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 £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’s case and sets his team to work scouring CCTV and gathering witness statements including from known informants. This, Andy tells his team, is a ‘proper job’. “If helping someone is catching a bad guy whose causing harm to give them closure to make them feel safe at home because of what’s happened then I’m going to do something about it. It’s my job to do something about it”. Within hours their first suspect in custody while they’ve seized 236 items of evidence including a machete and masks.

55 miles north of Sunderland in a secluded hamlet where ‘all jokes aside, sheep outnumber people’ Neighbourhood PC Curtis Ritchie is visiting another victim of a theft - horse lover Emma’s much treasured vintage Landrover Defender has been stolen in the dead of night. It turns out it wasn’t the only one stolen that night and Curtis thinks it’s the work of an organised crime gang.

In Newcastle and Gateshead a young and increasingly organised crime gang are causing havoc – 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. “You 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.” 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. Show less