Traffic Cops S15E02 (21 Nov 2016)
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00:00Britain's roads have become the front line in the fight against crime and disorder, from
00:08organised criminal gangs to the nation's worst drivers. And catching those using our streets
00:16to break the law is the job of the traffic cops.
00:19Stop. Do not resist.
00:22Chase him. Chase him and we'll get hold of him. We'll go wherever we need to go to stop
00:29him.
00:30Tonight, teenage tearaways.
00:33They're all young kids, males and females.
00:36Get him, get him, get him.
00:39A high-speed chase leads to a wanted criminal and uninsured drivers desperate to avoid the
00:47traffic cops.
00:48I've got a vehicle failing to stop.
00:50Get in the car. I'm not going to fall out with you again.
00:52Me?
00:53Yeah, you.
00:55Welcome to Yorkshire, one of the biggest beats in Britain. From urban sprawl to the
01:01Yorkshire Dales, every day the police face a different challenge.
01:05I can walk down a street and I can go, he assaults people, he deals drugs, he's a burglar,
01:11he's a car thief.
01:12Go on, mate. Go on.
01:15Sometimes you think, when I drive to work, am I going across a line where just different
01:20rules apply?
01:21Get down, get down, get down.
01:34Every year, there are 100,000 under 18-year-olds arrested in the UK.
01:40In Bradford and Leeds, the police have to deal with some of the highest rates for vehicle
01:44theft by youths in the country.
01:47So the West Yorkshire traffic cops deal with teenage tearaways in cars almost every single
01:52day.
01:53You see these kids and they grow up alongside you doing your job, the faces that we see
01:59time and again. So you try to convince them that they're going down the wrong path and
02:04you see them go from the minor offences to worse offences.
02:09It's 5.30pm, the evening rush hour in Leeds.
02:14Traffic cops Paul Morris and colleague Chris Spencer are in pursuit of an uninsured and
02:18unlicensed 17-year-old who has failed to stop.
02:22I thought, he's not got any insurance, but the other thoughts are, what's the vehicle
02:29been used for?
02:30There were two other people in the car. My mind is thinking now, has it been used for
02:34criminal offences? What's he been up to prior to me stopping him?
02:42Following a chase in the back streets is risky. Chris is playing catch up to Paul, desperate
02:47to cut the Fiesta off before the chase goes any further.
02:50It's going to come out behind us now. I'm at the top of Bearswater Road now, Moz. It's
02:58going to pop out any second here.
03:00I know those roads really, really well. So I was trying my best to try just sneak in
03:04front of it, perhaps anticipate where it was going, so I could jump in front of it.
03:09We've just gone left, left, left. We've all filled it up.
03:12Get ready, man. Take it easy.
03:14But second-guessing the desperate teenage driver doesn't quite go to plan.
03:18Right, we'll try to head them off down here now. It's just up here on our right-hand side
03:25now.
03:26Back here, it's you. Back here, it's you. I'm right.
03:29Are you still in check?
03:31Moments later, Chris finally catches up.
03:34Yeah, I'm behind you now, mate.
03:40With the runaway car circling the back streets of Leeds, the danger levels are high, and
03:45a police helicopter joins the pursuit to help Chris and Paul.
03:48We're doing a left, left, left now. We're coming down the air holes down there now. Stand
03:54by. We've gone down Valley Road, I think.
03:56In pursuit, we've gone down Valley Road. Yes, yes.
03:59It could be my family using those roads. He could quite easily have caused a crash, and
04:03it could be anybody.
04:04As the Fiesta joins a main road, Chris and Paul see a chance to stop the pursuit.
04:09Yeah, we're going further than a stop now. Stand by.
04:17Chris gets in front of the car, but the driver makes another reckless brake from the cops,
04:24veering dangerously into the opposite carriageway.
04:27Then the teenage driver takes a turn that catches even seasoned traffic cops by surprise.
04:33Down about towards the roundy park, haven't we? Do you want to try the uphold?
04:39I thought, oh, God, he's gone onto the park. I went to one side of the park, and then Moz
04:43went to the other, so we could kind of keep him in sight. But we couldn't believe it,
04:46just watching him hitting a massive lump of wood.
04:49I thought, oh, God, he's gone onto the park. I thought, oh, God, he's gone onto the park.
04:55I thought, oh, God, he's gone onto the park. I thought, oh, God, he's gone onto the park.
04:58I thought, oh, God, he's gone onto the park.
05:03Yeah, I think he's turning around. We have a small two-crash.
05:05Just see if I can hold him off. I think he's just headed straight for me.
05:08There's a dead end where he's going to go towards. It might be a dead camp. Stand by.
05:18As the Fiesta driver leaves the park behind, Chris joins the pursuit once more.
05:23Right, right, right, back up West Avenue towards Park Avenue, over.
05:28Looking for another escape route, the Fiesta driver heads into a car park.
05:35But this time, it looks like the driver's race is finally run.
05:39There's stop-stops in the car park adjacent to the damn end, over.
05:45With nowhere else to go, the driver's 20 minutes of madness are over.
05:50The main concern is to get this guy under control.
05:54So he's stepping out of the car, I'm thinking he's got to run.
05:59And he didn't. That's quite a change.
06:02Right, you're under arrest. Feel it stop, then just drive in.
06:05Get this camera out of my face, I'll smash it.
06:08I beg to differ.
06:09You can have a sitting back at the van with me shortly.
06:12I don't want to sit in your stupid van.
06:14You might not, but you will be.
06:16Driving-wise, he didn't have insurance for the car
06:19and he was a provisional licence holder.
06:21So it would seem that he's bought the car just to have a drive around in.
06:25Hopefully not get seen by the police, but unfortunately he has that day.
06:29As Paul leads the prisoner to the van,
06:31it becomes apparent it's not the first time these two have met.
06:35You are familiar.
06:36Come on.
06:38Sit in.
06:39Hope you die.
06:41Most people say that.
06:43His words were, I hope you die, which, you know, he'll get his wish,
06:46or I will at some point, as will he and everybody else.
06:50So, yeah, it's water off a duck's back.
06:53With no reason to detain his passengers, they're free to go.
06:57But for the driver, this arrest could be a major turning point
07:01in his career as a driver.
07:03He's been a driver for a long time,
07:05but for the driver, this arrest could be a major turning point in his life.
07:10He's just at an age now where,
07:12be it through peer pressure or who knows,
07:15he's kind of heading towards a life of criminality if he doesn't watch it.
07:18So I'm hoping, as I look at it,
07:20that this has taught him a lesson that he's going to learn from it.
07:25Coming up, when an uninsured car full of teenagers
07:28fails to stop and loses control...
07:30Vehicle's crashed, crashed. They're all young kids.
07:33..a full-scale search for the runaways swings into action...
07:36They're climbing over roofs to get away from us.
07:39..and the traffic cops in Bradford...
07:41Car is off.
07:43..are forced off-road in pursuit of another uninsured car full of kids.
07:48It's almost like, put your blue lights on and we'll have a race.
07:52With thousands of crimes reported every day...
07:55West Yorkshire Police, what's your emergency?
07:57Shouting that they've got a bomb.
07:59Was the bag zipped up with the gun sticking out of the top?
08:02..there's never a dull shift in West Yorkshire.
08:04What is it that's been stolen?
08:06White BMW. What street did this occur on?
08:09Leeds Road in Bradford.
08:11..traffic cops based in Leeds and Bradford
08:13are on the hunt for the uninsured car.
08:15We've got to find out who it is.
08:17We've got to find out who it is.
08:19We've got to find out who it is.
08:21Traffic cops based in Leeds and Bradford
08:23are forced to engage pursuits on a daily basis.
08:26Requesting t-bag authority in a civil vehicle, over.
08:2980, received.
08:30Authority for tactical affairs pursuit has been granted.
08:33Many start because of an all-too-familiar problem.
08:36In Bradford, four of the postcodes around this police station
08:39are in the top ten of uninsured vehicles in the UK.
08:43You can just drive up there and within two minutes
08:46you'll have a car come past, no insurance.
08:51Can you oblige us with a moving vehicle check, please,
08:54on Cutler Heights Lane, Bradford?
08:57I'm on T Valley. Insurance is not held.
09:01Traffic cops PCs Richard Hurst and Richard Clark
09:04are patrolling the Holmwood estate in south-east Bradford.
09:09Yeah, we're about to stop this vehicle.
09:11There's a no-insurance marker on the car.
09:13Got a brake light out as well.
09:16Driving a bit erratically.
09:18And it's off.
09:21X-ray Romeo 301, urgent.
09:24X-ray Romeo 301.
09:26It's almost like, put your blue lights on
09:28and we'll have a race, if that's what they do.
09:31Got a vehicle failing to stop.
09:33Holmwood Road, concerning right, right, right, onto Broadstone Way.
09:37Not only is the car uninsured,
09:39yet again the cops believe it's a car full of youngsters,
09:43willing to risk everything to avoid being caught.
09:46Yeah, it's off-road, off-road onto the Holmwood estate.
09:49Stand by.
09:51They want to take a chase. They want to have a buzz.
09:54If they get away, they can go into the mate's car.
09:57Smoke to the cops.
09:59A rite of passage for some of them
10:01until they've taken a chase off the cops
10:03and they can't be in certain gangs.
10:05We're heading towards Halesworth Crescent,
10:08Halesworth Crescent, off-road.
10:10Unable to shake them off, the young driver takes more risks.
10:14Hoping this will force the cops to abort the pursuit.
10:17Safe to continue. Broadstone Way.
10:23Right, right, right, onto Stirling Crescent.
10:32It's doing a circle again.
10:34We're back off-road again,
10:36heading towards the original location where we were.
10:39Just stand by.
10:41It's cat and mouse, cops and robbers.
10:44They don't want to be caught.
10:46The driver's probably thinking,
10:48right, I've done two circuits now.
10:51I've been across some grass twice
10:53and this police car is still behind me.
10:57Stirling Crescent.
11:01Traffic cops don't give up easily.
11:04Fearing the game is up, the driver plays his last card.
11:08Left, left, left, onto Romsey Garden.
11:10Onto Romsey Gardens.
11:12Stand by.
11:16Richard tries to block the teenagers into the car.
11:21I can't get out.
11:23But only succeeds in trapping his partner.
11:26And the driver and three passengers disappear into the darkness.
11:3615 miles east, at Police HQ in Wakefield,
11:40a report of a stolen lorry comes in.
11:56On the outskirts of Wakefield,
11:58tonight, PC's Paul Feather and Colin Dawes
12:01are working on Operation Viper,
12:03West Yorkshire Police's ongoing campaign
12:06targeting burglary and vehicle crime.
12:10I want to just confirm it's a flatbed recovery vehicle.
12:16Every second, there's something happening somewhere.
12:19These travelling criminals that are going about the business
12:23and obviously upsetting people's lives
12:25by burgling them and taking their cars off them.
12:28But the main core thing is, for me,
12:30is to be out there looking for the criminal element
12:33to try and stop them doing what they're doing.
12:36Then, out of nowhere,
12:38another car driving dangerously catches Paul's eye.
12:42We've got, like, a silver border on Fryston Road.
12:47For the traffic cops,
12:49swerving around a roundabout is too much to ignore,
12:52even if they are already searching for a stolen vehicle.
12:56Yeah, can we get a vehicle check, please?
12:59Just by its manner of driving,
13:01I want it to speak to the driver.
13:04Because it was going too fast
13:06and he was sort of throwing it all over the road,
13:09just generally sort of messing about.
13:11The car is uninsured and unregistered.
13:16And aware of the police presence,
13:18the driver attempts to turn around.
13:22Paul blocks the road.
13:29Yeah, we've got a vehicle failing to stop Fryston Road.
13:32Silver border.
13:34Double-crowed T-PAC trained in a suitable vehicle
13:37can have T-PAC authority, please.
13:39At speeds of 80mph,
13:41the car is a real danger to other road users and pedestrians,
13:45pushing Paul's driving to the limit.
13:47He's just gone over the railway bridge.
13:51They're still continuing,
13:53passing to Boot Room, Public House, offside.
13:57Speed is 8-0, 8-0.
14:008-0, 8-0.
14:05Paul and Colin fear they have lost their target
14:08as it vanishes round a corner.
14:10But then...
14:12Vehicle's crashed.
14:15They're all young kids, males and females.
14:18Get in, get in, get in.
14:21They're climbing over roofs to get away from us.
14:25Five run from the car.
14:30But Colin has one in his sights.
14:43All right, boys.
14:50Young girl, three other lads.
14:53Just try it.
15:00I can hear it, I can hear it.
15:02With one arrested, the hunt is on for the other four suspects.
15:10You don't know where to look.
15:12It's like...
15:14They're all over the shop.
15:20We'll just get a dog now.
15:22We'll just get a dog to come and see if they've gone to ground.
15:26It's quite a secluded street and dead ends.
15:29As the search for runaway teenagers continues in Castleford...
15:34..back in Bradford...
15:37..PC's Hurst and Clark's efforts to find the runaways
15:40in the Holmwood estate has also hit a dead end.
15:45I saw Richard go behind there and I saw them run that direction
15:50so I headed off down there hoping to head them off
15:53but they just disappeared.
15:55I wonder if they've gone into those flats.
15:57I've seen gardens, show gardens over fences.
16:00There's kids in trainers.
16:02We've got all this on.
16:04Just lost them.
16:05They're from that estate, they know where they are,
16:07they know where they're going.
16:09They know which houses can be safe
16:11without air support and dog support,
16:13which we had neither of.
16:15I'm on to a loser.
16:17Is there anything there to link a driver?
16:19Any paperwork or anything?
16:21I don't know where it gets you.
16:23It'll be a pull car, won't it?
16:26I suspect it's probably what we call a pull car.
16:29A lot of the time you can get a car like this
16:32for maybe 25, 30 quid.
16:34Drive round on it with no licence, no insurance
16:37and if a police get behind you,
16:39you just do something like this,
16:41take a chase, abandon it and run off.
16:43Some people see it as a little bit of fun,
16:45we see it as ridiculously dangerous
16:47but it doesn't stop them.
16:49Hello, hello.
16:50It's not ended the way we'd have liked it
16:52but we've got to look at it in one way.
16:55We've got it off the road.
16:57Could have killed somebody.
16:59You know, children outside of school or anything,
17:01these kids just don't care, they're not bothered.
17:03Luckily tonight there has been no damage done.
17:06Or has there?
17:08Well, I've been across there before,
17:11I knew it was all right.
17:14Just to do it.
17:16It's the first taxi they do, it's like off-road.
17:19Their car goes through,
17:21that car goes through.
17:23The car is recovered to be examined
17:25forensically for DNA
17:27that could link it to any known criminals.
17:30The same goes in the police,
17:32they will come again.
17:34Probably tomorrow, maybe even later today.
17:36They'll be back after tomorrow, they need another car.
17:39They clearly live round here,
17:41they know straight to go for that gate there.
17:43Just another day in paradise.
17:45Confiscating pool cars has become
17:47a daily occurrence for the traffic cops.
17:50Not registered and with no insurance,
17:52they are impossible to trace.
17:54The perfect mode of transport
17:56for kids and criminals to get around.
18:02In Castleford, Colin Dawes and Paul Feathers'
18:05high-speed pursuit of yet another
18:07reckless teenage driver...
18:09It was crashed, crashed.
18:11..has now become a search of back-to-back gardens.
18:15They've all run off, and you just think,
18:17how have you run away from this?
18:19It's good bashing.
18:20But one startled suspect's indecision costs him,
18:23and Paul thinks he's their key suspect.
18:26The driver is the main man.
18:29He's the person who commits the offences,
18:32because he's failed to stop,
18:34he's driven at speed,
18:36he's made off from an accident,
18:38so he's the person we want.
18:40And I think he were driver,
18:42but I need to check my footage,
18:44just to double-check, but he stinks of ale,
18:46so we're just going to give him a breathalyser.
18:49SHUSH!
18:53Right, so, he's passed.
18:55He's born 34, legal limit's 35,
18:57so he's a very lucky boy.
19:01Unable to confirm if this is the driver or not,
19:05a police dog is called out to assist
19:07with the search for the four others from the car.
19:13But just as they send in the dog,
19:15Colin gets a tip-off.
19:18Which house?
19:20This one here?
19:26There you are.
19:28Come out.
19:30There's no dogs.
19:32Just come out, love.
19:34The two runaways found so far
19:36are both only 16 years old.
19:40Back at the car,
19:42there's evidence of why the suspects
19:44didn't want to stop.
19:46There's a set of quite large bolt droppers
19:48in the passenger footwell,
19:50which are normally used
19:52to be cutting padlocks, et cetera.
19:54Cutting locks off and breaking into sheds,
19:56nicking lawnmowers, pedal cycles
19:58and stuff like that.
20:00Minutes later, the police dog
20:02tracks down another suspect.
20:04Behind Chinese, he was tucked up
20:06in edge there. Dogman's found him.
20:08So he's been arrested on suspicion
20:10of going equipped to commit crime.
20:12Can you keep him, because Dogman wants me to go back.
20:14Like the others,
20:16he is 16 years old.
20:18Yeah, got it.
20:20And in the spot where he was found,
20:22he appears to have left an item of footwear behind.
20:24Another trainer.
20:26As he's been jumping, it's maybe slipped off.
20:28We'll be able to match him forensically
20:30with that trainer,
20:32which is going to link him to crime, to car.
20:34Linking the trainers
20:36to the arrested boys and girls
20:38will help identify who was the driver.
20:40Due to the impact
20:42of the vehicle,
20:44he's lost his shoe, which is wedged
20:46under the accelerator pedal.
20:48The other black trainer,
20:50which Chris has found in garden,
20:52he's obviously discarded that to get away.
20:54So he's going to be running home somewhere we know,
20:56not on his feet.
20:58This leads Paul to believe their main man
21:00is yet to be detained.
21:02I thought the driver had blonde hair.
21:04I thought it were him.
21:06But looking at the footwear,
21:08there's no way he could have got a pair of new trainers on
21:10because he caught him, so he hasn't had enough time
21:12to change his footwear.
21:14So it looks like the driver's possibly
21:16managed to squeeze his way away.
21:22The four 16-year-olds are taken
21:24into police custody for further questioning.
21:28I'll get a signature off you on that pad,
21:30just saying that they've been through those questions with you.
21:34At the end of the day, the kids,
21:36and, you know, are these kids
21:38the up-and-coming ones of the future?
21:40I just don't know.
21:42It's hard to tell.
21:44They need to be getting a grip of straight away
21:46while they're still at that age.
21:48But, unfortunately,
21:50when they're getting into their teens,
21:52they're pretty much making
21:54their own decisions, aren't they?
21:56It's just a slippery slope
21:58unless you can really get a grip of them.
22:00Another unit has stopped
22:02one of the two missing boys.
22:04Paul and his colleague Chris Haig
22:06review the in-car footage
22:08to see if they can piece the jigsaw together.
22:12Just looking at Video 9,
22:14you can see them decamping from car.
22:16If you slow it down,
22:18we can identify...
22:20My prisoner.
22:22That's the near-side passenger.
22:24These are pretty good pictures.
22:26That's Paul's prisoner,
22:28you can see, with clothing.
22:30And his white trainers.
22:32That's clearly Arles' prisoner,
22:34you can see from her clothing.
22:36Full process of elimination now.
22:38We can identify that person's passengers.
22:40It changes the ballgame altogether.
22:42From the clothes description,
22:44Paul thinks the boy arrested
22:46by the other unit is the driver.
22:48Looking at that,
22:50they've got really light-coloured trousers on.
22:52So, depending on what he's been booked in,
22:54clothing-wise,
22:56then, obviously,
22:58we can identify the driver.
23:00If it doesn't fit that description,
23:02we know we have got the driver.
23:04But...
23:06You've potentially got dangerous driving,
23:08failing to stop.
23:10Opio.
23:12Opio, they'll be documenting offences
23:14with no insurance, no licence, perhaps.
23:18Coming up...
23:20A report of a stolen car
23:22has traffic cops in Wakefield
23:24hard on the heels of a suspected car thief.
23:26It's not every day Paul runs from cars.
23:28He's under arrest on suspicion of theft of that vehicle.
23:30And when a report of a van jacking comes in,
23:32traffic cops in Bradford
23:34swing into action
23:36to track down the stolen vehicle.
23:38It's got some number plates on,
23:40but these number plates are coming back no trace,
23:42so we don't even know its original identity.
23:52In West Yorkshire,
23:54more than 280 people are stopped
23:56by the traffic police every week.
23:58There's obviously an issue here
24:00somewhere down the line
24:02that we'll sort it.
24:04From minor insurance offences
24:06to more serious organised criminality...
24:08Is it stolen?
24:10...being pulled over
24:12is seldom a pleasant experience.
24:14Part of the interview process
24:16for becoming a traffic cop,
24:18you have to have your heart surgically removed.
24:20You do your own granny, apparently,
24:22if you're going to be a traffic bobby.
24:24She's driving like a maniac.
24:26She's going to get a ticket.
24:32On the outskirts of Pontefract,
24:34PC Shane Kenny
24:36and Dave Robson get a call
24:38about a stolen Golf.
24:42Has this Golf been put on the hot list?
24:44It certainly has.
24:46Car theft is a constant problem.
24:48It'll never stop.
24:50It's like the drugs industry.
24:52Possibly running with a silver Citrus,
24:54that vehicle was sighted
24:56at sea and the passenger
24:58jumped out and got into the Golf
25:00and made off.
25:0220 cars are stolen every day
25:04in West Yorkshire.
25:08More organised groups of criminals
25:10that may target certain types
25:12of vehicle,
25:14almost steal to order, if you like.
25:16They'll go around during the day
25:18in a legitimate car.
25:21With a view to coming back later on
25:23and burgling to get the keys.
25:25Just past it, it's heading towards
25:27Park Lane in Ponty.
25:29Now you're talking about a few minutes ago,
25:31your radius is getting bigger and bigger.
25:33Shane and Dave
25:35face a race against time
25:37to work out which route the suspect cars
25:39have taken before they disappear.
25:41They want to go on the main route
25:43where they think
25:45they'll be spotted.
25:47Or will they want to
25:49hide away and go down
25:51the back roads?
25:53And they've got lots of different
25:55sneaky tactics. They'll steal it,
25:57drive it somewhere where they can drop it and hide it
25:59or hide it, park it in a cul-de-sac
26:01or in a car park
26:03until the attention's gone down a little bit
26:05or they can come back later and get it.
26:09I wonder if they've parked it up and gone off in the Citroen.
26:11Thinking the stolen
26:13black Golf has been hidden away,
26:15Shane and Dave change tack
26:17and decide locating the Citroen
26:19could be key to apprehending the suspects.
26:23And as luck would have it,
26:25Dave spots a likely-looking Citroen
26:27travelling towards him.
26:29And as we were going around that estate,
26:31yeah, it came, this sort of Citroen
26:33came towards us. I think we both knew at the same time
26:35that's full of criminals.
26:41But by the time Dave makes
26:43his U-turn, the Citroen is off
26:45in the distance, giving its occupants
26:47the chance to scarper.
26:49Fell into a stop, Hazel Road
26:51at Nottingham. As Dave and Shane
26:53close in on the Citroen, it crashes
26:55into a house.
26:57T-shirts running off over here.
27:01Five young men have leapt from the car
27:03and scattered in different directions.
27:07There were two lads going the way that I went
27:09so I went after those
27:11and got round a corner.
27:13One of the lads had gone
27:15hiding wherever
27:17so then it was just a case of
27:19follow the one that you can still see.
27:21Oi!
27:23You've got a weapon?
27:25Fair with us, you've been run from that car.
27:27I am? What are you on about?
27:33I am from your car, pal.
27:35Yeah, fella.
27:39Listen, what's your first name?
27:41It's a weird finding, pal.
27:43Until I can establish what's going on
27:45and that that car ain't stolen.
27:47It's not every day folk run from cars.
27:49You're under arrest on suspicion of theft of that vehicle.
27:53The man denies he was in the car
27:55but the incident has caused a reaction
27:57on the estate.
28:01I'm only about eight year old.
28:03Shall we calm this down a second?
28:05We don't think it's a big job.
28:07It shouldn't even be out of street
28:09for eight year olds.
28:13Locals aren't happy with what's going on.
28:15When we brought this lad back
28:17everybody went out
28:19and there were some young lads all gobbling off
28:21and, you know, anti-police type
28:23and he'll stand at side of the road
28:25and egg them on to go past.
28:27We've had that before
28:29and you think, you crackers,
28:31you won't be doing that when they run your mother or your sister over
28:33or somebody else who lives on the estate.
28:354-4.
28:37Can we have another local unit up here?
28:39We're getting out locals arguing at each other.
28:41It's getting quite heated.
28:43Shane and Dave think some of the young men
28:45shouting could have been in the car
28:47but the cops have no way to prove it.
28:49They came running round. I think they're part of it.
28:51That lad in that white t-shirt
28:53but he was a big lad.
28:55I don't think he's any of them.
28:57No.
28:59It's not a bad place.
29:01You get the odd minor few that make it look like it is.
29:03Ten minutes later, back-up arrives.
29:05Things can turn ugly.
29:07I've been in...
29:09I've been attacked many times
29:11and you're just dealing with something and nothing.
29:13You never know what's going to happen.
29:15You've just got to look out for yourself and your colleagues.
29:23In Yorkshire,
29:25a vehicle is stolen every four hours.
29:29Many are stolen to order
29:31by organised criminal gangs.
29:35To counter this, more and more people
29:37are installing trackers,
29:39giving the traffic cops more chance
29:41of recovering a stolen car.
29:47Show us on that one.
29:49We're getting some information about the vehicle.
29:51He said it's Revy Street.
29:53And it's a white transit van, is that right?
29:57Officers Darren Wood and Paul Feather
29:59have a report of a stolen van in the south-west of Bradford.
30:03The owners had a tracker installed
30:05which is activated
30:07and what the thieves will do quite often
30:09is they'll park the car up
30:11in some innocuous street
30:13just to see if we find it
30:15and if we don't find it,
30:17then they go back for it and use it
30:19or break it up to sell it for parts.
30:21But hopefully we can get up there
30:23and find it before they go back to it.
30:25It has been stolen with the thieves.
30:29There are some other units on the way to it as well
30:31so they might get there before we do
30:33but hopefully not.
30:35This one.
30:39Our locals have been sent to it as well.
30:45All the information we've got
30:47is that there's a stolen van on a tracker
30:49at this location so we don't even know
30:51its original identity at the moment.
30:53It's got some number plates on
30:55but these number plates are coming back
30:57and there's no trace.
30:59So we're just going to run the VIN number through
31:01the chassis number and see if that comes back to this van.
31:03Throughout the country I think the stats are
31:05the most popular stolen vehicle
31:07out of anything is off transit
31:09so it's big business.
31:11Van thefts accounted for 40%
31:13of all vehicles reported stolen
31:15in West Yorkshire in 2015.
31:17They blend into the traffic
31:19and most people
31:21don't really pay much attention to a white van.
31:23You can use it for transporting stolen bikes
31:26quad bikes, plant machinery
31:28any amount of stolen property.
31:30The colleagues here are just doing
31:32some door knocking to see if
31:34anybody knows how long the van's been here
31:36and who might have left it there.
31:38The van has been left open
31:40but there's no sign of the keys.
31:42Some delivery cards, blank ones
31:44for Yordles. It could be a delivery van.
31:48A lot of packages.
31:50Yeah, this van's definitely a Yordle van.
31:52It's absolutely stuffed to the gills
31:54with packages.
31:56Checks reveal that the van is so new
31:58it's not on the police national computer
32:00making it impossible
32:02for Darren to trace it.
32:06What's the actual nature of the log?
32:08Because all we were responding to was a tracker
32:10activation. Has someone actually reported it stolen?
32:12Apparently the driver
32:14has reported it
32:16stolen to us
32:18and then the owner of the vehicle
32:20has rung it in as well.
32:22The owner
32:24and driver of the van arrive at the scene.
32:26I've got the trackers
32:28all linked up to my phone so I can see
32:30where the van was. So I rang the police
32:32straight away and informed them where it was and then it's been my way over here.
32:34Somebody nicked my van
32:36he took the keys
32:38which were attached to me
32:40and he just ran away. He was too fast
32:42and I'm not so fast
32:44to catch him. The theft of the van
32:46has been a distressing incident for the van
32:48driver and for Paul and Darren
32:50It's an all too familiar experience
32:54It happens a lot
32:56especially delivery vehicles or maintenance vehicles
32:58I bet the person who took that van
33:00couldn't believe the look. Unless they didn't even
33:02get a chance to look in the back of the van
33:04because you would have thought they would at least have taken
33:06some of the contents for themselves
33:08just as a consolation prize if the van got recovered
33:10This time the traffic cops
33:12got there just in time to save the van
33:14and its load from the thieves
33:2025 miles east
33:22near Pontefract
33:24traffic cops Shane Kenny and Dave Robson
33:26have pursued a Citroen
33:28suspected of being involved in the theft
33:30of a VW Golf
33:32Fell into a stop
33:34Hazel Road
33:36at Nottingley
33:40Wearing white t-shirts running off over here
33:44Of the five in the car
33:46they have apprehended one young man
33:48That is his home estate
33:50and all the others have run off into the back alleys
33:52and through the gardens
33:54of other people and they know that estate
33:56off the back of their hand
33:58so they've gone hiding into one of their friends houses
34:00not to be seen again
34:02With only the one suspect detained
34:04Shane and Dave want to ask the young man
34:06a few questions
34:08I'll sit and start getting his details
34:10Shane starts with an easy one
34:12What's your first name?
34:14Is it Danny or Daniel
34:16He wasn't the world's cleverest criminal
34:18at all was he?
34:20He's got his name tattooed on his neck
34:22and the fact that when we pulled up with him
34:24that lady who was shouting at him
34:26shouted Richard
34:28What have you done Richard?
34:32And Richard
34:34reckons he's a bit of a local celebrity now
34:38Bear with us
34:42We've got Richard Hunter Smith
34:44Did you run him through?
34:46Checks on the man reveal
34:48he is actually a wanted criminal
34:50Richard
34:52You're also under arrest for
34:54two thefts, a burglary
34:56and a serious assault
34:58details of which
35:00we'll get further details
35:02when we get down to custody
35:04So it's always nice to bring somebody in
35:06so that can get dealt with
35:08especially with a serious assault
35:10you've always got a victim
35:12you've actually got whoever's
35:14braiding
35:16In custody
35:18his crime count rises from four
35:20to six offences
35:22Do you understand why you've been arrested?
35:24No
35:26The officers just explained it to you
35:28there's also
35:30further crimes, theft from shops
35:32So we've got theft from shop
35:34on the 16th
35:36of June this year
35:38You're also under arrest for theft from shop on the 18th
35:40Do you have any reply to that one?
35:42We're asking for
35:44a sample whilst at the station
35:46He also tests positive
35:48for cannabis and cocaine
35:50No one knows what they think
35:52a lot of the time it's the way they've been brought up
35:54just not to respect other people's
35:56property and
35:58belongings
36:02We're just there to show them that
36:04they can't bully the way through life
36:06and take what they want
36:08We're there to stop them for the members of the public
36:12Unable to identify whether this man
36:14was the driver of the crashed Citroen or not
36:16his clothes are taken for forensic analysis
36:24Coming up
36:26Chris Spencer spots a driver he knows
36:28shouldn't be on the road
36:30If that's the guy driving that he's got it sharp
36:32But when the driver clocks
36:34that Chris is on to him
36:36He should have come out here
36:46It's 11.30pm
36:48in the East End Park area of Leeds
36:54An hour and a half into his 9 hour night shift
36:56traffic cop Chris Spencer's
36:58copper's nose is on high alert
37:02Chris prides himself on being able to spot
37:04right from wrong
37:06People have always asked me what makes you stop a car
37:08and I couldn't honestly
37:10put my finger on what it is
37:12Some people's reactions, they just can't help
37:14but almost sure they've done
37:16something wrong in their body language
37:18and it's just, it's really subtle things like that
37:20But this time
37:22when Chris spots a white VW Scirocco
37:24coming towards him
37:26it isn't the driver's reaction that's a giveaway
37:28It's that Chris knows him from a previous
37:30encounter
37:32That's the guy driving that, he's got it sharp
37:34I initially drove past the white Scirocco
37:36having recognised it from when I stopped
37:38because he had no insurance
37:40I saved that for a couple of weeks ago
37:42But just as Chris makes
37:44a U-turn, the Scirocco driver
37:46ducks into the back street
37:48He's gone, hasn't he?
37:50There you go, he's off
37:52He's taking an immediate right turn
37:54which is one of those things where your alarm bells
37:56are going, I don't think this chap's going to stop for me
37:58Come on
38:01Even though his Police Spec 3 Series
38:03BMW has a top speed of
38:05150mph, Chris still
38:07has some catching up to do
38:09And the Scirocco driver
38:11seems to have given Chris the slip
38:13He should have come out here
38:15He's there
38:17Is that stupid?
38:19Just round another corner, Chris spots
38:21the car parked up and the driver
38:23is walking along the street
38:27Get in the car
38:29I'm not going to fall out with you again
38:31Who, me? Yeah, you, yeah
38:33As Chris detains the driver
38:35the man's daughter also appears
38:39Hey, are you alright? Your dad will be back with you in a minute
38:41Unbelievably, I think it was his 8 year old daughter
38:43just stood at the side of his car
38:45somewhere where she doesn't live
38:47It just, that
38:49shocked me, having a child myself
38:51just to be able, just to leave her
38:53stood there, to do your best
38:55just to get away from the police, it's just unbelievable
38:59Did you not learn your lesson last time after driving it with no insurance?
39:01Or not?
39:03I haven't been driving it
39:05Have you got it insured now or not?
39:07No, I haven't been driving it
39:09To be told by someone that I've just seen get out of a car
39:11Nah mate, I wasn't driving
39:13I've heard that
39:15before, and you were driving
39:17How old are you Michael?
39:19You need to tell me, I need to ascertain your ID
39:21What?
39:2329?
39:25Do you have the key on you?
39:27I'm just throwing it away again
39:29Hey, sorry, are you alright? Was it just you and your dad in the car?
39:31Or was it someone else?
39:33Where's he throwing the key? Do you know? Has he given it to you?
39:35Don't talk to him! Don't talk to him!
39:37In two weeks, I've stopped the same gentleman twice
39:39and on both occasions
39:41I've had the exact same story
39:43I've had the vehicle key hidden
39:45The gentleman
39:47on both occasions
39:49tells me it wasn't him driving
39:51I'm not sure if he thought I was going to say
39:53Oh, I do apologise sir, I must have the wrong gentleman
39:55Don't talk to your dad for two seconds
39:57Your dad's been a bit naughty, that's all
39:59Is he giving you the key?
40:01I just don't want to break your car when I move it
40:03No, no, he's quite Chinese
40:05Is he what?
40:07Well, alright, just two seconds sweetheart
40:09You alright my love?
40:11Chris asks a passerby to help him
40:13You know that guy that ran past you there?
40:15Did you see him throw a key?
40:17He didn't run past us
40:19No, he didn't walk past us
40:21He didn't walk this way
40:23I think he went over to the vineyard
40:25I'm not sure
40:27He didn't run past us
40:29Oh, thank you hun
40:31Did your dad go through the vineyard then?
40:33Where?
40:35Through here
40:37Let me just find his key quickly
40:39I can smell him
40:41Don't talk to him
40:43Don't talk to him
40:45I don't think I'm going to waste all my time looking for the key
40:47So be it
40:49It's going to cost him more money to get his car recovered now
40:51That's his choice
40:53Right, so the car's going to get recovered
40:55Because you've got no insurance
40:57But this time it's going to cost you about 300 quid
40:59Because I can't be bothered to find that key
41:01I think because with your scuffles last time
41:03You are definitely no criminal mastermind
41:05And it's even proved it even more tonight
41:07I'll take it that is your daughter
41:09Just as well you didn't crash, innit
41:11There you go Michael
41:13I'll see you in court again
41:15The man's car will be impounded
41:17And without a car key
41:19The recovery firm will charge a higher fee
41:21Which will be passed on to the car's owner
41:23So Fay has just made a rod for his own back now
41:25So he's just doubled his recovery charges
41:27But it's just the exact same scenario
41:29As when I spoke to him two weeks ago
41:31That apparently it wasn't him driving it
41:33I've got no proof
41:35He just happened to be here with his daughter
41:37Unfortunately children can't like them
41:39And bless her, she was a nice little girl
41:41Luckily he didn't crash
41:43I can't imagine I'd be driving like that with my daughter in the car
41:45In the last four years
41:47Police have seized more than half a million
41:49Uninsured vehicles
41:51But it's estimated that more than a million
41:53Motorists continue driving
41:55Without insurance in the UK
41:57You unfortunately just seem to meet the same people
41:59All the time doing the exact same things
42:01And
42:03I can never understand why people do it
42:05Is it that there's no deterrent
42:07Is it the fact that no, there's not as many police officers around
42:09So perhaps they'll chance it
42:11If it's the courts where perhaps they're not punished enough
42:13Or it's people who think the law doesn't apply
42:15To me
42:17I can never put my finger on which one of those it is
42:19I imagine it's a combination of all of them
42:21But you do meet a lot of the same people
42:23A lot of the time
42:25And it just beggars belief sometimes
42:31The young lad who took a joyride across Roundhay Park
42:33Was disqualified from driving
42:35For one year
42:37And placed on a six month youth referral scheme
42:39For dangerous driving
42:41Failing to stop for the police
42:43He was denied insurance
42:47No other charges were brought against him
42:49Despite his bravado about being in possession of drugs
42:51And the young man has never been convicted
42:53Of any drug related offences
42:59The driver of the silver Bora
43:01Who failed to stop for the traffic cops
43:03With four of his teenage mates in the car
43:05Could not be identified
43:07No action was taken against the kids arrested
43:09An owner of the car could not be traced
43:13There was no action
43:15Taken against the young man
43:17Who ran from the silver Citroen
43:19For the theft of the Golf
43:21But he was remanded in custody for four weeks
43:23For breach of licence
43:25And he was recently sentenced to 18 weeks
43:27For a number of offences
43:29Committed over a period of four months
43:31Including those he was arrested for
43:33At the police station in Wakefield
43:35The stolen Golf has never been traced
43:37And the uninsured driver
43:39Caught twice in two weeks by Chris Spencer
43:41Received eight penalty points
43:43For his previous no insurance offence
43:45And was found guilty in his absence
43:47Of his second misdemeanour
43:49And his awaiting sentence
43:53And Traffic Cops is back
43:55Right here on Channel 5
43:57Next Monday at 8
43:59And stick around
44:01As Chris Tarrant heads east
44:03Jumping aboard Stalin's own
44:05Personal Carriage
44:07Extreme Railways is next here on Channel 5
44:09Or pop over to Spike
44:11For Madness on the World's Roads
44:13Car Crash TV
44:15Could not be a more appropriate name
44:17In just a moment
44:19After the 5 news headlines