Traffic Cops S15E04 (05 Dec 2016)
Traffic Cops S15E04 (05 Dec 2016)
Transcript
00:00Britain's roads have become the front line in the fight against crime and disorder.
00:08From organised criminal gangs to the nation's worst drivers.
00:13And catching those using our streets to break the law is the job of the traffic cops.
00:19Stop! Do not resist!
00:23We will chase him and we'll get hold of him. We'll go wherever we need to go to stop him.
00:29Tonight on Traffic Cops.
00:31High-speed pursuits.
00:32And it's a left, left, left.
00:34Cloned cars.
00:35Might be a stolen car or something similar.
00:38Stolen vehicles.
00:39Get the engine off! Get the engine off!
00:41You're under arrest for theft of a vehicle.
00:43And dealing with the aftermath of those hell-bent on getting away from the traffic cops.
00:48It's very important that you speak to them.
00:51Welcome to Yorkshire, one of the biggest beats in Britain.
00:56From urban sprawl to the Yorkshire Dales, where every day the traffic cops face a different challenge.
01:03I can walk down a street and I can go, he assaults people, he deals drugs, he's a burglar, he's a car thief.
01:13Sometimes you think, when I drive to work, am I going across a line where just different rules apply?
01:19Get down! Get down! Get down!
01:27Across Yorkshire, the traffic cops are locked in a clone war,
01:31battling to keep up with criminals,
01:33switching car registration plates to pass undetected through police cameras.
01:38With more than a million vehicles using duplicate plates nationwide,
01:42cloning is a new crime wave.
01:48Every four hours, a car is stolen in Yorkshire,
01:51Every four hours, a car is stolen in Yorkshire,
01:54often by criminals using cloned plates.
01:59You only listen to the radio, there's another cloned vehicle, another cloned vehicle.
02:03All these are stolen that have come from burglaries, no doubt.
02:08In Bradford, it's 11.30pm.
02:11Traffic cops Nick Priestley and Bob Hoyle are on patrol when they spot a suspicious-looking car.
02:21There's one in front of this one, what is it?
02:23It is a Golf. It's black, that, don't it?
02:25Yeah, it is.
02:27Car vehicle check, please move in Bolton Road.
02:31Black Golf, no replies, no insurance.
02:36Nick has a hunch the driver isn't going to pull over.
02:40When you've worked in Bradford, you know when a car is going to fail to stop for you.
02:44You get behind it, it's positioning on the road.
02:47You can't explain how, you know, you just get that feeling.
02:52And when Nick flashes his blue lights, the Golf speeds off.
02:57Just turning onto Queens Avenue, it's failing to stop.
03:08Hi Joe, yeah, we've got a black VW Golf failing to stop,
03:11whiteways at Bradford, double-crewed T-pack train, requesting T-pack authority.
03:17We don't know what's in that black Golf.
03:19There might have been God knows how many thousands of pounds worth of drugs.
03:22It might have just had no MOT.
03:24The car had no insurance.
03:26But the way it was driving, I suspect there was more to it than that.
03:31Yeah, it's currently 4-0 miles per hour.
03:34It's doing a loop around the estate, back onto Stephen Crescent.
03:416-0 miles per hour.
03:435-0 miles per hour.
03:44Like I say, it's going round and round in circles at the moment.
03:46Any other T-pack units available?
03:52Currently 5-0 miles per hour.
03:54And it's a left, left, left up Cliff Road.
03:57Traffic is light, so continue over.
04:00Approaching the junction ahead, the Golf driver ups the ante.
04:06And takes to the wrong side of the road.
04:105-0, we're going to abort. It's gone out of sight.
04:13We've aborted over.
04:15They don't want that car getting recovered,
04:17so he will drive on the wrong side of the road,
04:20with no view, just to get away.
04:23That's the risk they will take. I won't take it.
04:25Quick car, that, wasn't it? For an old one.
04:27Yeah. GTI. Yeah.
04:29We have to consider everything, including my livelihood.
04:32If something goes wrong and it's been deemed that I'm driving dangerously,
04:35I'm no different to anybody else. There's no exemptions for us.
04:38Especially when it's dangerous like that.
04:40So there's a fine line for us, you know, what's right and what's wrong.
04:44And that we're wrong, so we had to stop it.
04:49But minutes later on their shift,
04:5114 miles away, another car fails to stop.
04:55We're now towards Ravenstock, towards the carry-on entry of Ravenstock.
05:03So we're just going to Dewsbury area, there's a vehicle failing to stop.
05:07Silver Vectra, two or three miles out.
05:09They've seen cops and then they've decided,
05:12no, we're not stopping for you.
05:14For me, they were out committing burglaries, vehicle theft.
05:195-4 to Fresno, we're about four minutes from...
05:22How are we? Three? Three.
05:245-4, thank you.
05:25My colleagues have got behind the car, they've put the number plate through.
05:28It turns out that it was actually on false number plates.
05:31Is it safe to continue?
05:33Yes, yes, it's a continuation towards Edmund Wright, speed 70, almost an hour.
05:38Up ahead, the speeding Vectra jumps a red light and crashes.
05:42The offenders flee the scene.
05:49Soon after, Nick and Bob arrive.
05:54Whereabouts are they?
05:57Wish we had the run.
05:58As Bob goes in search of the runaways.
06:01Are you all OK?
06:03It becomes clear the Vectra hasn't only collided with a speed camera,
06:07it's also hit another vehicle crossing the junction.
06:11It could have been you or I, wrong place, wrong time.
06:14Sweetheart, sweetheart, just bear with me a second.
06:18You've been involved in an accident.
06:20You need to keep your head still, sweetheart.
06:22There are five people trapped in the car and two are injured.
06:26I wouldn't like to be in that car because I know it's not mine.
06:29The driver of the Audi, it were lucky, it really were.
06:33Because had it been a tenth of a second slower,
06:36that Vectra's going through his side door
06:39and I dread to think what would the outcome have been.
06:42While Nick waits for an ambulance to arrive,
06:45the search for the suspects continues.
06:47He said they've climbed over at Miner's Davis.
06:49I think he's climbed right over yours.
06:51You've got a head switch. Yeah, I've done that.
06:53And then that's where it stops.
06:55That's where it stops. Yeah, yeah.
06:57Minutes later, Bob and colleagues find and arrest one suspect
07:01hiding in a bush.
07:03Just drive here.
07:06Can't you see my face? No marks.
07:08These officers are going to beat me.
07:10Jump in. Jump in, sure.
07:12They've gone through that light with no care to who they're going to hit.
07:17But you know damn well that whenever there's a pursuit
07:19and there's a car on its roof where somebody should have died,
07:22they're on their toes.
07:23It just seems to be the luck of the baddies.
07:26Have you had a drink? No.
07:28This gentleman here has been identified as the driver
07:31of this silver Vectra that's crashed.
07:33The car's been checked, the VIN number,
07:35and it's displaying a false number plate,
07:37so further enquiries need to be made as to whether it's stolen
07:40or just on false plates and being used in crime or something like that.
07:46The five occupants from the Audi,
07:48they've been taken to Leeds General Hospital.
07:51Another accident, another pursuit.
07:53It's just another example of what can happen
07:56when cars are driven dangerously.
07:58There's no safe pursuit.
08:00Every pursuit that you have, potentially, could end somebody's life.
08:04You can't stop that.
08:06But what do you do? There's a choice not to pursue or pursue.
08:09If you don't pursue, public perception is the police aren't bothered.
08:13And then it does become lawless.
08:16Coming up, a suspected stolen car is boxed at home
08:20and a car is boxed at high speed.
08:24The traffic cops seize their moment to stop a stolen truck...
08:30..and a teenage boy racer legs it from the cops.
08:41On the outskirts of Leeds,
08:43traffic cops James Duffy and Tim Wilson
08:46from the North Yorkshire Road Crime Team
08:48are hunting for a suspected stolen truck.
08:52When they've done checks into the vehicle,
08:54it's a DAF truck in white.
08:57Number plate recognition cameras in two different parts of the country
09:01have detected two similar DAF trucks with the same registration plate.
09:07They're not sure if it's a genuine or a stolen.
09:09However, the owner of the company has previously said
09:13that their vehicle should not be in South Yorkshire,
09:16which is obviously where this vehicle's come up from.
09:18Then James and Tim spot a van
09:20matching the description of the one they've been looking for.
09:26We're behind it, boys.
09:28Literally, as we've come round the corner,
09:30looked at the number plate on top of the van
09:32and it was like, oh, well, it's here.
09:35Closing in on their target, Tim updates the team.
09:39Romeo Charlie 94 XW. Romeo Charlie 94.
09:42We've got Romeo Charlie 93 in convoy with us at this moment in time.
09:46It's a white DAF truck.
09:48Stopping a 17-tonne lorry is risky.
09:51The last thing James wants is a high-speed chase.
09:55It is a big, old unit. It can shift cars out of the way.
09:58It can cause a lot of damage.
10:00If we are involved in a pursuit with this vehicle, we're going to have carnage.
10:0515 miles away, on the M62 near Bradford,
10:08traffic cop Nick Priestley is back on duty
10:12and been alerted to another suspected stolen vehicle on cloned plates.
10:18A black Ford Focus has triggered
10:20more automatic number plate recognition cameras
10:23and Nick is tracking it along the M62.
10:28So when it's activated the cameras,
10:30we don't know if that's the genuine car or the cloned car,
10:33because it's the same colour make model.
10:37Apparently the plates on the cloned vehicle are GB plates
10:41and on the genuine vehicle they are plain number plates.
10:44Nick's plan is to catch up with the Ford Focus
10:47and enact a risky pursuit tactic called T-Pack,
10:50a boxing manoeuvre to surround the car and bring it to a stop.
10:54We're still travelling at 65mph in lane.
11:00It's in between 25 and 24, so it's just a matter of time.
11:04We're doing 60mph and we're doing twice that.
11:09I just confirmed X5, your vehicle one,
11:11you've got an unmarked in the middle just behind X5
11:14and I'll go to the offside, is that confirmed?
11:16With five pursuit vehicles now in position,
11:19Nick and the team move in.
11:21Car in front, two to the side.
11:26One behind, hard shoulder. It ain't going anywhere.
11:34Mobile ballet.
11:37All right, this vehicle's come to the attention of the police.
11:40There's obviously an issue here somewhere down the line.
11:42We'll sort it.
11:44The car's driver is a woman who's genuinely surprised to be stopped.
11:48Just looking at your car now,
11:50I think it might be on false number plates,
11:52it might be a stolen car.
11:54I can see there's a number plate underneath.
11:56I think it's her car, isn't it? Yeah.
11:58I reckon somebody else has put them plates on
12:00and she's never even realised.
12:02The woman bought the car on the cheap just to move some belongings.
12:06She bought it for 250 quid, she got a log book and she were lovely.
12:09And it's just so regrettable that she had to be put through that.
12:12It's been an unnerving experience for the woman,
12:15who hadn't noticed the car she'd just bought
12:17had its genuine plates covered with cloned ones.
12:21As it happens, genuine owner, but we can't take that risk.
12:25We don't know who was driving that car.
12:28Back in Leeds,
12:30PC's James Duffy and Tim Wilson from North Yorkshire's road crime team
12:34have tracked a suspected stolen truck to the outskirts of the city.
12:38Are you likely to go for a stop?
12:40Why do you ask for us to go for a stop when an opportunity arises?
12:439-3, we've got a nearside indication. Standby.
12:46As the traffic slows, the team take their chance
12:49to catch the driver by surprise.
12:51Standby, officer just approaching vehicle, he's stopped.
12:55Standby.
13:019-4, it's a stop at this time,
13:03officers are just speaking with the occupant.
13:05Is it stolen?
13:07Sorry? Companies. Companies? What's a company called?
13:10You just look a bit nervous, that's all, pal.
13:13The driver claims the truck is legit, but the cops have their doubts.
13:17What do you know about it?
13:19He's wearing a high-vis jacket, looks, you know, you're sort of low-intensity.
13:23You know, you're sort of lorry driver type,
13:25but, you know, his nervousness comes across straight away.
13:28He didn't know what company he was meant to be working for.
13:31It's, you know, 25 degrees outside and he's wearing gloves,
13:34so he's obviously forensically conscious about his fingerprints and DNA.
13:37Just going to stick these on you till we find out what's going on, yeah?
13:40I suspect this vehicle's stolen
13:42and I'm guessing that's why you're so nervous. You understand?
13:46James runs the vehicle's details past control to confirm his suspicions.
13:50Has it come back on my Catcher A14 Bravo Hotel Zulu?
13:59The vehicle is stolen outstanding,
14:01so obviously you're aware you're under arrest for that, all right?
14:04Have you ever been in bother with police before, Paul?
14:06What for?
14:08All sorts.
14:10Just going to sit you in back of here.
14:15A search of the back of the lorry raises further suspicions.
14:19These are motorbike gloves.
14:22Stolen seven months ago,
14:24the lorry has gone undetected because of its cloned plates.
14:29By the looks of it, they've stolen a vehicle from a compound in Leeds.
14:33They've had a look around.
14:35Vehicle's matching this description.
14:37They've written the number plates down and just cloned some number plates.
14:40So if you were behind this and popped it through a computer,
14:43it'd come back to this truck, to this company.
14:46That's also a set of plates they've been running on.
14:48And if you notice down here, www.daftrucks.com,
14:51because completely plain plates without any markings on
14:54look quite suspicious to police,
14:56so they've started putting little logos on with little bits of frames, etc,
14:59to try and make them look more genuine.
15:01The people that are involved in this, you know,
15:03they're in organised crime groups.
15:05They know that if they change their plates, put cloned plates on,
15:08that the chances are that they won't be stopped.
15:10And, you know, for every one that we do stop,
15:12you know, it always makes you wonder,
15:14how many do you drive past and not know about?
15:19In Bradford, a Renault Laguna suspected of carrying drugs
15:23is trying to get away from the cops.
15:36The vehicle failed to stop, not so far away.
15:39Nick Priestley heads towards the Buttershaw Estate,
15:42where the vehicle's being chased.
16:08In terms of drug use, it's something I...
16:11Let it go on my expression.
16:13Approaching the area, the Laguna has temporarily given them the slip.
16:193046 at Buttershaw James. Last location, please.
16:24Nick is now in unfamiliar territory.
16:27It's like a rabbit warren round here,
16:29if you don't know it that well, which I don't.
16:34They all look the same to me.
16:37Might as well go in the outside streets and see what we can pick up.
16:41As he continues the search for the Laguna,
16:44his attention turns to a black Fiesta coming towards him.
16:48We saw this Fiesta.
16:50Saw it, he saw us, made eye contact, and he thought,
16:54oh...
17:00Up, up.
17:02Unsure why the drivers raced off, Nick gives chase.
17:07As he turns a corner, the Fiesta's been abandoned
17:11and two young lads make a run for it.
17:15While the passenger is chased by another unit, Nick goes after the driver.
17:19Very quickly and off on his toes into the garden where he was detained.
17:23Get down. All right, all right.
17:25Right, turn over.
17:27Face down. Do not resist.
17:29You won't be able to breathe. You're going to lay down.
17:32I'm going to let you do it, whatever you want to do.
17:34Just stay there. Please don't gas me.
17:36Unclear why he raced off, Nick's got no choice but to arrest him.
17:41It's unlucky that we were there looking for Laguna.
17:43As it stands at the moment, you are under arrest.
17:45For what?
17:46Dennis driving.
17:47Driving what?
17:48Don't stop the police.
17:49Driving what?
17:50Do you understand that?
17:51I've seen him getting out of the driver's seat.
17:53He had nowhere to go because he's run into the middle of a set of terraced houses
17:57and tried to hide behind a car,
17:59so it wasn't particularly difficult even for him.
18:02It wasn't particularly difficult even for an old man like me.
18:05What are you grabbing me like that for?
18:07Listen.
18:08Right.
18:09I'm not doing anything wrong and you're grabbing me like this for what?
18:12Do not resist me. Do not resist me.
18:14Do you understand?
18:15Look, you're crushing my arm now. You're crushing my arm.
18:18What do you mean, like this way?
18:20I'm not even doing anything wrong, yeah?
18:22And you're doing this to me.
18:24All right, you don't have to hold me down, do you?
18:27With a passenger from the Fiesta now also detained,
18:30Nick searches the area where he arrested the driver.
18:33The seat is thrown out underneath the car.
18:38No, it's just in case he's dumped on me.
18:40He ran out of the car, he ran out in front of that Audi.
18:43It's the shortest pursuit in the world ever.
18:45There's no damage to the railings, there's no damage to the car.
18:48I'll keep it simple then.
18:50There's no sign of any drugs, so Nick interviews the driver
18:54and it becomes clearer why he didn't want to hang around.
18:57Do you hold a full and valid driving licence
18:59that allows you to drive the class of vehicle you're driving today?
19:02If I wasn't driving a motor vehicle, then no, I ain't got a licence.
19:06Are you a disqualified driver? Yeah.
19:08He went all right, actually.
19:10You know, he were a bit peeved that he'd got stopped,
19:14but, I mean, ultimately, he were no harm done.
19:18I think, more than anything, he'd lost his wheels,
19:21that's what we're bothered about.
19:23Pride and joy of my Fiesta's gone.
19:27Are you local, Leon?
19:28Why am I going to answer you when I've just been asking you?
19:31OK, well, it's up to you now, mate.
19:33Go on, ask me a question. I'll answer you now.
19:35Go on, come on. Don't fall out on me, come on.
19:40With the interview over, the young man is free to go,
19:43but he'll be reported to court for driving uninsured and disqualified.
19:47There you go.
19:48You get some paperwork in due course, no doubt.
19:51Be a couple of months, what, eh?
19:57Locals and things like that, just talking to a lad there.
20:00You know, they don't want these cars on their streets.
20:03As you can see, there's kids knocking about, riding their bikes,
20:06and these cars flying up and down with no regard to anybody else.
20:11No licence, no insurance.
20:13They're all, you know, nice cars round here.
20:16Just get them off the road.
20:19As for the lad's pride and joy,
20:22that's on the back of a recovery truck and bound for the scrapyard.
20:28Coming up...
20:30A peaceful West Yorkshire village becomes a car crime hotspot.
20:34And that is my number plate.
20:36The traffic cops give chase to a speedy pizza driver.
20:39I want to see your hands and what you're doing, OK?
20:42Nicely done. Not yours.
20:44And in pursuit of high-value thefts, the cops take a big knock.
20:48Stand by. Are you going to hit it? Yeah.
20:51Across Yorkshire, a recent surge in the theft of heavy machinery,
20:55known as plant, has become a major priority for the traffic cops.
20:59It's organised and there's things shipped out of the country
21:02within 24 hours. It's a really big business.
21:05You're talking £20,000, £30,000, £100,000 a time.
21:09Most plant machines in the country
21:11have been in operation for over 20 years.
21:13But there's a lot more to it than that.
21:15£20,000, £30,000, £100,000 a time.
21:19Most plant machines have tracking devices,
21:22but when concealed in a van,
21:24pinpointing their location while in transit isn't easy.
21:28The difficulty with tracking plant and trying to find plant
21:32is that you're looking for a white van in rush hour on a motorway.
21:36If you ever try and do that, look around,
21:38you will spot 50 vans probably within a minute.
21:42So, have we got a tracker number? Are we on the phone to them?
21:57On the A1, PC's Mick Roth and Paul Stamp
22:00from the North Yorkshire Road Crime Team
22:02are in a powerful unmarked BMW, hunting for a transit van
22:06carrying a stolen road roller that's fitted with a tracking device.
22:10There's a chance, even if it's coming south, we'll still get him.
22:13We're looking for a sprinter van that one of the other cars has seen,
22:17which is very heavy on the back end.
22:19Then, Mick and Paul spot a van that matches the type they're after.
22:24What's this here?
22:30Folks are hearing it late in there.
22:32Looks heavy left side, mate, this.
22:34We come up on a van which is a high-top transit van.
22:38It's got warning stripes on the back,
22:40which is kind of indicative of how they blend in at building sites.
22:44I reckon this might be a goer.
22:46It's real heavy on the back end.
22:48It is, mate. It's back doors are open.
22:51This is it.
22:54Now, you don't see many vans with doors ajar.
22:56It does happen, and then when you see it in the bend, it starts to corner.
23:00It's hanging down on the left-hand side really badly,
23:03and it doesn't act naturally in the bend.
23:05It doesn't seem to be happy on the road, if you like,
23:08and you know there's a good chance this is going to be our vehicle.
23:11Paul asks Control to check the van's number plates.
23:14I am. I'm behind you. It's a high-sided transit.
23:17Can you run that for us?
23:18A check of the plates doesn't flag up any warning signs,
23:21which could mean it's a clone of a similar vehicle.
23:26It's showing us a Ford Transit van coming back completely legitimate.
23:30It's got a keeper, it's got insurance on it.
23:32It's very common that the vans used to steal these items.
23:35They are stolen themselves, but they will have false number plates on them,
23:39so if anyone was to give it a check, it does look legitimate.
23:42Yeah, it's tracking to this van in front, boys.
23:44I'll set up a pre-emptive.
23:46Stay in front. We might need you on a rolling block.
23:49It will go, won't it?
23:50Mick wants to go for a stop,
23:52but boxing a heavily loaded vehicle at high speed on a motorway has its risks.
23:58It's going to be a nightmare to try and stop it,
24:00and unbelievably, he's doing 70, 75 miles an hour.
24:03And if he fails to stop,
24:05you've got basically about three or four tonnes worth of vehicle
24:08that can't stop being pursued down a busy motorway.
24:11Absolutely the last thing that you want.
24:13Just got you coming. Just back it off speed-wise.
24:15Back it off speed-wise in that beamer.
24:17I'm just thinking, with this thing, we're better at lower speed.
24:20What if we wait for him to come off?
24:22He's going to come off at here, 046, isn't he?
24:25And we quickly discuss, myself and Paul,
24:27let's try and act on it when it's low speed.
24:29So let's deal with it at a junction.
24:31We're in lane two, speed 70 miles an hour.
24:33It is matching the speeds that have been given by Sat Track.
24:36As the suspect vehicle slows to make an exit,
24:39Mick and Paul spot their chance to close in.
24:43It's indicating, just approaching junction 47.
24:46It's had indication the vehicle is off, off, off.
24:48The plan was to box it on an off-slip,
24:50where it's going to be reducing speed anyway,
24:53so you're going to be boxing it at probably 15 mile an hour
24:56rather than 75 mile an hour.
24:58Let's see if we can come up as this vehicle slows
25:00to try and do a slow-moving, preemptive box on this vehicle.
25:03It's off at junction 47 and we are going for the stop.
25:06Mick takes the lead, but with the heavy weight of the van,
25:09they're braced for impact.
25:12Come on, mate. Go on!
25:18Get engine off! Get engine off!
25:20You're under arrest for theft of a vehicle
25:22and for dangerous driving. Fail to stop.
25:24You don't have to say anything.
25:26If you don't mention when questioned, something like a line of court,
25:29anything you do say may be evidence. Do you understand?
25:31Yeah. Right, sit there for now, mate.
25:34I tried to stop, I couldn't. Right.
25:38Ten miles north of Leeds, in West Yorkshire,
25:41traffic cops PCs Paul Crabtree and Jamie Brown
25:44are en route to the tranquil village of Menston.
25:48Somebody called in, we're not sure who, who said that.
25:51There's a gold Mercedes A-Class parked outside the pub.
25:55They've said it's got a stolen registration plate on it.
25:58They've run it through on our system
26:00and confirmed that the registration plates, they are stolen.
26:03So, potentially a stolen car that they've tried to clone.
26:07With the recent spate of car theft
26:09reported from other affluent West Yorkshire villages,
26:12this could be the start of a similar problem in Menston.
26:17Not this left, but next left.
26:21A gold A-Class, wasn't it?
26:23I think it was, yeah.
26:25Yeah, it's the pub, mate.
26:28Hello. Have you phoned us?
26:30I have, yes. Hi.
26:34And it's stolen?
26:35No, my car was stolen yesterday in that car.
26:37I thought I had some of the plates switched out with my plates.
26:40Oh, so that's got your plates on? Yes.
26:42Oh, lovely, right. We'll just park up there, all right? Yeah.
26:45The signs are that this peaceful village
26:47has become a target for car-cloning criminal gangs.
26:50Paul and Jamie need to investigate.
26:52This car's not yours, but it's got your registration plates on.
26:55Is yours a gold A-Class?
26:57No, mine's a grey A-Class. Grey A-Class.
26:59And it's literally... It was just parked up there.
27:01Yesterday morning, I woke up to discover my car wasn't outside my house,
27:05which is just up the road, and I, when I was walking home today,
27:08cos obviously I've got the train, cos I don't have a car any more,
27:11I noticed that this car, which has been around, I've seen it for ages,
27:15has my number plate on it.
27:16Jamie radios Control to check if there's been a report
27:19of the plates being tampered with.
27:21Not being a detective, but I'm guessing that KS55ZKY.
27:24While they wait for Control to get back, Paul checks the car over.
27:28Oh, very strange.
27:29It's got one set of registration plates on it, which don't match.
27:32Looking for some ID, Jamie tries the car door.
27:35Let's go and get in it.
27:37And with alarm bells ringing, another local resident becomes interested.
27:41It's yours? All right, just come here a sec.
27:44Is that your reg number?
27:48No.
27:49Is that your car? No, that's not my car.
27:51What's your reg number? What's my reg number, Catherine?
27:54Is it KS55ZKY? Yeah.
27:57So that is your car?
27:59What's happened there? Somebody's left...
28:01Oh, bastard!
28:02It's identity theft.
28:04The closest comparison to a cloned car to another crime
28:07is identity theft.
28:08Somebody's stolen my car. Somebody's stolen...
28:10That's his registration.
28:11I recently bought an A-Class about six weeks ago,
28:14and I live literally up past that lamppost,
28:16and that is my number plate.
28:18Although it seems clearer,
28:19Paul explains the theft may have some further repercussions.
28:23I'm betting your reg is on his car,
28:25which is booked to all sorts of naughtiness,
28:27so you may well start getting letters through.
28:29So she's going to have a whole host of stuff coming through the door.
28:32Parking fines and things.
28:33Every time the post comes, like, oh, here we go.
28:36She's going to have to convince the election agency,
28:38look, this wasn't my car.
28:40That's hassle, she didn't want that, it's not her fault.
28:42She'd be in an administrative nightmare.
28:44It's just affecting more and more people
28:46in a way that they don't deserve.
28:48Now the police have an idea
28:50what registration is likely to be on the stolen car,
28:53they have a better chance of finding it.
28:55Your car's driving with that on it,
28:57which at least gives us a lead to try and get it back.
29:01It's taking time to screw this one on.
29:03Take the phone out and put the phone in.
29:05They've done it proper.
29:10So Lima Papa 6-1, Mike Hotel Victor,
29:12I've got the plate in my hand for that now.
29:14But if we can add the other one to the hot list,
29:16if it pings, then we're on it.
29:19But there's no guarantee the man will ever see his car again.
29:23I think what threw him even more
29:24is he didn't know where his keys had gone from.
29:26So has somebody been in his house?
29:28Has somebody been watching him?
29:29So how upsetting must that be for him?
29:31That he's either...
29:32He firstly doesn't know when it's been done,
29:34or who's done it to him.
29:35You just don't expect this to happen to most of them.
29:37I know this is a silly thing to say, but I just don't.
29:39We've just said on the way over, it's nice to come somewhere nice.
29:43And the thing is, when we turn up in Manchester,
29:45it's full of nice people as well, which is a change.
29:47For the lady whose Reg has been stolen,
29:49it's been an altogether more bizarre experience.
29:52When you look out a window,
29:53you don't expect to see police breaking into your car, do you?
29:56Well, that's what I did.
29:57Someone's breaking into your car.
29:59I know they've cut pens and things,
30:00but we haven't taken to breaking into things yet.
30:0517 miles east, back on the A1 near Wetherby.
30:08Traffic cops Mick Roth and Paul Stamp
30:11have just arrested the driver of a suspicious van,
30:14which they believe contains a stolen road roller.
30:17Don't bother. It hasn't got good brakes on it.
30:21How's it got a roller in the back of it?
30:23Well, there's a surprise. I'll take that as a significant comment.
30:26With the suspect under arrest, the cops search the back of the van.
30:30This will be going into Leeds,
30:32and either it's ID changed and sold on,
30:34or ultimately it'll go out the country,
30:36on a container, probably to the Middle East or to Eastern Europe.
30:39Checks on the van mean more bad news for the driver.
30:42In this vehicle, we've checked the VIN plate,
30:45and it's actually a stolen Transit, is this.
30:47So, at this time, you're under arrest as well,
30:51on suspicion of theft of this vehicle as well.
30:53All in all, it's a good result, but the problem for the cops now
30:57will be linking the suspect to the criminal masterminds he is working for.
31:01It had been stolen for about six or seven weeks when we stopped it,
31:05so it had done plenty of jobs in that time.
31:07It wouldn't have been its first trip out to steal something.
31:10They get a vehicle and get a number of plates for them,
31:13swap them round, and they just keep using them.
31:16I take it me and you are taking him down in the van, are we?
31:18Yeah, I assume so. Yeah, we're following down.
31:20The people that are making the money out of it,
31:23the organisers behind it, are not involved hands-on
31:26because they don't want to get caught.
31:28They specifically prey on vulnerable people.
31:31Most people we stop are getting paid between £50 and £100
31:35to drive this van, and that's all they are, they're just drivers.
31:39And often they're very bad drivers.
31:42You broke my car, haven't you? I couldn't stop, I tried.
31:45If you'd have pulled up behind me and put your lights on,
31:47I'd have pulled over. You wouldn't do with that in the back, would you?
31:50With their car too damaged to drive, Paul and Mick call in support
31:54to escort the suspect to the police station.
31:58When they're not dealing with the fallout from organised crime,
32:02a big part of the traffic cop's job is about targeting bad drivers.
32:13In Keighley, West Yorkshire...
32:15I'm just looking on to speak to this individual.
32:17..Paul and Jamie have spotted a takeaway driver
32:20they think is going a little too quickly,
32:22and can't turn a blind eye,
32:24even if it is going to keep someone's dinner waiting.
32:27He's driving, he's absolutely horrendous.
32:29He's just come onto the roundabout, up 900 miles an hour.
32:32There's no reason for it.
32:34Yeah, he's got some food in the car that's probably going to go cold
32:37if he gets there late. We'll have a word with him.
32:39That driver's abysmal, isn't it? Absolutely shocking.
32:47But this time, according to police,
32:50a quick word doesn't quite go to plan.
32:55Right, first and foremost, first and foremost,
32:58first and foremost, lose your attitude.
33:01I haven't claimed anything, I haven't spoken yet.
33:04You need to lose your attitude.
33:09Straightaway, he's been aggressive, he's been rude, he's been obstructive.
33:13I have been in the right lane, I've not broken the speed limit,
33:16I just don't get it.
33:18Finished? Because of the speed and the manner in which you took the roundabout?
33:21What speed? What speed, though? You tell me what speed exactly.
33:24I know exactly what speed I was going down the roundabout,
33:26so you tell me what speed.
33:28Speed was such that you weren't able to keep your own lane.
33:30Of course I was in my own lane.
33:32Show me photographic evidence that I was not in my lane.
33:35I was in the correct lane coming off my exit,
33:38so I wasn't stopping anybody.
33:40If you want to have your own little rant on
33:42and your little soapbox five minutes,
33:44if that makes you feel better, then get on with it.
33:46You're still going to be warned for your driving
33:48and you're still going to be warned for your manner.
33:50Five foot taller, pretending to be a big man.
33:52What a joke!
33:53Appear to be six foot one last time I checked.
33:55What a joke!
33:56Can I see your ID, then, please?
33:58Can I see your ID, then?
33:59His issue was that I hadn't grown enough
34:01and I was too small to be a policeman
34:03and obviously I had an inferiority complex.
34:05You were reading off the menu, you want some protein, you want to grow up.
34:08For a career, you need to be...
34:10Chicken, chicken tikka, sealer salad...
34:12You really are a complete imbecile.
34:15So I suggest you grow up.
34:17Really? Really?
34:21How childish is that?
34:22You get children doing things like that
34:24and there is a grown man reading a takeaway menu at me.
34:27OK, so your manner of driving could be construed as being antisocial,
34:30in which case what I'm going to issue you now
34:32is what's called a Section 59 warning under the Police Reform Act,
34:35in which case if this vehicle or any vehicle...
34:37I don't accept your warning.
34:38You don't have to accept it, it's issued to you.
34:40It's not for you to accept.
34:42If in the next 12 months this vehicle or any vehicle driven by you
34:45is driven in an antisocial manner again, then that vehicle...
34:55No. See you later.
34:58Finally on his way, the man's Section 59 warning will now mean
35:02if he's caught driving carelessly or inconsiderately in the next 12 months,
35:06the police can seize his car.
35:09That encounter could have been 30 seconds.
35:12Friendly, pleasant and a little bit of a,
35:14just slow down, mate, for your own safety, I think, away you go.
35:17But no.
35:18Right, well, I'll tell you what, we're not going to New York for dinner,
35:21I'll tell you that for now.
35:23Coming up, a white van man refuses to see sense.
35:27So I'm going to give you an opportunity to provide
35:29for deep breath and blow into the machine.
35:31And a traffic cop's arrest turns into a medical emergency.
35:35Stand clear of going to hospital, this lad.
35:44At York Police Station, the man accused of driving a stolen van
35:48containing a stolen road roller is brought into custody.
35:52As customers of ours go, this guy is quite amenable, quite talkative.
35:58Are you on any tablets or medication at the moment?
36:00Not prescribed.
36:02OK.
36:03I'm telling you cos he's going to drug test me anyway
36:06and he's going to come up to me.
36:08While he's booked in, the full extent of the man's drug problem
36:11becomes clear.
36:13So, dependent on heroin or substitute?
36:16Twice.
36:17How often do you have a go?
36:19How much heroin do you need each day?
36:21About 15 pounds.
36:22Is there anything else you want to tell me to help us look after you
36:25while you're here?
36:26As the questioning continues...
36:28I'm going to collapse on the door.
36:30..the man suddenly becomes unwell.
36:33How do you feel? Do you just feel dizzy?
36:35Take your jumper off then, for a start.
36:37That might help.
36:40Do you want a hand up? Are you all right?
36:48Sit down. Steady.
36:50You start to panic and think, has he taken something?
36:53Has he seen us coming?
36:54Has he slipped whatever drugs he's got on him in the van
36:57because he knows he's going to be arrested?
36:59Is he going to be OK?
37:00Just relax your arms if you can.
37:02All right, fella.
37:05Sarge, I think you might be having a bit of a seizure.
37:1220 miles south of York, on the edge of North Yorkshire,
37:16Tim Wilson and James Duffy are continuing the road crime team's
37:20efforts to curtail a countryside crime wave.
37:23It's North Yorkshire Road Crime Team.
37:25Just to let you know, we're working in and around the borders.
37:29When you work the borders,
37:30you dip in and out of the force inevitably.
37:33So it's just a bit of courtesy to let them know
37:35that we are operating here.
37:36North Yorkshire's crime is predominantly cross-border
37:39and they don't hang around.
37:40They'll come over the border, do the crime, they'll go back over.
37:43It's a very small window
37:44and your chances of getting them then are very slim.
37:47Tonight, Tim and James are targeting vans
37:49involved in machinery and fuel theft.
37:52We do stop a lot of vans late at night
37:54just because they're involved in criminality so widely.
37:57And some of those people use it to steal things like rollers,
38:01road rollers, minidiggers.
38:03We've seen minidiggers forced into the back of transit vans.
38:06With the theft of heavy machinery most commonly occurring at night,
38:10it doesn't take long for James and Tim
38:12to lock onto a suspicious-looking van.
38:15The telltale sign with that is the suspension will be low on the back.
38:19There's a lot of vans that have a lot of weight in them,
38:21but it's worth a stop check.
38:24Evening, mate. How you doing? Is it your van?
38:28Is it? We're racing in short to you?
38:30Yep. OK.
38:32But James quickly realises
38:33he could be dealing with another common night-time offence.
38:37Right, David, obviously you've had a drink this evening, haven't you?
38:40You give it a quick stop and before you know it,
38:42it's developed into something different.
38:44Due to the fact that you're driving a vehicle,
38:46I'll be requesting a specimen of breath from you for analysis.
38:48Are you listening to me? Yep. OK.
38:50You seem like you've drank quite a lot, is that right?
39:01While James questions the driver, Tim runs a check on his licence.
39:09Just need to give it a bit of time,
39:10cos you were smoking when we stopped you.
39:12It can affect the accuracy of the tests.
39:16You're not?
39:17Have you been done for drink driving before?
39:20Yeah. Right.
39:22Did you fail to provide then as well, or did you...?
39:24No, no, I blew that time. All right.
39:26I was only two points over.
39:28So I'm going to give you an opportunity to provide.
39:30No, I'm not going to do it.
39:31Deep breath and blow into the machine. Nope.
39:33You're not going to do it? No.
39:35Simply refusing? I'll lock you up for failing to provide.
39:38No. It's madness not to do it, mate.
39:40If you blow into that and you're under the limit,
39:42then we just disappear your ear with your van.
39:44No, I'm not doing it. All right. Fair enough.
39:47Well, you're under arrest at this time for failing to provide me
39:49with a specimen of breath as required, OK?
39:52This way. You will do. Steady. You're falling over.
39:55All right, take a seat in there.
39:56It's been searched before you get in,
39:58so don't chuck anything on the floor is the meaning of that.
40:03Wasting no time, the officers take the van driver into custody
40:06for an evidential breath test.
40:12Those grounds have been authorised by the Detention School
40:14to preserve evidence and basically put them
40:16in the big machine that tells you exactly how much alcohol is in your breath, OK?
40:20James has one last try to get the man to do the breath test.
40:25I warn you that failure to provide either of these specimens
40:28will render you liable to prosecution.
40:30Do you agree to provide two specimens of breath for analysis?
40:33No.
40:34I warn you again that failure to provide either of these specimens
40:37will render you liable to prosecution.
40:39Do you now agree to provide two specimens of breath for analysis?
40:43No.
40:45This time, the driver's refusal to take a breath test
40:48earns him a three-year driving ban.
40:51There's no chance that he'd be under, in my opinion.
40:54He's really quite drunk.
40:58At York Police Station, a concerned Mick and Paul
41:01are still dealing with the suspect who has suddenly collapsed in custody.
41:06Talk to me if you can.
41:09What are you doing? What's your name?
41:12Are you all right?
41:14Are you back with us, mate?
41:16I think we lost you there for a minute or so.
41:18We're not going to... Just sit there. You're all right.
41:21No-one's going to harm you.
41:23He says he's not eating or drunk or anything for two days.
41:25In his mind, we were attacking him,
41:27which is very difficult and quite scary to deal with.
41:31As irrational as it is to us, in his mind, we could be trying to kill him,
41:35but ultimately it's down to myself and Mick and other police officers in there
41:39to make sure this guy doesn't hurt anyone.
41:42I don't want to see someone in pain.
41:44Certainly I don't want to see him in that kind of state.
41:46Although I've arrested him and he's a prisoner,
41:48we've got to look after him as well.
41:50You want to come and sit in here, mate?
41:52Having dealt with a lot of people that fake this kind of thing
41:56to try and get in an ambulance, to try and escape custody,
41:59it was clear to me that this guy was not faking it.
42:02Hello. Hello.
42:06With paramedics on hand, the man's behaviour continues to be erratic.
42:12Don't touch me! Don't touch me!
42:14OK, so we're going to pop you on the ambulance.
42:17Come on, mate. Come on, don't touch me!
42:20Don't touch me! Don't touch me!
42:23I'd like to come to work and get the bigger fish.
42:25I want the people who have been involved in the theft
42:28and I want the people behind the scenes
42:30who are organising the little pawns in the big game of chess.
42:33Come on, let's jump in here.
42:37You are, honestly.
42:39Have a seat on here.
42:41Here's what it is.
42:43To see someone in that state who's been targeted specifically
42:46by an organised crime group to do their dirty work
42:49is absolutely appalling.
42:51They don't care about the state of this person.
42:54They're just bothered about the thousands of pounds they're going to make.
42:57Simple as that.
43:02The casualties from the collision with the stolen Vectra
43:05suffered a broken jaw and a broken arm
43:08but were discharged from hospital the next day.
43:11The man arrested turned out not to be the driver
43:14and no action was taken against him.
43:18The truck driver wasn't charged with stealing the truck or its contents
43:22but pleaded guilty to handling the lorry.
43:25He received a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years,
43:28250 hours community service
43:31and was banned from driving for nine months for no insurance and no licence.
43:38The disqualified and uninsured teenage driver
43:41who tried to escape from Nick Priestley
43:44received a further 12-month disqualification and a £120 fine.
43:51The Mercedes A-Class, stolen from Menston with a neighbour's registration plate,
43:55was found and recovered.
43:57The car has been linked to a number of high-value burglaries
44:00across West Yorkshire.
44:04And the man arrested for driving a stolen van
44:07and driving a stolen road roller
44:09is wanted for handling stolen goods, dangerous driving
44:12and driving uninsured and without a licence.
44:15No action has been taken against him for the theft of the van.
44:25All new Traffic Cops are back next week at eight.
44:28But remember Big Ron, that gorgeous bulldog from The Secret Life of Puppies?
44:32Well, him and his pals are all grown up and now they're in their terrible twos.
44:36Tracker is next, while over on Five Star
44:38a teenager with teleporting abilities finds himself in the middle of an ancient war.
44:42Jumper is next.