Following members of Nottinghamshire police's Territorial Support Group as they travel around the county, specialising in the handling of public order incidents, including football violence, demonstrations and anti-social behaviour. Working out of a van that serves as their office, canteen, home and cell, the male officers are forced to be on their best behaviour when a female sergeant arrives.

With exclusive access to Nottinghamshire police's Armed Response Unit, this episode reveals what it's like carrying a lethal weapon on the British streets, 'The Gucci end of the job'. Whether armed with 9mm pistols, semi-automatic carbines or tasers, the Armed Response Unit officers are highly trained and always ready for action, but praying they never have to pull the trigger and possibly take someone's life. The programme follows the officers as they stop a car they believe contains a weapon, detain a man accused of threatening to kill an ex-girlfriend and arrest a woman for confronting a former friend with a pistol. PC Dan Butler is philosophical about having to take a fatal shot: 'If they put themselves in a position where I have no choice but to take a shot at them, I will take that shot at them; but it's their choice and their life choices and actions which has led me to take that shot.' While Nottinghamshire police attend an average of 243 firearms incidents annually, there are on average 1500 occasions a year when tasers are deployed. Their use by British police is controversial, but many of the armed officers believe that all frontline police should have access to tasers. 'It's the best thing we've got,' says one. One officer describes being tasered: 'I've never experienced pain like it,' while another says: 'It's like holding an electric fence, but times that by 10,000.'

The Medway custody suite in Gillingham, Kent is one of the busiest in the country. The first programme in the series joins its staff, who process 40 suspected criminals every day. From burglary to shop-lifting and assault to drugs possession, Custody Officer Sergeant Sean O'Conner and his team have seen generations progress through their criminal careers and witness a never-ending cycle of deprivation, drugs, crime, violence, and - for some of the women they meet - prostitution. With frustration, resignation and sometimes anger - as well as flashes of frequently dark humour - ordinary police officers offer a raw insight into the harsh realities of policing modern Britain.

mergency calls to the police have risen by 50 per cent over the last 15 years, although recorded crime has dropped by a third over the same period. The series follows the police responding to emergency calls and reveals the incredible things people choose to call 999 about: from mobile phones running out of credit to arguments about whose turn it is to have a go on the Nintendo Wii. Kent constabulary receive a quarter of a million 999 calls every year, with 80% classed as non-emergencies and many seen as 'nuisance calls'. 'We're seeing a generation divide,' says Chief Inspector Nicola Faulconbridge of Kent's Force Communications Centre. 'Whereas the older generation won¿t call us for almost anything, even in an emergency, the younger generation are much more willing and ready to call us about almost any issue.' Police officers are spending much of their time acting as counselors, settling petty squabbles and relationship problems. 'Sometimes you just want to bang people's heads together and go 'Come on, look at you - you're 40 and you're acting like you're 12!'' says PC Neil Cronin. Another issue prompting an increasing number of calls to 999 calls is Facebook. When virtual threats get out of hand, the police have no choice but to treat it as a real emergency, sending cars racing to the scene.