'm doing, to all their mates.

I'm the big boy.

This wasn't a one-off. The street racers had first started meeting on Sunday evenings,

and it wasn't long before they were causing havoc several nights a week.

It just got me wound up.

It was unbearable. So I thought, no, no more, I've had enough.

So that's when I phoned the police.

Noise pollution, it impacts on people's lives at home,

people nowadays want to sit at home

and not listen to the screaming engines, revving engines and tyres.

ENGINES REV

This is not just a problem for Staffordshire Police.

It's also a big issue for the officers of the neighbouring West Midlands force.

At one location they had a staggering 400 cars congregating ahead of a race.

They were turning up en masse.

This is a residential road.

It's used by members of the public,

it is a 40 mile an hour speed limit.

And the fastest speed that we recorded was 127 miles an hour.

The daredevil drivers were even using the traffic lights

to start their races, trying to imitate Formula One.

Lots of the local residents wouldn't use this stretch of the road

through fear of being involved in an accident.

If a vehicle was to lose control

travelling at in excess of 100 miles an hour,

there's be significant multiple fatalities.

The first approach was to try and engage with these individuals

and try and gain a rapport with them.

But that was thrown back in our face

by vehicles being criminally damaged

and officers coming under attack

via stones and bricks being thrown on several occasions.

So we engaged in a covert filming,

whereby we put in a number of cameras.

Over the course of about three months,

there were about 800 or so offences.

To date, we have had over 300, um,

successful prosecutions.

And many of them have been driving bans.

There's no doubt this is not only antisocial, it threatens lives.

Staffordshire Police and the local council

felt the situation was so dangerous they had to move up a gear.

They decided to apply for an injunction from the High Court stopping street racing,

or car cruising as they call it.

We filmed some of the activity because I wanted to display

to the court just how bad the problem was,

so that they could see it from the community's perspective.

They also had a radically different way of

expressing the residents' distress and annoyance.

Thousands of people view our Facebook page every day.

We set up a simple snap survey, which is a simple multiple-choice

and comments' box survey linked to the page

where people could go on there and tell us how much they agreed with

the problem, or disagreed with the problem, and put their own comments.

These are what the people thought about things.

The bigger the word, the more often it appeared in our survey.

"How does it make you feel?" "Upset", "angry" and "annoyed". This is what the public were telling us,

and this is what we were able to present to the court to help portray what was going on.

It was a very simple way of letting hundreds of people have a voice

in court about the nuisance, the danger that they felt was happening in Cannock.

And the High Court has granted the injunction.

It covers a huge area of Cannock, and anyone found in breach

will be taken to court, where they could be fined, or sent to prison for up to two years.

And the injunction tackles more than dangerous driving.

It also covers all the added irritating antisocial problems

associated with the meetings.

So, for instance, playing the car radios or CDs loudly,

littering, shouting, swearing,

any kind of unacceptable behaviour is also included

within that injunction in relation to car cruising activity.

Since then it does seem to be a hell of a lot better.

You get the occasional one car you can hear racing a bit,

but it does seem to have cured the problem.

This is great news for Dave and all the other residents.

It's worth pointing out there is also no time period attached to the injunction.

It will run indefinitely, and that means it should stop the racers in their tracks - for good.

One of the most common antisocial problems is

when neighbours play their music so loud it's deafening.

A lot of people believe you only have to turn your music down at night-time

and you can play it as loud as you want during the day.

Let me set the record straight, chaps. You're wrong.

And it's because of that belief there are so many problems caused.

This is Chris Randall.

He's a neighbourhood officer with Circle Housing Group in Norfolk,

and it's his job to eliminate bad behaviour among tenants.

Chris has his fair share of cases involving noisy neighbours,

and injunctions are a familiar part of his work, too.

Today he's in the town of Fakenham with his colleague, Adam.

We are going to go and serve an injunction that the association

was recently granted by the courts. It's a classic case of a young lad,

his first independent home, his flat has become a bit of a honey pot

for him and his mates to hang out in and listen to music.

Obviously, you know, nothing essentially wrong with that,

except that this particular tenant

liked to listen to his music at such a volume

that, basically, the rest of the neighbourhood were able to hear it,

and in particular one resident who lives in the same block as him.

And for the neighbour who complained,

life has been intolerable.

Parties, all-night parties, young women running up and down,

ashtrays being emptied out of the bloody window.

You cannot imagine what it's like not to sleep.

It's virtually impossible to sleep because I got so used to noise.

I have to go and stay with friends, family.

Christopher's next-door-neighbour has previously ignored

several warnings to stop playing his music so loud.

It isn't just disturbing Christopher,

it's also having an impact on his health.

My life has been absolute hell.

I have a brain injury. I suffered with viral encephalitis

which has led to me being epileptic.

My epilepsy threshold has gone through the roof.

I'm having fits every two or three days.

Obviously the loud music was causing a massive disturbance,

but the added problem of Christopher's health

meant the housing association had no option but to seek an injunction.

Since the court date, Chris has already tried to visit the man

making all the noise to serve the injunction, but with no luck.

The perpetrator didn't answer the door,

but the reason he gave me for that

was that he was listening to his music with this headphones on.

However, today his visit has been pre-arranged.

Hi, there. As I suggested,

I'm here with the final copy of the injunction.

I wanted to come in and discuss it. Just, you know,

-remind you what the terms were and what's required of you.

-Yeah.

OK, thank you.

That's the copy that came from the court.

I get two copies, that's a copy for you.

So as you'll see, there are basically two clauses to your injunction.

The first one, that's the one that the court made, basically,

-on the fact that you admitted to playing your music loud.

-Yeah.

OK? And then, obviously, the only other clause on that injunction

is that you mustn't approach the people that gave us the evidence in the first place,

-which is -

-The next door neighbours, yeah.

As long as there's no false accusations and as long as you

ask everyone, if he makes a complaint, and if they all agree -

As we always have done, whenever we get information we always check out to make sure we're happy

the information we're being given, you know, that there is substance in it and people aren't trying

to, you know, feed us false information,

-get their neighbours into trouble.

-Cos I know I'm young and can be discriminated for loud music.

Yeah, you know, as I say, I think, unfortunately,

a lot of this is down to the common misconception that, you know,

there are periods at which you're allowed to, you know, play music

and make a lot of noise. As I say, you aren't the only person that was under that belief, so...

Continue as you are, I doubt we'll even need to speak again. All right?

Mackenzie says he thought it was OK to play his music loudly during the day,

and he's not started using headphones to listen to his music.

But the bottom line is that he did disturb his neighbour

and now he's got an injunction on his housing record.

Well, I was looking to relocate to Peterborough to try and find work

and go back to my family and stuff, but now this injunction's going to happen,

it's going to be quite hard to transfer.

That's the downside of it, but there's nothing you can do about it.

I'll just have to live with it and move on.

We've just managed to serve the injunction.

Which is what his neighbour will hopefully be able to do now.

Chris lets him know that the injunction has now been served,

but he still needs reassurance the problem won't resurface.

In terms of the action we've taken and the effectiveness of that action,

I can't see how that could be any more effective

and any more appropriate

in terms of it doing what was required to be done.

I was at court when the judge spoke to Mr Reeve

about what he conduct was

and what the court would do about it if it continues.

And I know when I see a look of fright on someone's face

when they know that there is a risk they will go to prison.

So I believe he took that threat very seriously.

There are thousands and thousands of people out there

who haven't got the confidence to stand up against people like that.

Some of them much older than me. They live in hell, absolute hell.

And even if I...

..can give someone some confidence to stand up against the system,

it's worth it.

I've been out and about on a street patrol of my own, to hear what bothers you about Britain today.

-Where are you ladies from and what are your names?

-I'm Susie.

-And I'm Debbie.

-Hello, Susie. Hello, Debbie.

-We're from Hull.

-OK. Sounds like an interview.

-It does. It's great.

-Right, tell me about what antisocial behaviour drives you up the wall?

-Boy racers.

-Ooh.

Boy racers just going crazy, not considering anybody else,

just the fun of it for themselves.

-Does that happen a lot where you are?

-It does on the street I live.

Cos we have a straight stretch where they can get quite a speed up

until they get to a mini-roundabout,

and as I said, they don't consider anybody else.

Has there ever been any bad accidents?

Not at the moment, which is very fortunate.

-Do you suspect there's going to be sooner or later, though?

-I do.

I really do. You hope and pray it won't happen, but I do believe, at some point, it will.

-Nice to meet you. What's your names?

-Nice to meet you. Danni.

-And?

-Rebecca.

-Let's start with you.

-PHONE RINGS

-Do you want to turn your phone off? That's so antisocial.

-Sorry.

What antisocial behaviours really annoy you?

-Loud music.

-OK.

-I have a very noisy neighbour that lives two streets away

from me, and I can hear the base from the music that he's playing.

-Gordon Bennett!

-At 11 o'clock at night.

-Have you ever said something to them?

-No.

-Why not?

-Just... I was going to call the police.

-Mm-hmm.

But then my boyfriend told me not to.

Two streets away? That's 100 metres at least.

-It's a little close, but you must think of your neighbours.

-OK. It's been lovely talking to you.

-Take care.

-Thanks a lot.

-Cheerio.

You haven't got to be Einstein to realise alcohol fuels antisocial behaviour.

That's not nice for innocent bystanders.

But luckily there's a whole army of people who work round-the-clock to keep those drunken antics in check.

It's late in the evening at Leeds railway station,

and the British Transport Police are, as ever,

out in force to make sure everyone gets home safely.

It's the start of a Bank Holiday weekend.

So, an extra excuse to stay out late

and have a couple more drinks than usual.

But once people leave the pubs and clubs,

it's up to the officers to make sure no-one has their evening ruined by rowdy, drunken behaviour.

-Can I take that off you, fella?

-Take it off him, get it off him.

-Ta.

PC Penny Halliwell has been doing this job for 18 months.

This is usually quite a busy period for us.

People who have gone out after work,

then they start dashing back to get the last trains.

It starts to cause us a few problems.

It gets fun at times.

It gets busy. I enjoy it like that.

Which is a good job, because Penny and her colleague, PC Chris McFlynn,

have received a report of a man who's drunk too much and needs some help.

Are you all right, fella?

Have you had a bit to drink tonight?

How are you planning on getting home?

Taxi?

Where do you live?

Where do you live?

-Guiseley.

-Right. Do you know where the taxi rank is?

Yes, it's this way.

Start heading towards the taxi rank, then.

Yeah, that's fine. Go on.

All we want to do is make sure you get home all right. You're not in trouble.

All it is, is someone's told us you're a bit worse for wear, which you know you are.

We're just concerned for you, that's all. We just want to see you get home all right.

He's talking to us all right, he's getting himself about all right.

So we've got no concerns but you like to keep an eye on people,

you know, in case a problem develops.

You just try and pre-empt it, don't you?

We don't try and take too stern a line with people who are drunk

unless they cross that line with you. As long as they stay polite we'll help them.

A car journey to Guiseley takes twice as long as the train - and costs more,

which might explain why, just seven minutes later,

the drunk man is back in the station.

You need to get a taxi. You can't go on the train so drunk like that.

-All I did was -

-You're not fit enough to travel.

I'm telling you, you're not fit enough to travel. You'll not be going on a train tonight.

So the best option is a taxi, or give your wife a ring, see if she can come and pick you up.

If you're unsteady on your feet, there's a danger you can fall onto the tracks, or,

as a train pulls in, fall under the train if you're not in full control of your motor functions,

so we don't like people using the railway

that are too drunk for their own safety.

Also, there's an issue that people's emotions

can get heightened on the railway

when lots of people crowd on a train and things like that,

and drunk people might get a bit agitated, and that can cause antisocial behaviour issues

and public order issues, so we generally try and head off people

that are too drunk and try and get them home by other means.

-Thank you.

-Get home safe.

Penny and Chris help the man find a cab driver who's willing to take him home.

If alcohol was invented tomorrow, it'd be an illegal substance. Class B at least.

Every simple situation is made harder by drink and alcohol.

It's as simple as that.

Are you OK?

As it gets later, more and more people come through the station, but Penny and Chris spot one man

who's going nowhere fast. He's fallen asleep on a bench.

-Hello, mate.

-Hello.

Wakey, wakey. Where are you trying to get to?

-You don't know where you're going?

-No.

-Have you got a ticket?

What's your name? Pardon?

-Robert.

-Robert, what's the matter?

The fact he's in the station but isn't planning on going anywhere raises more questions.

Is that what you're here for? You've got nowhere to stay?

Don't lie to us. If you're going to get a train, you're getting a train.

You've got nowhere to stay. Right. We can help you then, can't we?

You can't spend the night here, that's the problem.

So we can help you, but if you don't want help... Robert, are you known to the police?

When was the last time you were in trouble with the police? Yeah?

Get him checked out, yeah.

Once Chris has completed his checks over the radio, the man should be free to go.

We've at Leeds railway station. Shoulder number 2-1-1-2.

Yeah, it's all received.

At the minute he's showing he's wanted for a recall to prison.

This time you're under arrest for that wanted marker.

Do me a favour, stick your hands out in front of you,

-all right?

-Can I have a smoke before we go?

-No, no.

-Why?

-Did you know you on a recall?

-Yeah.

-Did you know?

Just stand up for me. We'll give you a quick search.

HE MUMBLES

-You what? Sorry?

-HE MUMBLES

-Listen. Have you got anything on you that's going to hurt you?

-No.

-Or me?

-No.

-Nothing?

-No.

-Any sharps?

-No.

-Stay calm. All right? I ask everyone these questions.

-You haven't got any cigarettes, have you?

-No.

Be careful when you get in. It's a bit slippery with it being wet, and don't bang your head.

-Watch your head.

-I can get in a van, all right?

He was aware he was wanted. That's probably why he was a bit evasive.

He said he knew he was wanted on a recall.

He wasn't too happy we checked him out and found that out, but that's the way it goes,

so he'll go up to custody and back to prison in the morning.

As the night wears on, the last trains to places like Pontefract,

Dewsbury and Keighley depart the station.

And with people racing to catch their connections, the officers have to be on high alert.

The gentleman in the red T-shirt doesn't have a ticket for travel.

So he was refused travel because

he got a bit agitated when he was told he didn't have a ticket

so he couldn't travel.

He's now missed his last train to Skipton anyway,

so he's got no way of getting home by train.

We're trying to reason with him and get him to leave the station.

He doesn't want to get a taxi. He's saying something about he's not on railway property,

this is the property of the government, he doesn't have to leave.

We're trying to explain it's Network Rail property, he's been refused travel and he needs to leave,

but it's quite hard to reason with people when they've had a few beers.

So his friend did the best thing and just took him away.

He can go home and get a taxi and sleep it off.

Not everyone using the station late at night has been out drinking,

but if you do end up on a train packed with rowdy people, it can be pretty intimidating.

And if things do kick off, it's not easy to escape.

You might not want to be seen calling the emergency services,

so the British Transport Police runs a nationwide service

where you can send them a text if you need help.

Very simple, and little chance someone will know you're reporting them.

It might be that person's on board, feels uncomfortable by hooliganism,

by drunk behaviour,

noise, nuisance.

It might be the case they just want to pass on some intelligence as well, and they can do this anonymously.

We text them back, asking them to give further details of suspects,

what's actually happened, description,

where's this service going to be arriving, and at what time,

in order to send a police response out to that texter.

Very reassuring if you're trapped on a train with some undesirable travelling companions.

Back in Leeds, the heavens have opened,

but in the area around the station, not all the puddles are rainwater.

All right. What have you been seen over here doing?

-Going to the toilet.

-All right.

-Have you been drinking tonight?

-Yeah, but...

-OK.

People use this passageway, walking, cars, whatever,

and there's obviously local businesses around, local establishments.

People don't need to be coming out and see you urinating, yeah?

And people don't need to be walking through that in the morning when they're using this place, all right?

-Where have you just come from?

-Just from where I live.

-Right.

-Do you have a toilet where you live?

-Yeah.

-Where are you going to?

-To The Cockpit.

-Going to The Cockpit?

-Yeah.

-Right.

-And they have toilets in The Cockpit.

-Yeah.

-OK. So you need to plan a bit better or hold it in.

It's not like you've been anywhere where there's not been a place you can go to a toilet, is there?

It's not the end of the world, urinating,

but it's stuff that's not acceptable.

If you do something that's not acceptable, we have to deal with it, don't we?

Right. Cos you've been all right, I'm going to let you continue your night.

I'm not going to beat you out of town, but just be warned.

If we see you again tonight doing something similar, more severe action will be taken. Understand?

OK. It didn't need to be done there.

It doesn't need to be done anywhere, all right? Wait till you get to your pub next time.

Urinated in public is just one of the many antisocial problems

that stem from people drinking too much.

But the work of Penny, Chris and their colleagues brings everyone back into line

and stamps out all alcohol-fuelled bad behaviour.

Antisocial behaviour is about a lack of human decency,

and disrespect for people around you.

If someone's way of life is making yours a misery,

that's about as antisocial as it gets.

But lucky enough for you and me, there are plenty of people out there that we can turn to.

And this series is their chance to shine.

We're on the frontline with the highly-skilled teams of council workers,

police officers and local volunteers

who are committed to keeping our streets safe and clean,

and taking on our antisocial battles on a daily basis, to make sure

that our lives are not blighted by other people's bad behaviour.

This is Street Patrol UK.

To the picturesque countryside of Bedfordshire now,

and the pretty village of Clophill.

This is a thriving country community,

and at its heart is an important historical site.

Built way back in 1350, St Mary's was once pivotal to village life.

But in modern-day Britain,

this historical treasure is a magnet for antisocial behaviour.

It's a hangout for groups of underage drinkers, graffiti vandals,

drugs addicts and criminals.

This site has become a real centre for Heritage crime.

Graffiti is a major problem. The loss of more building materials,

those sorts of things, but also undesirable activities,

antisocial behaviour is happening here.

We've had fires, so there's been arson that's taken place.

Quite frankly, a whole range of undesirable other crimes,

some of which have actually involved some of the graves being disturbed.

And certainly the people whose families are buried here must be

very distressed by what they see here on a daily, or weekly, basis.

Well, my mother's buried here,

and my grandfather and grandmother are buried here.

So it's important, really, to us.

It was nice and tidy then. Everybody looked after their graves.

You knew the people around that were buried here.

It was quite sad to see it getting neglected.

It's not just the older generation who are upset.

The whole village is fed up with the constant antisocial behaviour at the church.

I don't like graffiti. It just makes the place look even worse.

So they shouldn't be doing that.

Anyone who comes to the village to go to see the church for

its history, then it's not a very good advert for our local area.

Damaging the historical properties is pretty disgusting. All they're doing is showing lack of respect

for not only people, but other people's properties - and for history.

At 94, Doris Pitt is the oldest lady in the village.

That's my husband.

He was 26 when we got married,

I was 24.

She and her late husband Jack had always been hugely fond of St Mary's,

and Doris's parents were even buried there.

St Mary's fell into ruin after its lead roof was stolen,

and a newer church now stands in the village.

But one of his final wishes illustrates how the irresponsible behaviour of vandals

changed Jack's feelings towards the old church.

When he was dying, my son said,

"You haven't asked him where he wants to be buried,

in the new church or the old."

I asked him. He went, "Don't take me up that old church."

Mother of two and civil engineer Ally Bradbury, moved to Clophill

in 2002. She was keen to be involved in village life.

Older people in the village, who can remember worshipping up there,

are very sad, and some of them that are perhaps less mobile,

we don't want them to go up and see what's happened to the church

because it would be too upsetting for them.

And then young people as well can see the potential

and are angry about what's happening.

Such a beautiful site, on the Greensand Ridge walk,

with so many beautiful heritage sites around it,

it's a real opportunity and could be used in so many positive ways,

rather than in the negative way it's currently being used.

With Ally in charge, the villagers banded together

to set up Cophill Heritage Trust

to claim back the old church site.

Now, instead of attracting vandals and drug addicts,

they're building a guesthouse and visitor centre to attract

walkers and tourists to their beautiful village.

We've bought a piece of land where we're building the eco lodge,

which is a new build, to fit in with the countryside.

We thought an eco lodge was a good solution because it allows walkers to stay overnight

to make use of the hundreds of trails we've created,

or ones that already exist. It gets people to learn about the local heritage,

and then that pays for the warden.

It's some way of providing security for the site,

of maintaining the site, and also providing extra benefits. So the eco lodge allows that.

English Heritage welcomed the villagers' enthusiasm and their plan to restore old St Mary's.

John Ette is proud to be involved.

The trust here have actually come up with the most imaginative and dynamic solution,

which we think is going to help solve the crime.

Our job at English Heritage now is to really get behind the community and support that.

It's a brilliant idea. It'll bring people into the village, attract the right type of people

instead of these that come just for destruction and vandalism.

People have suffered quite significant disturbances

over the last 50 years and feel that no solution could come of it.

Already people, walkers and interested parties,

are coming up and using it for a positive reason, as you can see,

even though we're still a building site. Already that is changing.

We hope that this year, as we're starting the building works

and starting the project, we can demonstrate we have found the right solution.

Let's get back to what bothers you in Britain today.

-What's your name?

-Shahzad Ahmed.

-What can I call you for short?

-Shaz.

Shaz, tell me about any antisocial behaviour you've witnessed that really annoys you.

Graffiti, breaking into buildings, smashing glass, windows, doors.

-Have you been a victim of that?

-Yes, I have.

-Is this at home or at work?

Mostly at work, in the heart of London, Leicester Square, so something's always going on.

-You make it sound like it happens frequently.

-It does. Almost on a daily basis.

-What do you put it down to?

-My guess is alcohol. We're surrounded by bars and clubs here.

Mostly happens at night time. Every now and then in the early morning.

-Day time's fine.

-Is there something that'd stop it?

I don't know if you can ban alcohol, but limit it? Increase police presence?

-Thanks. Nice to meet you, Shaz.

-Thank you.

-Take care. Cheers, buddy.

Sadly, antisocial behaviour can happen just about everywhere.

But whose problem is it to sort out? Actually, it's something we can all help with.

One council have come up with an ingenious scheme,

dare I say I think brilliant,

where they get ordinary residents to be their eyes and ears.

In Gloucester, these people are just some of the hundreds of residents signed up to Paws on Patrol,

a scheme where dog owners agree to be on the lookout on their daily walks near home.

It's like Neighbourhood Watch on the move.

We've got 645 members,

and so far we've had about 120 reports of antisocial behaviour,

of fly-tipping, and issues to the council, but in addition to that

we've had some crimes that have been reported to the police as well.

The whole point is that by reporting things they spot,

they reduce opportunities for antisocial behaviour to occur

and, crucially, make people less scared of what happens in their community.

They could be out two or three times a day, walking the same areas,

and they see so much. It's important they contact us immediately.

We don't want them to get involved in anything, but if they can

contact us if they see any crimes being committed,

anything from graffiti, rubbish, dog fouling.

The great thing about this initiative is that no-one has

to go out of their way or give up their free time.

It's just about being alert.

I think it's brilliant, because so many of us walk in different places,

different times of the day.

We're like the eyes and ears of the police.

We see something very suspicious, or, you know,

we're a little bit worried, we've been given a number

that we can phone them and tell them what we think.

We're trying to help the community by keeping it safe for everybody.

Children, adults, and elderly people.

Chas!

Chas! SHE WHISTLES

No! Come on.

I've lost him now. He wants to play football.

It's community action in its simplest form.

Chas, come on then.

And Chas still gets to have a good run-around,

and the different dog walkers patrol a whole host of locations.

I walk them out in the countryside, so I'll look out for things more like abandoned cars,

and stuff that gets fly-tipped in the country lanes,

especially stuff that's causing a nuisance.

Especially stuff that's fly-tipped and the dogs will eat;

and poison the animals.

We've had some really good results. We've had people reporting a break-in to a jewellers

in the middle of the town one night. Because it was such a quick call,

we were able to respond and apprehend the offender

still at the scene of the offence.

Chris Tollin's regular beat covers residential streets, where he can spot altogether different issues.

Things left on doorsteps, or papers left in letterboxes that have been there for a couple of days,

that sort of thing. Anything that looks amiss

that we would normally think is something

that's not supposed to be happening around the areas.

Then, if we do see anything, or spot anything, we report that back to the police and let them get involved.

We don't actually get involved with anything in regard to that side of things.

We just pass the information on.

I think a lot of community values have broken down, people don't speak to each other anymore.

I think we should all sort of get involved a bit more to protect our environment and what's around us,

as well as each other and each other's property, really.

And that's what it's all about.

Making people care, and respecting each other.

It's not rocket science, and some of the dogs get to play their part in combating bad behaviour as well.

Lucky, he can pick up litter if he finds any.

He'll find a rubbish bin and he'll pop it into the bin.

Come on!

Lucky, come on. Lucky.

Here.

I think Lucky's showing off just because he's on the telly.

Come. Are you coming?

What is it they say about working with animals?

Lucky.

In the bin.

Now that's a skill. Every town needs a dog like Lucky.

Litter makes the place untidy, generally dirty.

Lucky, tidy.

There's too much of it around Gloucester, really, especially in the park,

where people come in, drink, throw cans around and just leave them.

This makes it nicer for everyone.

This scheme ticks all the boxes. It seems to have a role to play,

fighting almost every form of antisocial behaviour.

The Paws on Patrol are having an effect.

We have a lot of people hanging around shops, intimidating people.

I think maybe it has got really got a lot better in Gloucestershire as a whole, definitely in Brockworth.

Also anything like vandalism. We've got two new parks,

so we want to keep them good for the kids and our youth.

Also, for the older people and people walking their dogs, we want to keep it a clean environment,

make sure everyone's happy so it's better for everyone.

At the moment times are hard, not everyone's got jobs,

and I think there's a lot more reason for people to be committing crime.

So I think at a time where everyone's struggling, that's good to come together and help each other out

and make sure we're looking after one another.

So if you're looking after a neighbour, they look after you. Yeah.

Now since we filmed with our antisocial saviours,

we've got some updates for you.

In Cannock, where residents lives have been made a misery by noisy and dangerous street racing,

the police action has transformed the area.

It's pleasing to report that, to date, we haven't had to take action

for anybody that has breached the injunction.

In Fakenham, where Christopher Phillips

had been plagued by his neighbour's loud music,

the good news is that the music has stopped,

but there have been a few more problems with noise, which Chris from the Housing Association

has been quick to sort out.

And at Leeds train station, Penny and Chris continue their evening patrols,

trying to keep passengers safe after a night on the town.

No, you can't have that. Get on the train with it. Get on the train.

-Have a drink.

-I wish I could. I can't, not on duty.

Cheers!

Everyone's happy.

That's your lot for today. Thanks for watching.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd