Inside the Force: 24/7: Season 3, Episode 5

3 - 5: Episode 5

The number of assaults on police officers in Cleveland has almost doubled in the last five years, and as Middlesbrough officers prepare for another busy shift, an urgent call comes in.

A man is walking around a housing estate allegedly brandishing a nine-inch serrated sword. As the police are called, the man barricades himself in his home and is apparently naked. Armed officers arrive at the scene and coax him off the roof of his house and into the waiting custody van. Collecting the machete as evidence, PC Jamie Roberts comments "We all wear stab vests for a reason."

A few miles away in Stockton, officers call for urgent back-up. A man is suspected of holding a woman at knife point and three officers have knife injuries. The situation is ongoing with one officer shouting "Drop the knife! We need more taser units! Taser has been used but it's not worked". Back-up arrives and the suspect is restrained, but three officers are injured, one with potentially life changing injuries. The incident leaves Middlesbrough's resources stretched.

PCs Adam Woodland and Tash Nicholls are called to back-up a lone officer struggling to detain a male reportedly armed with a machete and suspected of stealing a moped. The suspect is sprayed and arrested before being taken to custody.

On another shift PC Woodland is assaulted after being called to the town centre to deal with an intoxicated male, who is making threats to door staff and members of the public. It's one of nearly 60 assaults on Cleveland police officers every month.