Next Episode of Inside the Force: 24/7 is
Season 3 / Episode 10 and airs on 20 May 2024 20:00
Life inside a busy police station.
In this episode Middlesbrough Police Station's officers face the daily stark reality of drug abuse in the town, which has one of the highest drug related death rates in Europe.
PCs Tash Nicholls and Nancie Mitten are called to an on-going domestic where a man is having a drug-induced psychotic episode after taking £400 worth of cocaine. Back-up arrives as the officers struggle to restrain the man, and three officers are left injured, with one female officer receiving a black eye.
On the ground floor in custody, Sergeant Dave Barker attempts to book in a man arrested on suspicion of drink driving. When the suspect was detained he assaulted officers by spitting at them so is put in a spit-hood to protect police. In custody it takes five officers to handle the man who growls and tells Dave he has taken over one hundred Valium pills.
Across town, PC Jordan Raper is out on patrol with a rookie officer. They stop and search a suspected drug dealer who, they believe, has thrown a bag over a fence containing Class A drugs, an extendable baton, pepper spray, ammonia acid, and large quantities of cash. Dealing with drugs on the streets is a common occurrence for Jordan, "The drug problem in Middlesbrough is massive and there's also the violence that comes with it." Back at the station the suspect is handed over to detectives for questioning.
A recent spate of thefts and robberies are attributed to the drug epidemic in Middlesbrough, and PC Mark Insull is tasked with bringing in a man suspected of stealing from a Royal Mail van. Mark knows the suspect well. As they watch CCTV of the theft the man concedes, "It looks an awful lot like me", but adds, "when I've taken those tablets I wake up the next day and don't know what I've done… those tablets are the curse of this town." Just one week later, officers are called to the man's address, a sudden death has been reported and it's drug related.
A big fight breaks out on an estate on one of the hottest days of the year; PCs attend a dispute where threats are made to torch a house; and a man is accused of assaulting his cousin.
In a typical month, Cleveland Police can respond to over one thousand mental health related calls. It puts a massive strain on the officers in Middlesbrough Police Station.
On a Saturday night shift, PCs Jordan Vasey and James Boyd Bell are called to a suspected domestic incident but upon arrival the suspect is struggling to breathe and in need of medical help having taken cocaine. After checks by paramedics, the suspect is arrested and taken to custody.
At Middlesbrough Station, PCs Will Douglas and Katie Welford prepare to go on patrol. A call comes in about a domestic between a mother and daughter that has resulted in a garden gate being set alight. At the scene it soon becomes apparent that it is more of a mental health issue and the suspect is arrested and taken to custody where she can be checked and given support. In Custody Detention, Officer Gary arranges help for the suspect.
Outside custody a police van arrives with an agitated man who has been arrested on suspicion of assault. He resists coming out of the van and threatens to kick police. It takes seven officers to get him into custody where he claims to have an injured shoulder and demands to go to hospital. He is taken to be checked out but refuses to be seen and threatens to kill officers. It takes two police vans and yet more officers to get him back to custody.
In town a man is self-harming in the street. PCs Jonny Whitwell and Rosie Stonehouse attend but struggle to get through to the appropriate mental health teams. They face a long wait for help and with urgent calls stacking up in Force Control they are under pressure. An exasperated Jonny comments "Every job we go to usually has some sort of mental health issue attributed to them but we're not really the right people to do anything for them."
This year, police forces in England and Wales plan to ease the number of mental health callouts they respond to.
In this episode, officers from Middlesbrough Police Station deal with drug and drink related urgent calls.
In Force Control, a call comes in about a burglary taking place. The caller has seen three males break into the property. PCs Adam Woodland and James Sexton investigate but can't see or hear anything. Adam rings the 999 caller back for more information who insists the burglars must still be inside so a back-up is called to force entry. As they enter, Adam immediately sees what the property is being used for – it's a big cannabis farm with tens of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis plants crowding every room. Its also an electrical hazard with illegal overloaded sockets everywhere – Adam warns everyone to be careful of booby traps like spikes behind doors.
Across town, two plainclothed officers on a special operation are struggling on the ground with a suspect and call for urgent assistance. Multiple units respond, including PC Ben Burgess, and help arrest the suspect who is suspected of offering the plain clothed officers crack cocaine. The address he exited is searched and more crack cocaine is discovered, along with a drawer full of cash.
Back at the station, PCs Jamie Roberts and Mason Gale are starting a shift when they're called to a dispute between neighbours that started as a party but has escalated into a street fight, resulting in a 14-year-old girl allegedly being assaulted by a man. On arrival, there are conflicting stories between the alleged victims and aggressor. To find out who did what, Mason and Jamie track down CCTV of the incident and start to piece together what happened. As one of the officers says, "There's three sides to a story, there's your side, there's their side and there's the truth in the middle." Mason and Jamie need to establish where this truth is.
In this episode Middlesborough Police deal with reoffenders. It's estimated that the annual economic and social cost of reoffending is £18bn.
On a busy Friday night PCs Phoebe Brough and John Walker are called to deal with a fight in progress between neighbours. On arrival, the officers find a group of people angry at their neighbour, who has allegedly been playing loud music and is drunk. As they are investigating, the suspect comes out of his house and becomes increasingly agitated, so he's arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly.
A week later PCs Connor Pearson and Johnny Whitwell are called back to the same address after a 999 call from a family member saying the same man has become drunk and aggressive. On arrival, Connor and Johnny arrest the man on suspicion of common assault and take him back to custody.
On another call Sergeants Laura Baker and Steven Bolsover attend an urgent call about a knife-wielding man in the road. As they chase him down and draw a taser, the suspect allegedly throws the knife over a bridge but Sgt Laura retrieves what turns out to be a large combat knife. The suspect denies it is his, but Steven says he's known him for about 20 years as someone who's well versed in the criminal justice system.
In the early hours of the morning, PCs Tash Nicholls and Kern Smiles respond to a call about a house window being smashed. They can't rouse the resident so with concern for their safety, they go in through the broken window. The resident is asleep unawares upstairs and unharmed. She thinks it's antisocial behaviour because she's part of a scheme to improve the road. The officers say they see it time and time again – the same offenders causing problems for everyone else.
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