Episode 12 Street Patrol UK

Our lives are blighted by antisocial behaviour,

whether it's nuisance neighbours...

Will you let us in, please?

..graffiti on the streets or too much booze.

You need to make your way away from here right now.

This is the story of the police officers...

This is the police, are you in here?

You've been drinking a bit today, haven't you?

..council wardens...

This is antisocial behaviour because it affects everybody.

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

Let's go do some good.

Welcome to Street Patrol UK.

-Today...

-Oh, my word this is bad, isn't it?

..the London council determined to crackdown on unscrupulous

landlords making a mint from shockingly bad housing.

The landlord here is making thousands a week.

How one Essex church is using CCTV technology to beat

the heritage thieves who want to strip it clean.

Why do people commit acts like these, I can't imagine?

And the South Wales Fire Brigade looking to prevent adolescent

arsonists from sparking a tragedy.

We had a fire here last week and there were kids playing in the area.

In this series, we hear plenty of stories about nightmare neighbours.

But what if the problems at a property aren't caused

by the tenant, but by the landlord?

In one London borough, the council is pioneering an initiative

to crack down on landlords who operate outside of the law,

affecting their tenant's quality of life.

It's early morning in Newham and Wayne Pobi from Newham Council

is out with police running checks on houses

of multiple occupation, known as HMOs.

All properties throughout the borough

that are rented are required to have a licence, as of January...

Newham has 35,000 privately rented properties,

but when several people live under one roof, it needs to be licensed.

Is that a smoke detector there?

Council officials have the power to enter,

to check on health and safety provisions like smoke detectors,

fire doors and fire exits.

If tenants are forced to live in conditions

which endanger their lives, it can be deemed an antisocial act

on the part of landlords.

Most definitely in terms of the tenancy agreement, that seems

to be in order conditions wise.

I haven't checked upstairs but there is nothing that stands out

that I am overly concerned with from a health and safety point of view.

In the kitchen, there are smoke detectors in the common areas,

which is a good thing...the heat detector in the kitchen

and a fire blanket.

Things are mostly in order in this house, but Wayne will be

reporting back on further improvements that are needed.

So, whilst we do find there are smoke detectors

in all the common areas as required, they aren't interlinked,

which is required for a property of this size.

It's 6.30am and police are on their way to assist Newham Council

to gain access to another privately rented property.

Going to Barking Road in E6, which is apparently an HMO, which is a higher

multiple occupancy address which the London borough of Newham have

identified as being one of their target addresses

which we have got to visit.

Often, intelligence about suspect accommodation comes

via complaints from tenants themselves or neighbours.

They've been tipped off that this property above a fast food

restaurant, may be overcrowded with poor sanitation.

But the only entrance seems to be through this locked rear door.

There's that one, might have to climb over the gate.

The police decide the only way in

is to climb over from an adjoining property.

Got to look professional, got to have the hat on!

Open the door.

Oh, my God!

Once in, the back yard is a shocking sight. Not a great start.

You know what that is, that's puke and that's chicken.

Oh, my God! This is definitely an HMO, isn't it?

Amand, this is one for you. Hello, police.

Linda Brown and Amanda Amafur from Newham Council Housing Department

can see straightaway that this doesn't look like a healthy home.

How many more have we got upstairs?

These two are OK, that one's OK in there,

then there is this one.

As you can see, the kitchen worktops are rotted as well.

Again, there's no back unit.

The tenants are open to catching diseases,

cross contamination with so many people in the house.

I'm doing some checks. Talk to the London borough of Newham,

they are going to ask some questions about your tenancy agreement.

Obviously, it's in a really bad state of repair.

While the council is there to check on conditions and the welfare

of the residents, the police need to be certain

they are in the country legally.

A quick tally suggests that there may be as many as 30 people

living here in seven rooms.

One room? We live up there, two people.

Next door to my room is three people in there.

Five people in this floor.

We're trying to stop these people being exploited.

That's what's happening at the moment, they're getting charged

an extortionate amount of money to live here and as you can see,

the conditions are quite poor.

This is a high multiple occupancy address.

As you can see, I think there is about 30 people here at the moment

and, obviously, it's far too many for the address.

There's no fire regulations, no smoke alarms that I can see.

All the fire escapes are blocked or caged up with mesh.

One gentleman said they were paying £100 each,

so if that is two, three people per room, that is about £300 per room,

per week, so the landlord here's making thousands a week.

Whoever is managing this property, we're trying to relay to them

that they need to manage it properly, maintain it properly

so that the tenants are staying in a very good condition.

Oh, my God!

The tenants only have one bathroom or one kitchen as you can see,

for 30 people to have one bathroom...

We have to look at this bathroom.

The walls are damp, the cistern hasn't got a cover.

Police checks have confirmed the identities of the tenants.

Do you have any ID?

But it seems that none of the them have met their landlord

or had a chance to challenge the appalling living conditions.

They don't know a lot, actually, they don't know who the landlord is,

they pay normally in cash, somebody comes to collect the money.

If they have any issues, they don't know who to call.

There's a lot of issues here.

The council will now go all out to track this landlord down.

The other staff are taking statements from the tenants

to see who they pay the rent to.

And what we do is, we follow the money to see who's

the person responsible.

Our next step would be to contact the owner,

write letters to the landlord and see who's a responsible person.

On top of the squalor and overcrowding,

police make another potentially deadly discovery.

There's a gas leak upstairs that the London borough of Newham

is investigating at the moment.

The moment I walked in, the first thing I could smell was gas.

It's not too bad at the moment,

but there is a strong whiff of gas at the moment and speaking to

one of the tenants, they haven't seen an engineer in the last two years.

The management regulations, that is an instant breach,

so that is straightforward prosecution.

The council will need to call in emergency help to deal with

this boiler immediately.

I have taken statements from all the residents inside the address.

They've taken pictures as well and they'll do their reports

and send a report to the landlord to make changes, which he has to do

within a certain period of time, but at the moment, we're going to go

and wait for Transco to come and sort out the gas leak.

As far as the council are concerned, this landlord is

facing a number of charges.

We've been taking down details of the breaches

and then sending a letter to him stating that we'll be

taking legal action and this will definitely end up in court.

The breaches are £1,000 per breach and as you can see, there is

quite a lot, there is quite a lot of breaches in here.

The landlord now faces prosecution

for the poor state of the accommodation.

But today's intervention has given the tenants hope that the landlord

now has to make the improvements they so desperately need..

I would like to clean this all, everything repair,

this kitchen, bedroom, carpet, paint, everything.

Later, the teens and the town council who crossed

the generation gap and joined forces to build something special

for their community.

It wasn't a case of it being handed on a plate to them,

they had to work for it.

I've been out on a street patrol of my own to find out what bothers

you about Britain today.

Peter, what have you witnessed in the way of antisocial

behaviour around here?

Drunks, shop lifting, really bad-tempered people in the area,

more bad-tempered people in the area due to the fact of alcohol.

They've tried to clamp down on that,

but I don't think it's working really, it could be done better.

What's the answer?

I think they should fine people, that's very important,

but just generally teach people the right way of life.

We had it years ago.

You said the answer is teaching people.

You're talking about parents and schools?

Parents, yeah.

I am sorry to say, but you've only got to look at the kids

sometimes when you see the parents, look at the parents.

You think, why don't the parents do anything about it?

-Ladies, it's lovely to meet you all.

-Lovely to meet you too.

What annoys you about people's bad behaviour?

Noisy neighbours.

I find it disrespectful. They play music loud

and you're just having your own private moment at home

and then there is loud music and sometimes it can go on until

3am in the morning and people have to get up because

we have work as well.

Yeah, OK, that's a very good point. What about you? What annoys you?

I find it annoying when you're walking and they are on

their phones 24/7, you know, they cut right in front of you but then

they don't move, they just don't realise that you're even there.

And people on the bus and they start to play their music really loud.

Ladies, you've been brilliant, thank you ever so much.

Lovely to meet you all.

Jonathan, you're a manager of a shop over there,

slap bang in the high street.

Do you witness much antisocial behaviour?

Yeah, a fair bit during the day sometimes, on days like this,

on a mid-day afternoon you think will be a normal day

and you get people who don't work, drunk in the street, shouting,

swearing, spitting, throwing rubbish just general stuff people

think is OK to do, I suppose.

Desecrating a place of worship is a pretty low form

of antisocial behaviour, striking at the heart

of the community and also destroying our heritage.

But now, church congregations are beginning to fight

back against thieves and vandals by taking steps

to catch the criminals red handed.

In a bleak landscape, surrounded by the largest body of fresh water

in Essex, stands a church that dates back to Norman times.

While the wildfowl here is world renowned,

Abberton church is only known to those who pray or visit here.

But in spite of its isolation, it has a devoted congregation...

..including church wardens, Katie Richardson and Pepeta Dutton.

It's a very tiny medieval church in a very special little position

and everybody feels very proprietary about it.

But there are also those who view it with less high-minded intentions.

We had a candelabra stolen

and we literally, one Sunday, found candle ends on the floor down there.

We had some tiles stolen from the porch roof.

They were all stacked up and they were stolen in a white van, I think.

Local police officer, Shaun Hammond, knows how vulnerable

churches like this are to thieves and criminals.

They're easy targets because they're in isolated areas, you know,

you have got no overlooking houses

and as you can see, they are very rural.

After such thefts, the congregation decided this ancient church

needed a very modern deterrent.

So they installed CCTV cameras to cover all the exits

and entrances to the building.

We now have three.

We have two together, so the internal and the infrared one up

in the tower, which actually catches everybody coming down the path.

The third camera which is up behind me on the beam

and that catches everybody coming in the door.

And it wasn't long before the cameras caught someone

who certainly wasn't here to worship.

The man came down the path, captured on our camera,

he came in the doors, he had a look around, he went up the aisle.

He looked at the cross, luckily he didn't take it.

He took a little statuette which was on that wall with the chancel arch,

he came right down here, he stole the bell that was there,

that we ring to start the service,

so that's a new one which is very glossy and shiny.

He walked over there and he just pulled a hammer out of his pocket

and he whacked that wall safe as hard as he could,

umpteen times.

He took a small sum of charity collection money from the safe,

but police believe what he was really after was the artefacts.

The statues that were taken from the church,

I can only think were of antique value or stolen to order.

That's all I can put it down to reasons why

they were stealing items from within the church.

But he turned out not to be the only audacious intruder.

This would-be thief, captured on camera, was so apparently

irritated by the lack of valuable items,

he desecrated the church.

He tried to break through the trap door and in sheer frustration,

he peed down the ropes where the bell pulls go,

which was a revolting thing to do.

Why do people commit acts like these, I can't imagine?

I can't even start to imagine!

There's no value. I can't see it makes them

feel good about themselves, I really can't and it certainly doesn't

make anybody else feel good about them.

I don't know why they do it.

Incredibly, it seems yet another would-be thief

struck shortly afterwards.

It's not an isolated incident. Since then, there's been

another incident that occurred here about a month later.

A male seen on the CCTV stealing candles and with a different male.

And this church is not the only one.

And then, within our area of Molden, Colchester,

we've had a further, in a two month period, six to seven incidents.

Police believe that thieves in the area are exploiting

the churches' willingness to keep their doors open to all.

It's a place where,

a place of worship where the doors are always left open

for people to come and pray in a quiet moment and thieves know that.

While Abberton church did close its doors during the day for a while,

the congregation resolved to stand firm.

We decided, as a congregation, with our new priest,

that we were going to open again. So, we are open.

For all their determination, the villagers have been deeply

affected by the desecration of their place of worship.

Everybody was horrified because everybody feels almost as

if they've been burgled, they hate it.

The people I've spoken to, they just can't believe it,

that someone would go into a church to steal.

We're a Christian family

and we decided to get married in the church.

I think it was their first wedding in probably about a decade,

so there was some renovation going on to the church at the time.

I remember they rushed to get the roof on

just before we got married and I do believe half of the roof

was actually stolen overnight one night

when they were actually working on it, so there is quite a history

of problems going on at the church up there, as far as theft goes.

Many residents have been left feeling fearful.

When something like this happens in your community, it's quite a blow

and it's also quite a worry for some of the other local residents.

Where are these people going to go next?

Even PC Hammond finds this kind of antisocial behaviour

hard to understand.

It's a very selfish act, very cold, that's how I felt.

A man trying to pull a crucifix off the wall.

I was quite sickened by it.

Pepeta is hoping that capturing these thieves on CCTV cameras

will act as a deterrent both to them and any other would-be intruders.

Cameras have been extremely successful in that they've

taken photos of whoever has come in

and hopefully they'll now know that they are on camera,

because it has been sent around all the diocese, so let's hope

they get the message and think,

well, I don't want to be caught on camera.

For now, the hunt is still on

for the star of this particular CCTV clip

or for anyone who may recognise him.

I'm still actively trying to identify the man in question.

I am always hopeful, there's always someone who knows that person.

As long as we don't give up and members of the public don't give up

and keep that fresh in their minds of this specific person,

sooner or later, this person will get caught.

And Pepeta is resolute that the church can be restored to

happier times once more.

We're personally responsible as church wardens

and we love the place.

The whole point of the church, as far as we're concerned, is to have

it open to welcome anybody who needs it and wants to come in here

and sit, have a quiet time,

but we certainly don't want any more burglaries

and hopefully we won't have any.

Later, the South Wales Fire Brigade

and their fight with the fire starters

whose thoughtless behaviour is risking lives.

If that fire had got out of hand, there's a life risk then.

When the needs of different generations clash,

that can lead to antisocial behaviour.

Youngsters get frustrated by authority and age

and the oldies just want a bit of peace and quiet.

But that can perpetuate when you live in a small town.

Isn't it nice to find a place that's found a solution to a problem

that keeps both sides happy.

Dorchester in Dorset.

Usually a peaceful town until a clash of cultures

brought a raft of complaints into the council

from citizens both young and old.

And causing the conflict?

Skateboarders, ripping up the town on tiny wheels.

Councillor Robin Potter had to deal with all the protests.

There were two sides. The young people who said,

"There is nothing for us to do,

"nowhere for us to go and use our skateboards,"

and there were the older people who said,

"The children are using their skateboards in places where

"we want to be quiet, where we want to walk."

Where I used to ride around this town with my mates, you'd

always get people shouting at you saying, "You can't ride there."

They can't move quick enough. They're there like fire.

It's understandable, to be honest, we're just getting in the way,

aren't we?

-We haven't got a beep on these, have we?

-We haven't, that's true.

The skateboarders were causing constant aggravation

and nowhere was off limit for trying out their tricks.

What you've got here, you've got the Crown Court building,

the County Hall, you've got some walls at the front

and some railings where the young people used to skate down.

They would also use the rails coming down the stairs

and jump off those down there.

The boards also made a constant racket...

..making life difficult for those attempting more gentle pursuits,

like chorister, George Wickham.

These rooms are lent to a variety of hobbies and things

and ours was singing songs from the shows type singing,

so we had quite a big choir for that.

30-odd people, very enthusiastic but occasionally getting frustrated

with what was going on outside.

If you've ever heard a skateboard on metal, you'll know it's very noisy.

Trying to sing a tricky bit and suddenly you get a distraction.

The kids were just noisy because they were frustrated

at not being able to do what they wanted to do.

But George was not without understanding for the kids' need

to let off steam.

As an ex-teacher, I had a fantastic amount of sympathy for them.

It's so easy for people of my age to moan about noise and inconvenience.

But rather than allow the problem to fester,

councillors and residents decided that they needed to act

by finding a proper space for the skateboarders to hang out.

The town council has always provided very good play areas

for younger children and this was an opportunity for us

to address the concerns of slightly older children, teenagers.

And they needed to come up with the ideal location.

It needed to be in the centre of town,

it needed to be as far as we could manage from residential properties

and it needed to be somewhere that was safe.

The place we found was very close to the police station

which was a great help.

I think there was a lot of support in the town for it,

particularly as the kids and young men were fundraising

and things like that, so it wasn't a case of it being

handed on a plate to them, they had to work for it.

Youth fundraisers joined the local council

and partnership groups in raising money and securing grants.

They created a state of the art skate park for bikers

and boarders of every description.

It's packed almost every day, people enjoy it.

Obviously you've got the younger ones on their scooters

and skateboards and that and us on BMXs.

The older lots as well, in their 30s and that,

but they still stick to it.

It's quite surprising really, but you've got the police station

right next to us, looking out for us, so it's good.

I gave up in the late '90s because the general perception

of skateboarding was, we were all too old

and then they got the funding for this place,

this place was built and I started skating again.

And it's been amazing really. I haven't looked back since.

The skaters are only too happy not to be causing trouble.

There's other towns that I have been to, personally, that haven't got

facilities like this and I have seen a lot more crime,

antisocial behaviour.

Groups hanging round, kids hanging round in rough areas

but you don't get that here because of the skate park.

-You all right?

-And that's echoed by the authorities.

This park hasn't been subject to any antisocial behaviour,

very, very little incidents of reported crime.

You'll find that the community and young people actually

police it themselves to look after it themselves.

Since it opened, we have had a 45% reduction in antisocial behaviour

in the area that is immediately affected by the skate park.

That's a huge difference and a huge benefit to the town.

It's been a winner for young and old alike.

Until they built the skate park, now it's usually full up every day with

children playing on their bikes and scooters and they really enjoy it.

It never ceases to amaze me how wonderful young people are on this

skate park. When we first started, some people were a bit worried

that gathering all the skateboarders together in one place,

it would generate more noise, even some agro,

but that just hasn't happened at all.

We're very pleased that the skate park has shown that young people

can be active without being antisocial.

I used to be a skater and too old for it now. Now, the next generation.

Antisocial behaviour, be it intimidation, excessive noise,

fly-tipping, graffiti or vandalism,

just not what you or I should expect to have to put up with.

But there are people all over the UK whose lives are ruined by it,

so it's just as well there are people we can turn to.

We're on the front line with the highly skilled teams of council workers...

It's my job to get the evidence.

We'll find her and she'll pay.

-..police officers...

-I saw you urinate on the pavement.

..and 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 aren't blighted by other people's bad behaviour.

This is Street Patrol UK.

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

What are you aware of

that any generation might do that's antisocial?

I think there is a lot of people who I tend to find when I walk home from

work, who are sat on their doorsteps drinking and obviously becoming

quite drunk as well, so there is trouble at home when it comes

to domestic violence and then there is more trouble locally as well.

I do find a lot of unemployed old people as well tend to spend

more time drinking, especially where I live and it's awful to see.

They're not setting an example for the younger generation.

What about the penalties you hear people are getting

for antisocial behaviour?

You hear on the news and the papers, do you think they're hard enough?

I think restorative justice would be better than fines

and making them actually meet the people who they've affected

would be more my way of doing things, rather than just putting

people in prison or... Bigger fines are pointless

because they haven't got any money. What's the point?

Marlow, what annoys you about antisocial behaviour?

What really annoys me is people just have no respect for people

and laws and just think they can do what they want without any

consequences and just make ordinary working people's lives a misery.

That annoys me about antisocial behaviour.

Do you want to expand on that? Give me some examples?

Basically, like you're walking down the road

and you live in a nice area and somebody comes along

and they just dump their rubbish out on the street. They don't care.

They think it's somebody else's job to pick it up,

but, you know, if everyone just did their little bit, you know,

-the world would be a better place.

-Yeah, and certainly cleaner.

Antisocial behaviour, litter louts, fly-tipping,

dog fouling, it doesn't matter what, it affects communities

up and down the country. With so much of it going on,

it's hard for the councils to keep track of it,

which is why some of them are turning to the latest web

and social media technology to get the job done

and to put their message out there.

For the environmental health team of Allerdale Council,

Cumbria, with its mix of large rural areas within the Lake District

and urban communities, poses plenty of challenges.

We deal with all kinds of environmental crime, from dog fouling

to litter, fly tipping, fly posting, abandoned cars and graffiti.

Spread out and quite rural, some areas are quite difficult to cover.

Dealing with issues, like fly-tipping and dog fouling

across 480 square miles of terrain,

can stretch their resources to the limit.

Environment Officer Gary Banks spends his days

tracking down people who don't seem to care about their surroundings.

Basically, we're looking for evidence of an address

so we can take action against the offenders.

As you can see...

..you're not going to get much evidence out of a toaster, are you?

With such a large area to cover,

Gary and the team need help keeping track of problems as they arise,

so the council has adopted an innovative hi tech approach

for residents to report environmental crime.

Jobs are coming through thick and fast.

It makes it easier for the general public to report abandoned

vehicles and fly tipping.

And they've come up with a catchy name for the website

and smartphone app enabling speedy reporting.

We've introduced a campaign called Spot the Grot last year

and residents can scan the QR code on their phone or iPad and

if they've found some dog fouling or litter or graffiti, they can

report it straight to the council's website via the code and it enables

us to check it out and clean it up faster than before.

As soon as reports come in, Gary can hit the road.

This morning, we're going to go to Cockermouth.

We had a report of some dog fouling.

Historically, we have a problem with dog fouling in that area.

I'll go and do some enforcement.

This is probably the dog fouling that came through in our

Spot the Grot. So, what we'll do, is put a job on and have this

removed as soon as possible.

There's total disregard for other people's property.

I wouldn't want that at the bottom of my drive anyway.

One poop dealt with and another one has been reported via the website.

You see an example of somebody not picking their dog foul up

and behind it, a sign encouraging people to pick up

which likely isn't working.

A place like Cockermouth, it's quite a tourist driven area and people

coming into the area don't want to be walking in something like that.

The next call out is even worse. It looks like the poop has been

bagged up, then dumped.

All of the floors are covered in doggy bags.

With this being dog muck,

it does raise concerns, especially for the neighbours.

Hopefully, you know, with the good weather coming up,

it does cause a few issues regarding smell.

The owner will get a letter from environmental health requesting

that the yard is cleaned up.

If they don't comply, the council can use powers of entry

to enforce it.

For Gary and the team, Spot the Grot looks like the way

of the future, tackling antisocial issues promptly and hopefully,

making Cumbria a better place to live.

Spot the Grot is pointing out the hot spots

and if it brings it to our attention, then we can put our resources into

areas and hopefully try and catch the people who are offending.

It will continue.

Arson is a hugely dangerous and destructive crime,

and deliberately setting fire to land, buildings and cars can

cost communities millions of pounds and endanger lives.

In South Wales, arsonists cost the local community

million of pounds a year.

On the front line is Caroline Psaila.

She works for a unique outreach programme,

identifying high risk hot spots

where arsonists operate or have targeted.

Over 71% of our fires are deliberate.

We're looking to reduce that by 41% over the next year.

One of her first call outs is a residential block where there is

frightening evidence of deliberate attempts at gaining access

using fire.

One of the main problems here is the youths have been trying

to gain entry by lighting the front doors, putting a metal bar in

and lifting up the handle.

You'll find that on every single one of these doors within these

flats on the different blocks.

They've attempted to get in and they have been successful

in getting in, using that method.

Also, inside in the corridors, there's signs of deliberate fire

setting, graffiti and antisocial behaviour, that type of thing.

Somebody doesn't care there are families

and elderly people living here.

Obviously, there's a risk, being a block of flats,

the means of escape is limited.

They've just got the stairwell to come down.

If that fire got out of hand, there is a lot of residents

living here, there's a life risk then.

What bored youngsters may be doing to fill their evenings, could end

up both causing a fire and blocking the main escape route for residents.

Police and social workers know there's a strong link between

antisocial behaviour and arson.

The typical offender is often an adolescent boy.

Can three of you sit on the ladder, as well?

And the problem is so severe in South Wales, they've created

The Phoenix Project.

Its aim, to work with young people between 11 and 25

who may be at risk of offending or are at risk of offending.

The Phoenix programme is a week long programme.

It was set up because we have a particularly high rate of

deliberate fires and antisocial behaviour using fire as a medium.

This grass fire was probably lit at the top. Someone's gone up

for a bit of a laugh and joke.

The programme is aimed at building confidence and education,

as low self-esteem can lead to antisocial behaviour

connected to fire starting.

We sign up to the job to risk our lives, not to save grass fires, yeah?

The youths join the Fire Brigade for a week, to learn how to use a hose

and ladder, search and rescue skills, first aid

and team building.

Squad 'tion, from the right, number.

-One...

-Two...

-Three...

-Four...

-Five...

-Six...

The practical aspect is getting them working as a team,

building their confidence levels up, communication skills,

and putting all those into a combined drill exercise.

-Wait for your command.

-What are we going to ask?

It's all about you now, fella.

-Water on.

-Water on, brilliant.

-Three bar pressure.

Three bar pressure, great.

And the best bit for the new recruits... Using the hose.

We're trying to get across valuable skills and knowledge, really,

that they can pass on, so they come onto this course

not knowing the consequences of things like arson and hoax calls,

first aid, even. So, the stuff they can take on board and hopefully

pass the message on to their friends, their family.

It's all really important life skills.

Back in Cardiff, Caroline and the Fire Crime Unit

are visiting an elderly resident.

He's concerned that youths have been playing with fire

outside his door and he doesn't know what they may do next!

They're lighting up fires in the communal areas.

Are they coming up past your property then?

They see the police pull up and walk towards the door

and then run across to get out the other door.

So they are running along here?

Caroline has come round to offer reassurance

and fit a security device.

This is something we can provide to give you peace of mind, really.

It's a mail guard and will sit on the back of your door.

While we're here, as well, we'll carry out a home fire safety check.

We'll check your smoke alarms.

The youths have been gathering and lighting fires within the hallways

and he's mentioned to us he's a bit frightened at night.

I have fitted it for you now, so it's locked at the moment.

It's open there for your post to come through as normal.

Once your post has been through or at night-time, whenever you

want to close it, you lock it shut like that and it's locked then.

Make sure you remember to open it in the morning for your post!

The team offer practical help to residents

and help with measures that make them feel safer in their own homes.

The Phoenix course is coming to an end.

The challenging experience has helped some of the young people

to reflect on peer pressure and antisocial behaviours.

I haven't committed antisocial behaviour, but my friends have

and I've been with them

and being on the Phoenix course has made me think,

should I bother with them if they have committed it

and will it get me in trouble if I am with them at the time?

So it's made me learn to pick my friends wisely.

I would like to work with the Phoenix team in the future

and do what they are doing with us now,

because it could change somebody's life.

It could actually help them.

Team game was awesome, that score was only beaten last week.

If you had done it last week, you would have been top

of the leader board, so you should be proud of yourselves for that.

Other than that, really good. Well done.

At the end of the week, the young people will leave with

a qualification in Young Firefighting Skills.

And along with their new-found sense of confidence and self-worth,

a real awareness of the dangers of playing with fire.

Back in Cardiff, Caroline is at the end of her shift with

the Fire Crime Unit.

We're carrying out a joint patrol with South Wales Police.

This is really following the increasing deliberate fires in

the area, which is also linked to the antisocial behaviour in the area.

The team are checking up on the site of an old pub that was

targeted in an arson attack.

This is a really big problem for us.

This is a site of a former pub.

It was an open site, there was a lot of antisocial behaviour here.

We eventually worked with the owner to get it demolished.

It's still an issue at the minute because we had a fire here last week

and when we did visit this site on the patrol on Sunday,

there were kids playing in the area.

With a 70% rise in arson on derelict buildings and tipping sites,

the team need to keep a close eye on high risk areas which

arsonists have already burned.

The metal shutter doors that were keeping it safe have been stolen.

We shut them when we came a couple of weeks ago.

With the doors now gone, the old pub cellar is particularly hazardous

and a potential location for antisocial behaviour.

We were having incidents of fires in the basement which is

difficult for crews to access.

It's very unsafe for us to fight fires in and it's got

the potential for children to be playing in that basement.

We've finished our patrol for tonight now.

We've had another good night working together with the police.

It's been a good night's work for the fire service.

They've gathered crucial evidence, reassured the community

and been a visible presence on the street,

all vital in keeping the arsonists at bay.

Well, that's your lot for today, thanks for watching.