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Episode 3 of 5

Documentary series. North Yorkshire Police rely on specially trained call handlers and dispatchers in York to respond to up to 1000 emergency calls every day.

North Yorkshire is one of Britain's largest counties - with 6000 miles of road and just 60 traffic officers. The police here rely on specially trained call handlers and dispatchers in York's force control room to respond to up to 1000 emergency calls every day. And, using a network of Automatic Number-Plate Recognition Cameras called ANPR, they help the officers track the movements of wanted criminals, and drivers who shouldn't be on the road.

Controller Nia Russell is contacted by a member of the public, who has called the police to report two males acting suspiciously in his back yard. Nia dispatches the report to Harrogate Traffic Officers Paul Cording and Mark Mullins. It's a bitterly cold night and when the officers come across the males, it soon becomes apparent they are not criminals lurking in the dark, but just cold, hungry and a little lost. The men are from Eritrea, don't speak any English, and dealing with them takes the officers some considerable time.

Much like the rest of the UK, North Yorkshire is covered by a network of strategically positioned Automatic Number-plate Recognition Cameras (ANPR). Supported by specially trained staff in York's force control room, North Yorkshire's dedicated Road Crime Team are able to intercept a team of shoplifters as the flee from the scene of the crime in their getaway car.

Gale force winds and atrocious weather conditions challenge Scarborough traffic officers Paul Moon and Mark Gonella as they respond to a crash at a local beauty spot. A young driver with passengers overturns his car in an area renowned as an illegal racetrack for car enthusiasts.

And, when a member of public brings a lost dog to the attention of Road Crime Team officers Mick Roffe and James Duffy, the officers' patience is put to the test when a poodle dog escapes their clutch. Meanwhile, in the control room the dogs' owner makes calls in to report her poodle missing. Eventually the officers manage to collar the dog and reunite it with its owner, only for it to escape once more.

1 hour

Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator Steven Mackintosh
Executive Producer Iain Scollay
Production Company Mentorn Scotland

Broadcast

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One: Motorway Cops

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One: Motorway Cops

Documentary series following the work of the traffic police.