Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Episode 1

Northumbria Police receive a call from a man whose 70-year-old neighbour has been robbed at knife point by masked attackers.

In this first episode, one of the many calls Northumbria Police is dealing with at 17:45 on a Monday is from a man whose 70 year old neighbour has been robbed at knife point by masked attackers in his home in the suburbs of Sunderland. An urgent response team is immediately despatched but the attackers have made off with 拢15k of savings hidden under the floorboards in a Quality Street tin. Detective Andy Richardson, a man with an unshakeable belief in right and wrong and an impressive track record of delivering justice, takes on 70-year old Michael鈥檚 case and sets his team to work scouring CCTV and gathering witness statements including from known informants. This, Andy tells his team, is a 鈥榩roper job鈥. 鈥淚f helping someone is catching a bad guy whose causing harm to give them closure to make them feel safe at home because of what鈥檚 happened then I鈥檓 going to do something about it. It鈥檚 my job to do something about it鈥. Within hours their first suspect in custody while they鈥檝e seized 236 items of evidence including a machete and masks.

55 miles north of Sunderland in a secluded hamlet where 鈥榓ll jokes aside, sheep outnumber people鈥 Neighbourhood PC Curtis Ritchie is visiting another victim of a theft - horse lover Emma鈥檚 much treasured vintage Landrover Defender has been stolen in the dead of night. It turns out it wasn鈥檛 the only one stolen that night and Curtis thinks it鈥檚 the work of an organised crime gang.

In Newcastle and Gateshead a young and increasingly organised crime gang are causing havoc 鈥 recklessly stealing mopeds and motorbikes with escalating violence and impact on the owners. A new undercover task force is set up to stamp out the problem, they dedicate their evenings to stake outs in the hope of catching them red handed. 鈥淵ou kind of think where is the job going? Why am I sitting here, freezing cold, soaking wet? But I have a responsibility to these victims to make sure I do everything I can.鈥 But a strike comes with risk as Ant informs his team that the latest intelligence is that gang members are not only carrying machetes but also ammonia.
All the crimes featured in the episode were under investigation during the same week.

58 minutes

Last on

Fri 2 Aug 2019 01:15

More episodes

Previous

You are at the first episode

See all episodes from Our Cops in the North

Broadcasts