A former carer, primary school teacher and education researcher, Matt Lloyd-Rose spent a year as a Special Constable, a volunteer police officer in Lambeth, South London. On Friday evenings, he policed the borough where he lived and taught.

In this lyrical, thought-provoking and often humorous account, he captures what he saw on the streets at night - victims of crime and domestic abuse, thieves and drug-dealers, but also many people who are drunk or lost, desperate to find their way home. And characters like the illegal hot-dog seller who just won’t take no for an answer.

His work brought him into contact with specialised police units, community police officers and back-office staff. He quietly recorded the best and worst of ordinary policing from thrill-seeking adrenalin junkies, misogyny and sexism to those who showed kindness, care and patience.

He says, "this is neither a defence or the police, nor a polemic against them. Rather, it is an attempt to direct a steady gaze at some of the most complex challenges that confront us – and that includes the question of who is best suited to address them."

Matt is sent out of Lambeth one night to patrol the South Bank in central London. It’s popular and busy with tourists and seems like a "glamorous assignment" - but the calls he responds to are anything but glamorous. Returning to South London, he is asked to make an arrest - a teenage girl has broken her bail conditions and he has to take her into custody.

Read by Jack Parris.
Abridged and produced by Alexandra Quinn with Elizabeth Burke.
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4 Show less