Episode 1 The Specials

Get on the floor! Do it now!

The Special Constabulary is the nation's volunteer police force.

Do you know the gent?

Watch your speed.

It's made up of over 20,000 members of the public...

He's gone down there.

..who give their time to fight crime in their communities.

Out! Get out of the car. Get out of the car!

Specials combine their day jobs...

-Stage, please.

-..and home lives...

There's a good boy.

..with being serving police officers on the front line.

Coming up, Alex is called to a break-in at a school.

All right now, this is your last chance!

Lewis is pushed to the limit by a drunk student.

I'm an extremely patient person.

However, people can push that patience and push it

and push it and push it, until you have to act upon it.

I'm not going to punch you.

Even if I touch you, I'm not going to hurt you.

Do not...! Do not...!

And Ben investigates a criminal gang

in an audacious shoplifting attempt.

It was actually £900 worth of whisky.

Saturday night, and Special Assistant Chief Officer Alex Walden

is preparing for a night shift.

Volunteering his time for free is something Alex has been doing

for over a decade.

Even when, like tonight, the temperature outside

is just above freezing.

I joined the Specials 12 years ago.

A lot of people complain about they never see a police officer

or "Isn't crime awful?" and all the things people complain about.

I'm not one to just moan. I thought, I can actually try and help here.

When he's not volunteering as a Special, Alex is the manager

of the BBC Concert Orchestra.

I manage the musicians

and the logistical team that helps support the orchestra on the road.

Today we're pre-recording the Friday Night Is Music Night,

which is for BBC Radio 2.

It goes out every Friday - the clue's in the title.

So tonight, the orchestra manager's job is to make sure that

the orchestra are on stage at the right time.

We need to tune, and then I need to get that all in place

by a specific time that the producer will give me ten minutes before

we start. And then off we go.

If it all goes well, I won't do an awful lot.

If it doesn't go well, I'll be breaking a sweat.

Today's performance is in London,

but Alex's job can take him across the world, booking hotels,

restaurants and flights for the entire orchestra.

It's a two, three and a two on the plane.

-..everyone's tuned by about two minutes to eight?

-Good.

'I don't have a typical day.'

Sometimes I don't quite know what I'm doing,

I have to keep my schedule by me all the time

and have a glance and think where I am that day.

Have you had one of these yet? Because we've now finalised it.

There you go, darling.

Thanks.

Concerts aren't during the day usually,

they're in the evening or at the weekends.

So knowing that I've got three late nights in a week,

and I'm thinking also that there's a Specials operation

that needs help as well,

juggling that can be really tough.

I think being a Special is an escape from my day job,

which can sometimes have its own pressures.

OK, ladies and gents - on we go, please!

Stage, please!

On we go.

MUSIC STOPS APPLAUSE

Sometimes, when my energy might be a bit low,

when I've come in from work and I'm thinking, "Blimey, I'm a bit tired,

"am I going to make this?"

the minute that first call comes on the radio,

I've forgotten all about that and suddenly I've got a second wind

and off I go.

Tonight, Alex is en route to a burglary at a local school.

'We've got reports three boys have opened the window to the college.'

Alex and his colleague, Special Chief Inspector Steve McCallion,

are now just minutes away.

'They're wearing hoodies and joggers.

'The informant is staying on the phone.'

To hear a burglary in progress come over the radio, it means

they're on the premises. We have actually got a chance

to catch them someone here.

Just that thought that they're in there and we can catch them.

It's one of those calls that does get the juices flowing.

Alpha X03, we're nearly there.

'Also, just make sure you turn your sirens and lights off.'

We're now turning the sirens and lights off

because we don't want to give anyone the tip-off that we're here.

'There's an element of stealth, I guess, that's involved.'

We don't want them just to scatter.

So you've got to be careful there, because you want to catch them.

According to the person who reported the break-in,

the suspects are still inside the school.

We were under the impression they were still there

from what the witness had told us. He'd not seen them come out.

The dangers are, you don't want to go jumping in, through a window -

it might look great and Action Man, but you've got to weigh up the risk.

You don't know who's hiding round the corner or what they've got

in their hands. You don't know what things could be improvised

and become weapons.

It's like an animal that's trapped in the corner - they could lash out

at you, so you've got to be really careful.

It's pitch black. The officers have established the suspects are

in the school, but reports indicate they might have a weapon.

This is a job for the dog handler.

It's a school and it's big and if they're in there somewhere

and they're not coming out, we won't find them very easily,

but a dog will.

People don't like dogs. They don't.

You could be the toughest man in the world, they often don't like dogs.

The police Alsatian is trained to track the suspects' scent

and chase them if they attempt to run away.

People are frightened of dogs in a way that they're not

frightened of police officers, even armed with a baton ready to strike.

And the dog will find you. It doesn't matter how dark it is.

The handler gives the suspects a final warning.

All right now, this is your last chance!

Surrounded by police officers, three youths give themselves up.

They knew there was a dog, so they showed themselves.

Those lads may not have been the brainiest lads you'd ever meet,

but I don't think they were that stupid.

I get the impression maybe with burglars sometimes, they think

"If I'm going to steal a telly,

"you get a new one on your insurance," and think,

"It's only property. What's the big deal?"

But to be left with that feeling of being intruded upon,

those actions have a really dramatic impact on all of us.

And actually it's not just about the property.

The three teenagers, who were unarmed, were taken into custody.

They eventually pleaded guilty to burglary,

and each received a community service order.

This was a really good example of the Specials at work.

We're there to support the regular police force.

So we were able to arrive, we're extra resource, we're able to contain.

I think we provided at least three extra officers to that incident.

And we joined that team and we're there to support and help.

After an exhausting week, it's nights like this which remind

Alex why he gives so much of his time to the Special Constabulary.

To catch any person committing a crime is satisfying.

It just is. It's hard to explain. But you make an instant difference.

Burglaries are one of those... I know it was a school -

sometimes it's a dwelling or house. It's a personal thing

and you want to catch people.

And so often you just don't quite make it in time.

Or they find another exit route, or you turn up one side

and they sneak out the other side.

So to be able to contain the building like we did

and to catch them, yeah, was really satisfying.

Specials are unpaid volunteers who work alone or alongside

the regular police to fight crime in their communities.

We got all of them!

-I don't want to see you walking on the main road again.

-Come on.

Recovery's en route.

Specials are not police community support officers.

They are fully-fledged members of the police force,

who have the same powers in law as their paid colleagues,

including the power of arrest.

I'll remind you, you're under arrest.

Anything you say will be written down.

Within many Special Constabularies, officers can rise through

the ranks, from Constable all the way to Chief Specials Officer.

Ouch, I've found a thorn...

STONES HIT CAR Den, incoming!

Specials work 16 hours a month or more as volunteers,

and undertake all kinds of duties, from policing community events

to arresting hardened criminals.

SIRENS BLARE

A Special Constable has to be ready to fight any type of crime,

responding to calls from the public and businesses alike.

State five to immediate incident.

Today, Special Constable Ben Ventham and PC Petr Torak

are in Peterborough,

and have had a call about a shoplifter at a local supermarket.

I think the economic times that we've had have had a big bearing

on shoplifting.

Repeat shoplifters will try and push the limit

they can actually take away.

When he's not volunteering, or at his day job

as an IT recruitment consultant...

So tell me, what sort of jobs are you looking for, then?

..Ben is at home with his wife Sophie.

I'm very proud for what he does. He does get tired, working 9 to 5

Monday to Friday, if not longer than them,

and then going out on a Friday night shift.

He could be up at seven on Friday and work his way through

till five o'clock Saturday morning.

He can get grumpy sometimes as well, with a bit of tiredness, but...

Doesn't everyone?

I come in on a Friday night and say, "Night, I'm going out now.

"I'm going out on shift," and leaving all the dinner

and house jobs to her that I should probably be doing,

but I'm off fighting crime.

So he got arrested, put in a cell for the night.

He enjoys what it is and what it's all about and he just, I think,

you know, he wants to help others.

'Being a Special is a great way of giving back to the community.'

How much have you drunk tonight?

There are aspects of the adrenaline rush that you get.

And it's just being in situations you've never been in before.

New events, new issues, new aspects of life.

I do help out because I know he's doing that extra bit

for the general public, and so I do my extra bit at home.

All right, buddy?

Ben and his regular colleague Petr arrive at the supermarket to speak

to the shoplifter who has been apprehended by security guards.

What has been happening here?

Sorry, I don't... No speak.

The man claims he can't speak English.

I think you can speak English quite well, so if you just tell me slowly,

in your ability, what has happened.

My friend is here, no police. Here...money.

The language barrier is proving difficult to break through.

Ho, ho, ho, it's Christmas.

We can't talk to him, we can't find out things we'd usually find out

straight on, and get their first account.

-Where are you from? Romania?

-Romania.

OK. Take a seat.

Unable to get a clear explanation from the suspect,

the officers have no idea what has happened.

When we spoke to the security guards they explained it wasn't just

a normal shoplifting, there were a few people involved.

If I show you on the camera here,

so that's where they're selecting from.

In the security office, Ben and Petr are shown in-store CCTV,

and it becomes clear the man was not working alone.

They're selecting quite large amounts so I passed them over

straightaway to Control to start following, monitoring them.

The camera shows how the suspect in the brown leather jacket

and his accomplice first fill up the trolley with boxes of whisky...

..then split up.

From my experience as a Special, there is definitely

a sort of increase in groups and gangs that are shoplifting.

The accomplice acts as a spotter,

and begins to monitor the security guards.

It was obvious he was working with him, he was watching me

at all times. He was on the phone at all times.

Meanwhile, the man continues to walk around the store,

but doesn't put anything else in his trolley.

The security guards were well aware that there were spotters

acting on his behalf and helping him, or aiding him,

in getting the stuff out without being paid for.

So it's quite a regular thing now, that we hear spotters are helping

people to shoplift.

While the spotter unsuccessfully attempts to distract

the security guards,

the suspect heads for the exit.

He's quickly stopped and detained.

In the commotion, the spotter escapes without detection.

They've rehearsed. He'd escaped the supermarket and fled off in a car.

The CCTV appears to give them the evidence they need.

Now they must assess the value of the alcohol in the trolley.

Have you got a till receipt by any chance?

So it's £900.

The quantity of items he'd taken, it was £900 worth of whisky.

So it was a fair quantity that he'd tried to escape with.

Shoplifters cost UK stores around £4.5 billion each year,

and add about £180 to the average family's annual shopping bill.

With such a high-value theft, Ben and Petr have heard enough

and decide to arrest the man.

Put hands like this. You are under arrest.

You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence

if you do not mention, when questioned, something you later

rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.

-Do you understand?

-Er...

Let me get to the station and you will get an interpreter

-and we will explain everything, OK?

-Interpreter?

-Yes.

Shoplifters, generally they are repeat offenders.

It's become a habit. They learn new tricks, new ways of getting things

out the shop without paying them. And it becomes a repeat offence

for them being caught and for us dealing with them.

It's not the biggest crime in the world, but it's still a crime

that we have to deal with and we take seriously

and go through the normal processes.

The man eventually pleaded guilty in court,

and received a two-year conditional discharge and court costs of £85.

The majority of Specials volunteer on Friday nights and weekends.

This often means patrolling high streets and town centres,

on the front line of Britain's binge drinking culture.

Town centres can be horrible places. Fighting, drinking, violence.

That can be really horrible for members of the public to see.

-He just started on me, man.

-He swung for me.

They will be louder.

WOMAN SHRIEKS

They're unpredictable.

-BEEP!

-Do not move.

There's drinking and there's being able to handle your drink.

The binge drinking is absolutely terrible.

It makes people act different.

Go away and stop swearing.

They can become violent and aggressive quite quickly.

-MAN:

-What?! What?!

Don't kick out.

But it's about making sure you control the situation

and not let it escalate to the point where there's any violence.

Listen. Listen. Listen!

And as a Special, we might be that officer on the high street

that afternoon or evening that wouldn't have been there

had we not volunteered that night.

Full punch, right in the face, knocked him to the ground.

The bouncers have seen it.

To take them off the streets that night so they can sleep it off

is really rewarding.

Tonight, in the battle to reclaim the streets, is 21-year-old

Special Sergeant Lewis Newton, and his colleague,

Special Constable and website developer Adam Barnwell.

If you are caught in the city centre or outside the pub,

or anywhere in the city centre, you're going to get arrested.

Taking a stand against the lager louts is the reason Lewis decided

to become a volunteer.

It is one of the reasons why I became a Special.

The binge drinking, the anti-social behaviour.

Someone needs to crack down on that and that's what I want to do.

So I'll stop it, and I want to see that difference

and I want to make the public proud.

You've got the pay-and-go, where you can just pay as you come along.

When he's not in police uniform, patrolling the streets,

Lewis is a membership consultant at his local gym.

Here I'm on a 40-hour-a-week contract,

so that's not a Monday to Friday, 9 till 5, that is Monday

all the way through to Sunday, if I have to.

Any more booked in today?

She's cancelled because of the snow so she's coming in tomorrow.

Balancing his time between a day job, volunteering as a Special,

and the social life of a typical 21-year-old, isn't easy.

I meet my friends regularly and they know what I do,

so they appreciate when I can't come out sometimes.

I plan way ahead. I keep diary after diary after diary, really.

Giving up his time for free is a sacrifice Lewis is more than willing

to make in order to fulfil his childhood ambition

of becoming a police officer.

I became a Special because I was brought up from a young age

around the emergency services. My dad's in the ambulance service.

From there, I then had my heart set, ever since I was playing

with my police cars when I was young, to join the police.

Tonight, Lewis and his Special colleague Adam Barnwell have

received a call from door staff about a student who has been

thrown out of a club.

-BOUNCER:

-Go away!

When they arrive on scene, the man is still arguing with door staff.

-I am a peaceful person!

-Hello, sir.

-Move over.

-No, no, no.

-Move out the way, move out of the way.

-No, can I be serious?

-Listen to me, yes?

-No, listen...

-Listen to me!

Keep your arms down by the side of you and listen to me, yes?

I'm a foreign student!

-You've been asked to leave.

-I understand. No, but can I ask why?

-Because they've asked you to, that's why.

-No, seriously, no, no, no.

-It's their premises.

-I'm pretty sure...

-Your arms down, now.

-Is it wrong to ask why?

'The man did appear intoxicated, due to his demeanour on the scene.'

He was very loud, and as soon as I'd gained a good distance between him,

I could clearly smell drink on his breath.

I didn't attack anyone, I didn't punch anyone. That guard...

Keep your arms down or you'll get arrested in a minute.

-Serious...

-Simple as that. OK, I'm not going to tell you again.

Sorry, it's just my culture.

We receive quite a lot of training in people's demeanour

and how their hands approach you at all times.

In this case, his hands were constantly up toward my body,

the top of my body and towards my face.

And he stands very close to you when he talks to you.

So I kept informing him to lower his arms for my safety and the public's.

No, seriously, it's just my culture. I don't mean any harm to you.

OK. My culture is to keep hands down.

'It's not about his nationality, it's about his body and his demeanour'

at the time. A police officer has asked him to lower his hands

for his safety, as he feels concerns. So you need to take that on board.

-'He needed to listen.'

-No! Dude. Can I ask something?

Don't call me dude, because I'm not your dude.

-OK, sorry. Officer...

-Put your hand down.

-Officer...

I don't know what's happened here, but what I do know is,

you're shouting, OK, you're disturbing the peace.

No... I'm not disturbing the peace!

I don't care if he's asked you to leave or not,

I'm asking you to leave. If you don't leave,

-you will be arrested. What are you going to do?

-Can I ask why?

OK, from my side, you're drunk and disorderly

and you're disturbing the peace. Two offences.

-You will be arrested.

-Can I leave right now? What other defence

-can I make?

-You will be leaving right now.

-No.

The man is refusing to leave despite being told he is being drunk

and disorderly and disturbing the peace,

both arrestable offences.

It's not fair. I got choked on the ground for nothing.

He'd claimed that the door staff had ejected him forcefully.

Lewis talks to the door staff to hear their side of the story.

We spoke to the bouncers to gain some more information

about the situation and how it's resulted in him being outside

of this location instead of inside.

They informed us that he's had too much to drink

and, due to his demeanour inside the club, they've asked him to leave.

He's refused to and not listened to them as well, and they've had

to use force to eject him.

-I'm not going to put my hand down!

-You're not going to listen to me?

I'm going to move him on now, I've had enough.

All right, mate.

Lewis and Adam don't want to arrest the man, but he's refusing to leave.

That is the end of the story, you now have to move on.

-No, no, that's not the end of the story for me.

-OK.

The man wants to make an official complaint against the door staff,

but as Adam and Lewis have explained, any statement

would be useless because of his level of intoxication.

-Sir, my patience is wearing thin.

-Can I ask you something?

I didn't punch anyone, I didn't assault anyone.

The Specials are running out of options.

It is annoying when someone doesn't listen to you.

Using force, in any situation, is the last thing we want to use.

We want to use communication and deal with it appropriately.

But in some situations we need to.

Right, I'm not arguing with you any more. Go.

-Go now, move it!

-No, really! I am asking.

I'm not arguing with you any more.

-Why am I being pushed?

-Keep moving that way. Simple as that.

-Why am I being pushed?

-Go home. Go home now.

-Go home now. Move it.

-I'm asking you, you just pushed me into a wall.

-Go home, simple as that.

-I'm asking. Am I being violent?

I'm not being anything. What is wrong with you?

What am I doing wrong?

No, no, I'm not even being violent.

I'm not being anything.

You've got two options. This is your last and final warning.

You go home or you get arrested, which one are you having?

'We, as police officers, don't go out there to make an arrest.

'We go out there to deal with it appropriately.

'In this situation he's had too much to drink.'

We'd rather him get to a safe location - home,

or a friend's house. We'll just escort him out of the city centre.

A Good Samaritan steps in to talk sense into the student.

-No, no, listen...

-Stop being silly, bruv.

-No, no.

-Come.

-Stop being silly, man.

-If we start now, what next? What next?

-Take him with you. Take him with you.

-No, no, no. Dude...

He convinces him to go with him.

Myself and my colleague were very relieved that someone took him away

and we thought, if he didn't want to listen to us,

he may listen to them. It'll prevent him from being arrested.

It'll give us more time to deal with more incidents that may occur

later on during the night.

We were very relieved that he got taken away, as we felt that was

more appropriate for him.

He's one of our customers who will literally come back and back at you.

You can talk to him, you can be the politest police officer ever

but it won't work. He's had too much to drink, he needs to go home.

Hopefully that guy talks sense into him and takes him back.

But despite the Good Samaritan's best efforts,

he fails to convince the man to go home.

He's back again, and now Lewis is the target of his antagonism.

-OK, can I ask you something?

-No, go. No. Be quiet, go.

'My heart did sink at the time because I thought we'd resolved'

the situation. I thought the situation was finished

and we could move on to a more serious incident.

-Go away, now.

-Answer my question.

-I'm not answering your questions, go away.

-No, I'm asking a question.

-Am I being violent?

-'I'm an extremely patient person.'

I have been throughout my whole life. I feel patience gets you a long way.

However, people can push that patience, and push it and push it

until you have to act upon it.

And you thought I was going to back away. No!

Put it this way, you touch me one more time and you're going to be

on that floor. So you step back. Step back from me now.

I'm not going to punch you, even if I touch you...

-Do not...! Do not...!

-..I'm not going to hurt you!

Do you understand?

Lewis has given the man warning after warning about his behaviour,

and specifically his hand gestures. But now he's had enough.

-Why you do this to me?

-Right, you're under arrest for drunk

-and disorderly.

-I'm not drunk!

-You do not have to say anything, but it may

harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something

you later rely on in court.

Anything you do say may be given in evidence, understand?

It really wasn't the outcome I wanted, I wanted him to leave

the city centre as requested. But if we didn't make that arrest,

you never know, we could possibly be dealing with the same guy

a couple of hours later and it could be a more serious incident.

I do not believe that I've provoked you...

'I'm a 21-year-old. I do like to have a drink with my friends

'when I'm socialising. However, I know the difference

'between having a drink and having too much to drink'

and becoming a nuisance and doing things you shouldn't be doing.

Why? Ask me. Did I threaten you? Is there a video?

The man was taken back to custody

and received a fixed penalty notice for £80.

It is difficult to see and deal with the effects of alcohol

on a regular basis. When we could be responding to serious 999 calls,

we have to deal with people who have had too much to drink and

can't handle themselves when they should be having a good night out.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd