Rookie Cops S02E01 (9 Sept 2024)
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CreativityTranscript
00:00What does it take to become a cop?
00:11Oh my God, I think we'd better step back.
00:13Off you go then, please.
00:15Gwent Police's new recruits are letting the cameras follow their first months on the beat.
00:21You are the people that will make the biggest difference.
00:26Dogs, there you are!
00:28Oh, that's mad.
00:30They come from all walks of life.
00:33I was working part-time in a supermarket.
00:36I was working in a pharmacy.
00:38I was a postman.
00:39Worked back.
00:40But they have one thing in common.
00:42I wanted to help people.
00:43Well, we just want to make sure that you're safe.
00:45With police forces busier than ever...
00:48This has got the potential to be worth, like, millions of pounds.
00:51..and public confidence at an all-time low...
00:54Calm down.
00:55..it's never been tougher to be a cop.
00:58It's hard when they tell you they don't like you.
01:01You're a police officer.
01:03We're there to support you.
01:05We're only trying to make the streets a little bit safer.
01:07After six months in the classroom, they're hitting the streets.
01:11Vehicle's stung, vehicle's stung.
01:13Under the watchful eye of their tutors,
01:15they've got just 12 weeks to prove they have what it takes.
01:19I don't think anything can prepare you to be a police officer.
01:22Policing is one of the most challenging things I've ever done.
01:26Oh, God.
01:27These are the Rookie Cops.
01:35The officers are now at the stage where they're ready
01:37to join their colleagues out in their respective local areas.
01:40Police, can I now ask that you join me in welcoming Class 2 of 2023.
01:45APPLAUSE
01:48After months of training,
01:50Gwent Police's newest recruits are passing out.
01:56I'm proud now to be stood here in the uniform,
01:58but I just can't believe it.
02:00But, yeah, very excited.
02:02This is the beginning of their policing careers.
02:06Oh, I'm very proud. Yes, yeah. Congratulations.
02:10And it's really hoping to reach the highest rank in the police force.
02:16In just a week's time,
02:18they'll be putting everything they've learnt in training into practice.
02:22It's absolutely crazy. I'm speechless.
02:24Like, it's... Yeah. Sorry!
02:28As they start life on the beat.
02:31I'm so proud of him.
02:33I'm 81 years of age,
02:35and I never thought I'd see my grandson a policeman.
02:39And I know my husband would have been so proud of him.
02:43I can't wait. I'm really looking forward to it.
02:46Really excited to start the journey now and go out on shift.
02:50Yeah.
02:51Amazing, amazing moment.
02:54I'm going to be arresting people.
02:59I've never met so many supportful people in my life,
03:01and I feel like that's why they'll make good police officers,
03:04and that's why they're here.
03:07Shall I just pack chocolate?
03:10And coffee.
03:12Mum-of-three Emma-Marie is one of the force's new recruits.
03:17Today is her first ever shift as a police officer.
03:21I'm usually in bed by nine,
03:23and I've got to stay up till...
03:25Well, I'm working till nine, so I've got to stay up until nine.
03:28I've got to stay up until nine,
03:30and I've got to stay up until nine,
03:32and I've got to stay up until nine.
03:34And I've got to stay up till...
03:35Well, I'm working till midnight, I think.
03:37So, let's see what I can pack.
03:42Got Red Bull, definitely.
03:44Protein, cos I might not even have time to eat,
03:47so that'll get me something to go.
03:49Lots of chocolate and snacks and leftovers.
03:54I worked for a homeless charity for nearly 11 years.
03:57So, yeah, as a support worker.
04:00I applied for the police before kids, years and years ago,
04:04and I didn't get in.
04:05And then I went to what they call a 999 day,
04:08and they were saying they were recruiting.
04:10So I was like, do you know what, I'll give it a chance.
04:12My kid's, you know, a bit older and all that.
04:14And I went through the application form,
04:16and I got through the first stage.
04:18I was like, ooh, this is good.
04:21I haven't met my tutor yet.
04:23I don't even know who my sergeant is.
04:26Yes, all that.
04:27And then I kept on going, like the third stage,
04:29and I was like, oh, my gosh, this could be happening.
04:32There's the station over there.
04:35And then here I am.
04:37So, just goes to show you're never too old to join the police.
04:42Gwent Police Force covers more than 600 square miles
04:45across south-east Wales.
04:49From rural Monmouthshire in the east...
04:52..to the valleys in Blyner Gwent and Caerphilly in the west.
04:58And the city of Newport in the south,
05:00where Emma Marie will be stationed.
05:09I need to put all my stuff somewhere.
05:13OK.
05:14Emma. Hiya. Hi, Emma. I'm Sam.
05:17Sam, hi. Nice to meet you. How you doing? You OK?
05:19Yeah. We'll get you through it. It'll be all right. OK.
05:24For the next three months,
05:26Emma Marie will be under the supervision of tutor Sam.
05:30I think Emma will be my sixth student.
05:33We show them the ropes, I suppose,
05:35get them to a point where they can go out on the streets on their own.
05:40Before they head out on patrol,
05:42Emma Marie's first shift starts with a tour of the station.
05:45Oh, wow. OK.
05:47It looks like a maze, doesn't it? Yes, it is a bit.
05:50God, this is huge. Yeah, it's bigger than you'd think.
05:53Yeah, it's like a tar pit.
05:55I spent a lot of my time working in Monmouthshire
05:58before coming down to Newport, and there's a lot of differences.
06:01If you see me lost... Yeah.
06:04And me as well, we'll be lost together. Yeah.
06:06It's a bit of a challenge to deal with,
06:08and there's a lot of different people that you meet and that you come across,
06:12and, yeah, they can all pose their own challenges.
06:15That's one of the cells if you want to go in and have a look. Oh, yeah.
06:21God, these are smaller than I thought.
06:23Yes. Yeah.
06:25I mean, they get a little bit of a window. Yeah.
06:29This job, it's a passion,
06:31and I love meeting the people that have got that passion,
06:34which you don't usually have in a job.
06:36Usually people are like, I'm here, nine to five, working,
06:39but you have people that actually are passionate about doing something
06:42and they're caring, and, yeah, I love that.
06:51People do a lot of that. OK.
06:57While most students are tutored individually,
07:00some are paired up, like old friends Drew and Rhys.
07:06I think my mum always wanted me to become a police officer.
07:09I don't know, I was always, you know, goody-two-shoes.
07:15I've come in a bit late, but I think that gives me a good grounding
07:18with how to deal with certain situations.
07:20I've built my life skills to a point
07:22where I think I can effectively put them towards the job.
07:25What's your name? Not telling him.
07:27Right, not telling him.
07:28I've got my buddy with me.
07:30That's a funny one, considering me and him have gone all the way through training together,
07:35and then to top it off, it turns out me and him are both on the same shift together.
07:38I'm quite lucky with that.
07:40They'll be under the guidance of experienced tutor Dan,
07:44working across Bliner Gwent.
07:47Similar to myself is they were quite clearly Gwent Valley boys,
07:50so we had something in common straight away.
07:53They both seem really laid back and keen to get involved.
07:58It's only Drew and Rhys' second day
08:00and they're joining a specialist team on a drugs raid.
08:04We believe it's been used to cultivate cannabis inside the address.
08:08Quite a significant heat source coming from the attic.
08:12If we go round the back, just to cover the rear access just for entry,
08:15just to make sure we're getting this safe.
08:17We don't want to be running into any traps or anything like that.
08:20I've never been to a cannabis cultivation.
08:22I've never seen one in the flesh.
08:24So it was good to have an insight of what, from A to B,
08:27what starts in the beginning and what the end outcome is.
08:31Only last week we had three persons hiding within a hidden door.
08:36Just be mindful of those risk elements, OK?
08:39These people are cultivating quite an amount of money's worth of cannabis.
08:43They're obviously looking to protect their crop.
08:45What if there's someone in that property?
08:47What are they going to do to you?
08:49Who knows what's going to happen?
08:51Gwent Police conducts hundreds of search warrants each year,
08:55cracking down on organised crime,
08:57and getting drugs off the streets.
09:00Last year alone, more than £30 million worth of cannabis
09:04was seized by the force.
09:07If there's anyone in there, we've got to get control of them quick.
09:10And then we'll go from there, basically.
09:13They could think that they've got one of their rivals
09:16that's coming down from another city, for example,
09:18just to take their crop.
09:20So they will literally do anything that they can.
09:22They'll come at it with whatever they've got.
09:24As soon as the door's breached, we'll all fold in.
09:31No matter what, they can sort of teach you in training.
09:33You don't really know what to expect, really.
09:35It's the dreadled kind of guy, like, you know what I mean?
09:38And you've got issues with booby traps within the property,
09:42mains electricity, the door handles.
09:48It's that anticipation of what's going to happen.
09:51It's that anticipation of what's going to be on the other side of that door.
09:54You never know.
10:05Breach! Police!
10:07Police! Police in the warehouse!
10:12As soon as we put the door through, went upstairs...
10:17..and the heat, it was unbelievable.
10:20It was absolutely boiling in there.
10:22I'll go in and show you.
10:24Come on, then. You got a torch for that?
10:27Check me this out, mate.
10:30Bingo.
10:32I was just seeing all these cannabis plants in this property.
10:38Christ, this is big. Fair play.
10:40You're just met by hundreds of plants there.
10:43That's what you see in the movies.
10:45Spread across three floors,
10:47the team finds cannabis plants with a street value of more than £140,000.
10:52Guys, do a good search of that room in there.
10:54Make sure there's no-one hiding behind the plants, all right?
10:58This time, there's nobody at the property,
11:01but the set-up could still be deadly.
11:03Just be careful of the electrics, boys, all right?
11:06Jesus. Bypass that good and proper.
11:10There's power in all of this.
11:13They've bypassed the meter,
11:15so that it's not recording how much electricity is being used.
11:18You can imagine there's a lot of electricity being used in that.
11:21In that perimeter is the lights and the air extractor fan.
11:26The scene will have to be made safe
11:28before they can start taking the plants away to be destroyed.
11:32I've worked for one of the big energy suppliers.
11:35I've had prepayment meters and they've been bypassed,
11:38so it's interesting.
11:40Pulling that amount of electricity coming into the property,
11:43who knows what's going to happen?
11:47And the criminals have another trick up their sleeves.
11:50So it's a camera, so if someone is live viewing it,
11:53they're obviously already aware that we've kind of found this
11:56and they're obviously making an arrangement now
11:58to kind of maybe destroy evidence or whatever, really.
12:04Quite surprised when we opened it up and seen it.
12:08Quite surprised when we opened it up and seen a fair few plants in it.
12:11Ah, that's a good haul, that, that's fair play.
12:15No, no, plenty of plants, loads of it.
12:18But, oh, man, it's bonkers.
12:20First warrant for the boys, so I think the adrenaline
12:23was probably pumping through their veins a little bit.
12:26So that's going to go in there, we fill that out,
12:29and then at the end, every officer signs it.
12:31Awesome.
12:32But, yeah, they did well, they've gone in,
12:34and, yeah, we move on to the evidence gathering
12:37and the dismantling of the factory.
12:4223-year-old Christian was born in the Philippines
12:46and moved to Pembrokeshire as a child.
12:49Let's go, let's go, let's go.
12:51He was training to be a lawyer before deciding to join the police.
12:56I never thought I'd become a police officer full-time.
12:59I thought I would just stay practising law.
13:01Come on, come on.
13:03As time progressed, really, I thought,
13:05do you know what, I'm still quite young,
13:07so I thought, give it a shot.
13:10I think a lot of people have a stereotypical image
13:14of a police officer.
13:16I don't think I look like what most people think
13:19a police officer should look like.
13:21They think that they're about six foot,
13:23their only job is to, like, wrangle people into a cell
13:26and just lock them up.
13:28Really?
13:29I am five foot seven.
13:31Not the tallest, but not certainly the shortest.
13:34Can you look at me? Look at it.
13:36We're a typical Filipino family,
13:38so obviously very quite tight-knit.
13:40Being an Asian officer, I think that's a good thing.
13:43We're a diverse force.
13:45We bring around our own strengths and weaknesses.
13:47That was not a smile.
13:49So I think diversity is our strength.
13:51I think it's good that I don't fit the typical mould.
13:57There was quite some apprehension at the start,
13:59especially for my family,
14:00who understandably worried about my safety, etc,
14:02because it is quite a high-risk job.
14:04Yeah, there's some bits I need a lot more practice on,
14:06but then that's adding job.
14:08They were a bit shocked that I decided to take the leap
14:10to become a full-time PC.
14:13I'm very happy.
14:14Yeah? You seem like you've really taken it into your stride.
14:17Like, it is really stressful.
14:19Some days I just crawl into my bed,
14:21I'm just like, why am I doing this?
14:24It has to be said, lots of tough times,
14:26especially the fact that on the second day of training,
14:28my grandfather unfortunately passed away.
14:30So it was a bit of a rocky start,
14:32but I think with the people that I worked with,
14:34I'm absolutely indebted to them.
14:36I wouldn't have made it without them.
14:39But like all the rookies,
14:41Christian still has a long way to go.
14:44Before student officers can be signed off,
14:47they must complete a number of tasks
14:49under the eagle eye of their tutors.
14:51There's ten portfolios in total,
14:53and all of them are quite extensive.
14:55Students need to make sure that they go into mental health course
14:57or dealing with vulnerable people.
14:59Witness statements, victim statements.
15:01There's also searches of people, areas, cars.
15:05You need to caution the subject,
15:07and you need to give the necessity for the arrest.
15:10That's one of the main ones I think a student would get wrong.
15:13Sometimes things don't always go according to plan
15:16when officers are trying things for the first time,
15:18and that's why we're there as tutor constables, really,
15:21to come in and feedback and help out.
15:24Rookie officers must also pass a test
15:27to allow them to drive the police cars.
15:31Christian is on his way to the driver training centre
15:34to be assessed.
15:36I'm feeling quite nervous, has to be said.
15:40Very much... He was going fast, wasn't he?
15:45A lot more confident than when I started out.
15:47I was very not sure of myself.
15:49I was very nervous about everything and everybody.
15:52Bit of a flashback to when I did my actual driving test,
15:55which it took me four attempts to pass, unfortunately.
15:59On the third attempt, I accidentally went through a red light,
16:02which I'm not very proud of.
16:04And it was literally just around the corner from the test centre.
16:07We were literally on our way back.
16:09Very embarrassing, but I'm not going to repeat any of those mistakes now.
16:13Yeah, I think I'm more than competent.
16:17I'm hoping it's not Parallel Park,
16:19because Parallel Park and me are not best friends.
16:24There we are.
16:27Ready to get at it.
16:41At the cannabis farm, with the power now disconnected,
16:44Drew and Rhys can safely get to work.
16:47These can come off the wall here, Rhys.
16:49Obviously, all of this has a monetary value, doesn't it?
16:53So we're going to remove it so no-one else can come here
16:57and reuse it, etc, for the same purpose, basically.
17:02The plants are bagged up and taken away to be destroyed.
17:06The only way I can sort of describe it
17:08is pulling tomato plants around.
17:10They're obviously not tomato plants, it's a cannabis plant.
17:13Your initials are not all right.
17:15Right, I'll look.
17:19Do you want me to come and stick a warrant in there?
17:21Yeah.
17:22It's about two grand a plant.
17:24We've got 70 plants in there, it's about £140,000 worth of cannabis
17:27that we've taken out of the area today, which is obviously great.
17:32A specialist team will now investigate who's behind the farm
17:36and look to make arrests.
17:39Not bad for day two, mind, is it?
17:42It's metalised, but...
17:44It's just part of the job, isn't it? Part of the job we want to do.
17:48I've always wanted to join the police for many years.
17:54I thought, that's a proper, proper tidying job.
18:01I just thought I wasn't particularly mature enough
18:04for the role at the time, younger in life.
18:07Who's lad is this? Is that nice?
18:09Who's lad is this?
18:10The other part of it then as well is,
18:12I just wish my dad could have been here to see her.
18:17He suffered a heart attack a couple of years ago.
18:21I would have wanted to see what his reaction would have been
18:24to me being a police constable, so that would have been quite interesting
18:27to see what he would have thought.
18:30Back at the driver assessment centre,
18:32Christian is about to be put through his paces.
18:36This is my fun part of the day.
18:39He has to pass a thorough test to prove his driving is up to scratch
18:43before being allowed behind the wheel of a police car.
18:47I'll give you directions around, right,
18:49so I'm just going to follow the road ahead.
18:51I'll let traffic signs tell you otherwise.
18:53There's various levels of policing.
18:55What you start on is called a basic driver permit,
18:58which allows you to drive any police vehicle marked or unmarked.
19:01We will be doing a couple of manoeuvres,
19:03so we'll do some parking manoeuvres.
19:05This is a check of competence,
19:08driving on a variety of road types,
19:10negotiating a variety of hazards.
19:12It will be a pass or fail,
19:14so, again, the competencies that you read earlier
19:17need to mark more as competent by the end of the drive.
19:20So, I'm going to be driving on this road,
19:22so, again, the competencies that you read earlier
19:24need to mark more as competent by the end of the drive.
19:27The majority of people will pass,
19:29but people do fail from time to time.
19:32I'd say if we can come out of the gate and turn left and drive on, you're ready.
19:43I felt slightly sick, it has to be said,
19:45but I just didn't want to mess up.
19:47I always get nervous when someone's just assessing my abilities and things.
19:51Just watch this second speed bump, it's quite big.
19:53Oh, OK.
19:54Obviously, it's test conditions and someone is assessing you,
19:57which is completely different when you're commuting,
19:59because no-one's nagging you, well, apart from maybe my mum!
20:05Cool. Yeah. Yeah.
20:07A lot bigger than the other ones. Yeah.
20:11We're going to look to do a reverse B park then, OK?
20:14So, if we want to go round after the van... After the van.
20:17..turn up to the left.
20:18I'm quite dyspraxic, you see,
20:20so when it comes to hand-eye coordination, it's quite tricky for me.
20:39That'll be OK.
20:42Let me take a look on your side.
20:44Yeah. OK.
20:46All right, thanks.
20:48Drive on when you're ready again, so we turn right.
20:53So far, so good.
21:01Ah, the roundabout.
21:02I'm going to follow the road ahead, just a second exit, all right?
21:05Second exit.
21:18OK.
21:35Test complete. It's crunch time for Christian.
21:41Has he passed or failed?
21:44Er, yeah.
21:46Didn't pass this time, unfortunately.
21:48It was just minor...
21:49It was just things such as me being a bit too overly cautious
21:53at roundabouts. Easy things to correct, really.
22:07Back in Newport,
22:08tutor Sam is taking Emma-Marie for her first patrol of the city.
22:14Just get familiar with it.
22:16Get used to...
22:17You can see I'm probably not used to it.
22:19Get used to people staring as we drive past.
22:23So, what did you do before this?
22:25I was on Kenton.
22:26No way.
22:27Yeah.
22:28Wow.
22:29Yeah, for a while.
22:30Yeah.
22:31What made you want to change?
22:33Er, I think I needed a bit more excitement in my life.
22:36Yeah?
22:38And it's not long before Emma-Marie gets her own taste of that excitement.
22:44Ooh!
22:45Ooh!
22:48The first shift was a busy one.
22:51There's every type of crime here.
22:53A lot of drugs in Newport Central.
22:55Domestic abuse.
22:57Absolutely anything.
22:59Oh, my God, does your heart like racing when you're doing this, though?
23:02Cos mine's, like, racing right now.
23:04For the newest officers, it can be a bit of a whirlwind at first.
23:07Oh, my God, this is my issue.
23:09I've been like, get out the way!
23:11Ooh!
23:13They sort of come out to us, having spent six months in training school,
23:17where it's a very safe environment, I suppose,
23:20and then they come out onto the streets and they think,
23:23whoa, what the heck is going on here?
23:30The pair are called to a fight in a nearby car park.
23:35And already, Emma-Marie has to put her training into practice.
23:41So, I was expecting to break up a fight,
23:43but it was nothing like I expected at all.
23:46BEEPING
23:47Tell them...
23:48BEEPING
23:49We're not...
23:50Are you crazy? Are you crazy?
23:52Calm down.
23:53Are you crazy?
23:54Sit! Sit!
23:55What do you mean?
23:56No, we are not.
23:58He was a drunk man, and then he was going to go into a main road
24:01and we were trying to stop him.
24:03Step away!
24:04Look at me!
24:05Step away from me! Stop coming at me!
24:07Step away from me!
24:09Obviously, I didn't want him to go on the road,
24:11but my heart was just racing, because I was just like,
24:13what is this guy going to do?
24:14Because, obviously, it's unpredictable.
24:16You just don't know what's going to happen.
24:18Right, sit.
24:19I can't let you on the road.
24:20No.
24:21He's still walking towards what is a really busy stretch of road.
24:24You know, you don't know what his intentions are.
24:27He could get himself hurt on purpose or by accident.
24:31He's attacked me.
24:32Who has?
24:33This man here.
24:34Has he?
24:35What's he done to you?
24:36The man claims to have been attacked.
24:38Yeah, take some details and I'll come and have a chat with you now
24:41about what's happened.
24:42But, in fact, it's just a family member trying to take him home.
24:46Oh!
24:47He's a very good person.
24:48Yeah.
24:49But when he's drinking, then...
24:50Drink.
24:51..otherwise he's a very, very...
24:52Yeah.
24:53..quiet person.
24:54I get it. I totally get it, yeah.
24:55And his nephew was there and he said,
24:57I just want to get my uncle home.
24:59His wife was in the car as well and she was piping it
25:01and I was like, right, OK, we'll try and sort this out.
25:03Yeah, we don't want you stressing and going into Lebanon.
25:05Yeah, no, no, we don't want any of that.
25:07So, obviously, I talked to Sam and I was like,
25:09look, his nephew literally just wants to get him home.
25:11That's all we need to do.
25:12I'm going to call the Prime Minister.
25:14But the man has other ideas.
25:16I'm going to call the Prime Minister.
25:17Ring the Prime Minister, that's fine.
25:19Right, OK, can you do that from the car?
25:21Because your nephew and partner are really worried about you.
25:23Just, like, tried to get on his level and I was like,
25:25come on now, your wife's in the car.
25:27She wants you to go home.
25:28Yeah, I know, but your wife is pregnant.
25:30Yeah, I know, and he's going to be watching.
25:32Right, so you're saying the Prime Minister's more important
25:34than your wife? Yes. Pregnant? Yes.
25:36Right, OK.
25:37It's very frustrating dealing with drunk people.
25:39Their behaviour is just totally erratic.
25:42So we didn't really want to take him in
25:44if there was another option, really.
25:45We'd always look for the least sort of obstructive option
25:48to us and to them, really.
25:49Come on!
25:52I know, but come on.
25:55Yeah, but... Oi!
25:58Oh, right. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!
26:00No, no, nah!
26:05No, he didn't at all!
26:07He's concerned.
26:09Excuse me.
26:10Time went on, he was becoming more irate
26:12and he was sort of being threatening towards myself
26:15and Emma as well.
26:16So at that point, yeah, we've got to take some action.
26:19You've been warned about your conduct many times.
26:21We've tried to get you home, OK?
26:23Right, I'm arresting you for being drunk and disorderly.
26:25You do not have to say anything, but it may harm the defence
26:28if you do not mention when questioned,
26:30something you'll later rely on court.
26:32She probably wasn't expecting to be thrown into the thick of it
26:35like that, but she remembered all the caution and did it right,
26:39so that's the main thing.
26:41Have a sit down.
26:42Just four hours into day one
26:44and Emma-Marie has made her first arrest.
26:47I just couldn't believe it happened so soon on my first day,
26:50but my heart was racing.
26:51I still race every time I go to a corner.
26:53My heart's like, what's going to happen?
26:56I'll give you that one as a first arrest.
26:58Oh, thank you.
26:59That's a real one.
27:02We were expecting the letter that he said Rishi Sunak
27:05would send to us and it never came,
27:07so maybe that one got lost in the post.
27:11Investigations are ongoing
27:13to find those responsible for the cannabis farm.
27:17The man Emma-Marie arrested was given a community resolution order
27:21and made to attend an alcohol education course.
27:28And after a bit of practice,
27:30Christian returned to re-sit his driving test.
27:33I passed this time, which I'm quite happy about.
27:37Looking forward to when I can do my blue light driving course now.
27:46Next time, for the rookie cops...
27:50..Carrie joins the hunt for a teenager armed with a knife.
27:53Go on, police, come to the front door and hand me your hand.
27:56Yeah, that's really bad.
27:58Stormy weather causes chaos for Christian.
28:01It's went from zero to 100 very quickly.
28:04And Sophie's eagle eye leads to her first arrest.
28:08And if you do say you've been given this evidence, do you understand?
28:16Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation