Blackpool's emergency services are tackling the fallout from the dizzying array of 'party drugs' that are on the rise in towns across the UK. Mephadrone - aka 'MCAT' and 'Meow Meow', and known as 'Bubble' in Blackpool - is available on many street corners. You can get a hit for the price of a pint of beer, but it can have highly unpredictable effects. PC Kris Beasley, one of Blackpool's longest-serving beat cops, has seen it all, but he - alongside his police, ambulance and fire colleagues - is increasingly facing the fallout from punters who are playing a chemical lottery to get high. Meanwhile the emergency services cope with a never-ending stream of calls, from a man exposing his penis at a railway station, to violent patients and rowdy suspects, including a pair of naked squaddies whose R&R has got out of hand.
This episode focuses on kids, who are taking up more and more of the emergency services' time, whether it's prank calls, bad behaviour or poor parenting. PC Chris Hardy responds to a call from a terrified family who've had a brick thrown through their window and a gang of lads outside their house. The incident appears to have started when one boy called another 'fat' and the police take a 13-year-old into custody. When a resident finds a three-year-old boy walking barefoot and alone down a back street, PC Mark Glass is dispatched to question the boy, find out where he lives and where his parents are. PC Mike Ellis is sent to track down 12-year-old twin girls who've disappeared on the promenade after their father went drinking. And a six-month-old baby is injured when his mother leaves him in the care of two teenagers while she goes out on the town. Meanwhile police and ambulance are sent to help Andrea, a regular caller to 999 who has a drink problem and is looked after by her teenage daughter, who also acts as a parent to her younger brother. And police are called out after tourists spot a woman performing sexual acts on teenage boys under the pier on the beach, just yards from families on holiday.
This programme focuses on relationships. When things go wrong, more of us than ever are dialling 999, asking the emergency services to pick up the pieces and protect us from those we used to trust. An increasing number of 999 calls involve relationship disputes, but they're never easy to resolve. The emergency operators are inundated with petty, non-emergency calls, ranging from people falling out over what they're watching on telly, to others arguing about computer games and who gets to keep the kitten when they split up. But domestic arguments often erupt into violence - last year cases of domestic violence increased by an astonishing 35% within a single year. Cases include a man accused of punching his girlfriend outside a pub, while another man is left with a serious wound after being stabbed in the stomach with a broken bottle. Meanwhile PC Claire van Deurs Goss meets a heavily pregnant woman who claims to have been assaulted by her partner, but refuses to press charges. Another woman has been head-butted by her ex-boyfriend. For the emergency staff, it's heart-breaking that children are often caught up in their parents' fights, with some as young as six calling 999 for help. Paramedics Paul Atherton and Mandy Jenkinson are a couple as well as being life-saving colleagues. Paul's been popping the question for years, but will Mandy finally give in and say yes?
There is one night when everyone's up for a party: payday. Whether you work a 50-hour week or depend on state benefits, the day that money hits bank accounts across the UK signals the beginning of drink-fuelled celebrations, a time to forget your troubles and blow off some steam. For the call operators at Blackpool's emergency control centres hearing about our payday excesses is a weekly occurrence and money plays a part in many 999 calls, from the serious burglaries to the callers reporting a lack of credit on their mobile phone.
This episode focuses on an issue that is keeping the emergency services busier than ever: people's state of mind. A quarter of the UK population will suffer from mental health problems at some time in their lives. And with the number of psychiatric beds falling by 80% in a generation, inevitably the emergency services are dealing with more people with serious mental health problems.
This programme focuses on how women in our society are changing; whether it's putting themselves in harm's way as members of the emergency services, or the increasing number of women the 999 system is having to deal with. Female emergency service workers reveal their motivations for doing the work that they do and the challenges they face on a daily basis, while the programme features young women for whom drink, violence and law-breaking have become commonplace and a perverse source of pride.
Alcohol is fueling problems across the UK. Britain likes to drink and Blackpool is a magnet for stag and hen parties, with around 2000 clubs and bars. 'It's a mixture between a zoo and Jeremy Kyle's waiting room,' says Sergeant Dunne. 'We've practically turned into a nation of just drunkards really, haven't we?'.
An increasing number of people are calling 999 with non-emergencies and hoax calls that are costing the already stretched emergency services millions and potentially diverting crews from genuine emergencies. This episode focuses on life savers and time wasters, featuring calls to the emergency services about a range of non-emergencies, from culinary injuries to broken light bulbs, as bizarre as they are diverse. But even more serious are the handful of people who abuse the emergency system by making hoax calls in the knowledge that they are potentially diverting an ambulance or fire engine from attending a serious injury or life-threatening situation.
This episode follows how Blackpool's emergency services deal with incidents involving people from outside the town. With 13 million visitors each year, Blackpool is Britain's most popular seaside resort. While the older generation come to re-live the town's heyday, younger visitors - particularly those on alcohol-fuelled stag, hen and birthday weekends - are more likely to trouble the emergency services.
This episode asks the police, ambulance and fire staff what they really think about the jobs they do. With more and more social problems falling to them, the emergency workers frequently question how much of their work is made up of actual emergencies. But time and again they reveal how proud they are to be protecting us from each other and from ourselves.
The first film in the series explores the struggles of becoming an adult in modern Britain. Cases include a young man in Southend who's been stabbed multiple times, an 18-year-old who got very drunk on his first night out in central London, and a 19-year-old student in Nottingham who's taken an overdose of anti-depressants and drunk hair bleach.
In the UK, 1.6 million people are dependent on alcohol, and alcohol misuse directly costs the NHS £3.5bn a year, with admissions to hospital due to drinking doubling in ten years. Up to a fifth of ambulance call-outs are alcohol-related, but one paramedic reports that some weekends three-quarters of his patients are affected by booze. Sometimes ambulances are called simply because the patient is too drunk to remember where they live or want a taxi ride home. And middle aged, middle class professionals are at as much risk of ending up in an ambulance thanks to drink as the young and irresponsible or long-term alcoholics. Cases include a middle-aged executive who's drunk so much he's become incontinent, covering himself, the paramedics and ambulance in urine and faeces; a woman who's passed out after a day at the races; a 28-year-old who's lost everything through drinking; and a woman having a psychotic episode brought on by chronic and long-term alcohol abuse.
This episode follows paramedics as they do their best to help patients with mental health problems. With one in four of us facing such issues at some point in our lives, it's become the job of the emergency services to pick up the pieces, often facing complex and difficult situations for which they have little training. Paramedic Maria Stanley is called to a multi-storey car park where she is first on the scene and has to talk a suicidal man away from the edge, while Kirsten Harper and Amy Siddall race to help a man who's having suicidal thoughts and whose daughter can't cope. Another patient has heard imaginary voices most of his life and is threatening suicide. He's at breaking point, but says that mental health services said he's 'not crazy enough' to get treatment. Meanwhile, with self-harming becoming one of the most prevalent mental health issues, Selina Conway is called out to help a man who's been cutting his arm. And in London, crews are called to help when a failed suicide bid leaves a middle-aged man trapped under an underground train.
This episode focuses on call-outs to patients fighting for life, and the medical, ethical and emotional challenges their care creates, not just for the paramedics, but also for the friends and family who may be left behind.
This episode focuses on the older generation, who now account for two thirds of ambulance calls. With 11 million people in Britain over the age of 65, the NHS is feeling a greater strain than ever before.
This episode focuses on babies - from births to over-protective parents and from very poorly children to those facing neglect and abuse
The work of police and paramedics in Cheshire, following incidents from the moment a 999 call is made to the arrival of the frontline police and paramedics. In this episode, a 20-year-old girl has returned home after a night out, collapsed in front of her parents and stopped breathing, while one man calls the emergency services to say that a naked stranger his mother met at a punk gig has fallen down their stairs
This edition shows the devastating effects that so-called legal highs can have on users in one community and the huge strain their use is putting on already stretched emergency services. In Warrington, PC Karl Dickin is one of eight officers sent to detain a man in his 20s who's taken a cocktail of illegal and legal drugs and is acting erratically, while a regular user is found coughing up blood at a bus stop
Cheshire's emergency services are dealing with more than 2500 neighbour-related incidents a year. In Crewe, PCs Billy Elliot and Greg Greaves race to a succession of disputes, including a man who claims someone else has moved into his flat.
Exploring the complex issues surrounding the care of people with mental health problems in the UK and the increasing role that police and ambulance staff now have to play in supporting those who are affected.
The documentary focuses on the small but significant minority of people who are regular users of the emergency services. PC Billy Elliott visits a familiar address following complaints from neighbours about another disturbance - and one of the men ends up spending 24 hours in police custody, even requesting his favourite cell. DC Andy Knapman interviews a persistent shoplifter who has been arrested more than 50 times, while paramedics and police pay another visit to 50-year-old alcoholic Michaela
PC Greg Greaves calls for back-up in Crewe after two suspects shout claims of abuse and racism at him, and in Warrington, paramedic Becki arrives at the home of Marika, a Latvian woman who has been mugged in the street and left with a black eye. Meanwhile, PC Niaz Waddington and his colleagues keep a close eye on Saturday night revelers as the number of racially aggravated incidents dealt with by Cheshire Police on a typical weekend has doubled in the past five years
A look at how both the haves and the have-nots are being affected by crime. In Crewe, PC Matt Ambrose is called to the home of an elderly woman who has had nearly £10,000 of her life savings stolen from her bank account.
With alcohol-related incidents in the UK costing the emergency services nearly £3 billion a year, this episode features people who risk ruining their own - and other people's - lives for the sake of a night out.
Exploring the trails and tribulations of coming of age in 2016, and the challenges the emergency services face in dealing with people in the legal and social hinterland between childhood and adulthood.
PCs Matt Ambrose and Mike Lowe are dispatched to a house in Crewe following reports of a man threatening his ex-partner with a gun. It's down to the PCs to find and lock the male up for the night, despite him resisting arrest.
In Nantwich, PC Vicky Howell and PC Greg Greaves pull over a 31-year-old woman suspected of driving under the influence despite being only a couple of streets away from home. After blowing over double the legal limit, she is taken into custody.
PCs Bryony Hancock and Charlotte Wilson are called to a Saturday night lovers' tiff in Crewe before heading to help a woman who's been assaulted in her home by her partner.
In Warrington paramedics arrive at the home of a man having a suspected cardiac arrest. With CPR already in action and a defibrillator at close hand he is given the best possible chance of survival.
This episode meets Cheshire's police custody staff, who deal with everyone from people accused of terrible crimes to others who see the cells as a welcome break from other challenges
The mother of nine year old Taleah calls 999 to report that her daughter has been racially abused by two 11 year olds while out playing. It's the first time that Taleah has ever heard the N-word.
Over the last decade, incidents of violence perpetrated by young men have risen by 22%. This episode meets the police officers and paramedics in Wiltshire dealing with the consequences.
Following criminalisation of once legal highs, crack and heroin are on the up and users and dealers are getting younger as organised gangs flood small local communities with drugs.
This episode explores a troubling rise in domestic burglaries, from people caught stealing food to thieves targeting wealthy individuals. And a woman dials 999 when she hears someone in her house.
In Swindon one burglar is caught red handed, stealing frozen food from someone's freezer. Food bank use in Wiltshire has tripled over the last two years; is increasing poverty driving an escalation in burglary?
Police are dispatched what a member of the public finds a four year old boy wandering alone in the street.
Wiltshire Police receive three times as many reports of voyeurism and male exposure as any other force in the UK. This episode meets Wiltshire's police officers to examine sexual crime.
Following the emergency services as they deal with incidents related to the large military population in Wiltshire, with mental health problems a big issue as well as the fights between soldiers and civilians. In Swindon, a 24-year-old in basic training is arrested and brought into custody on suspicion of carrying out a totally unprovoked attack on a 76-year-old widower.
The number of people sleeping rough in the UK has doubled in six years. This episode explores the impact of homelessness on Wiltshire Police.
Series 5 Episode 4 With mental health support services across the UK being cut, this episode meets police call handlers and paramedics who find themselves trying to help people who have severe mental health needs.
The edition focuses on the rapidly growing number of 999 calls connected to the over-75s. In Warminster, the emergency services are called to a crash involving three cars, which has left one person with life-changing injuries and was caused by a 75-year-old man who suffered a suspected heart attack at the wheel. PC Phil Bridge is searching Trowbridge to find a 73-year-old woman who is in the latter stages of dementia and has disappeared while out shopping with her son.
From zero-hours contracts to long working hours, this episode explores how the emergency services deal with issues arising from rising levels of stress and anxiety in the workplace.
In Wiltshire more and more young people are challenging the police's authority. With over 88,000 under-18s arrested in the UK in 2016, are young people being given too many chances or not enough?
This episode joins Wiltshire's police officers as they deal with young men driving dangerously and tackle the resurgence of joyriding - with some drivers as young as 14
This episode explores the impact of loneliness, as the emergency services deal with everyone from elderly people who need someone to talk to, to teenagers struggling with the pressures of social media
The number of people living alone in the UK has doubled in 40 years to a greater number than at any time in our history. With no one else to talk to, people are relying more and more on 999.
Cameras go behind the scenes with Wilshire's emergency services to explore the rising use of strong cannabis, related crime and the impact of suspected cannabis psychosis.
Joining the emergency services as they respond to accidents from car crashes to sports injuries and an ambulance crew are despatched to a rural area where a man has chopped through his foot with an axe while cutting firewood.
In the last five years, Wiltshire has experienced a 63 percent increase in offences committed by women. The police face extraordinary levels of violence as they deal with this female crime wave, including an attack on a single girl by a gang.
The documentary focuses on the demands placed on the women and men who answer people's cries for help. As an ambulance crew answers a call to a heart attack, call handlers guide the victim's daughter through administering CPR. A nine-year-old boy is coached through a terrifying situation when his mother suffers a diabetic emergency while driving, and a father-to-be is instructed how to deliver his baby over the phone.
Exploring the link between poverty and rising crime when a 14 year old reports a break-in at her home where jewellery and watches have been stolen. Also, a shoplifter admits he has been driven to extreme measures in order to survive.
Cameras focus on the work carried out by Wiltshire's police, paramedic and fire services. Unarmed police officers are called to a Sunday league football match where a disgruntled player is brandishing an axe. In the early hours of Sunday morning, all available units are scrambled to assist an injured officer at a mass pub brawl.
The police are called to assist a mother whose autistic son is attacking her. A man with Asperger's is brought in on suspicion of making hoax calls.
Cameras focus on the five per cent of the UK's families who are collectively responsible for a staggering amount of the nation's crime - 50 per cent of criminal arrests. Police are dispatched to apprehend a drunk young man outside a nightclub. Some members of his family have amassed 193 arrests and 111 convictions between them.
Police launch a murder investigation when two people are stabbed by a stranger. But all may not be as it seems, in a case that raises difficult questions about why people carry knives.
With the country increasingly politically and financially divided, a focus on the battle faced by Britain's most overstretched emergency service: the police.
The work of police in Northamptonshire, where, with resources stretched to breaking point, officers are struggling to meet the increased demand on their services.
This edition focuses on the growing lack of respect officers face on the street, with a mass confrontation between teenagers in Northampton having worrying implications for PC Allan Whenmouth. A 15-year-old is arrested for assaulting a police officer in Corby town centre, while rookie PC Wioletta Britten reveals she experienced her first assault after working on response for only a few months.
This edition focuses on knife crime, with police in Northamptonshire having seen an almost 70 per cent increase in such incidents over the past five years. After a man is threatened with a knife in Aldi, PC Brett McKenna and a Taser team go to arrest the perpetrator and search his flat, while PC Steve Cheatham attends the scene of a reported stabbing on a a residential estate in Corby.
Wiltshire Police launch a murder investigation when two people are stabbed by a stranger. But all may not be as it seems, in a case that raises difficult questions about why people carry knives.
In Northamptonshire, police are called out after a vicious attack on students. And two constables need back-up when attacked with a pool cue by a man who refuses to leave a pub.
In Northamptonshire, police custody cells are stretched to breaking point as they have just 62 cells to cater for a population of 700,000. A 67-year-old lady is brought in for drink-driving and a female detainee decides to strip naked.
There is a surge in the number of calls to Northampton police reporting verbal abuse on race, religion, sex or sexuality. The police are experiencing a surge in homophobic and transphobic abuse.
In the past five years, Wiltshire has experienced a 63% increase in offences committed by women. The police try to deal with the female crime wave, as the number of women arrested for drugs offences has more than doubled.
The return of the documentary following the work of emergency services, with this edition focusing on the rising incidence of theft in Northamptonshire. PC Imogen Robinson chases a prolific shoplifter who has stolen a box of chocolate bars from a shop, while PC Ben Norris dispatched to apprehend a suspected burglar - who then carries out a rooftop protest.
Northamptonshire police officers have their hands full tackling a prolific shoplifter, a burglar making a rooftop protest, a telephone scam, and what looks like a cyber break-in.
With resources stretched to breaking point for the police in Northamptonshire, a look at the increasingly violent behaviour of teenage boys, from acid attacks to stabbings.
On the front line with South Yorkshire Police as Covid begins. Officers assist two victims of domestic abuse and an elderly man home alone and under siege.
South Yorkshire Police attend a suspected sexual assault outside a nightclub and a case of indecent exposure on the street. A man is arrested on suspicion of domestic rape.
Police are called to the scene of a vicious attack by teens. A man is assaulted driving in the early hours. And at a break-in, two officers find themselves outnumbered by youths.
Early 2020, the start of Covid-19, and South Yorkshire Police face a surge in anxious calls and crimes, from folk fighting over loo rolls to domestic violence and substance abuse
South Yorkshire Police reveal what happens when people seek revenge by street justice, from a supermarket brawl to taking a hammer on the rampage, as well as a hit-and-run as payback.
This episode reveals the realities of policing home drinking. A family gathering spills into the street and gets out of control. An ambulance crew are in danger at a house party.
The South Yorkshire Police deal with complex cases of parents living in fear of their own children. In Sheffield, a mother asks for her 15-year-old to be taken into custody after he starts causing damage at their home, and for the second time in three days, the same officers are despatched to a report of a son attacking his father. Elsewhere, a distraught mother is under siege from her violent and aggressive 23-year-old son.
With a surge in the number of calls to Northampton police reporting verbal abuse on race, religion, sex or sexuality, have our divisive politics given hate speech a boost.
South Yorkshire Police work the long nightshift - breaking up fights, rescuing a colleague, nabbing a fuel thief, and attending a possible suicide on a bridge outside Doncaster
Cases of alcohol-related call-outs involving excessive drinking by women. Officers are alerted by a taxi driver to someone who has been drunk and asleep in a gutter, while PCs Brad Phillips and Mike Doggett attend the scene of a mid-evening car crash. Elsewhere, a disturbance in a pub spills out onto the streets, resulting in an arrest for assault and an entire family of young children being forced to go into custody by their mother
Situations in Northamptonshire when people are taken into police custody. The rising number of first-time offenders in custody often leaving resources are stretched to breaking point, given that there are only 62 custody cells to cater for a population of 700,000 people. A 60-year-old drunk driver is brought in for her first offence, and detention officer Perry Chaplin has to deal with a detainee who has stripped naked
One-off special following South Yorkshire Police investigating reports of bullying, from playground brawls and racism in schools, to coercive domestic abuse. Cases featured include a 14-year-old boy hospitalised by a gang in the street, a single vulnerable woman being systematically targeted by local teens in her own home, and a distraught mother watching her 27-year-old son attempting suicide after being bullied at work.
