Critical Incident

In Essex, police officers are doused in petrol and threatened with being set alight after a moped chase ends in mayhem. In Knutsford, an officer trying to catch a suspected drug dealer falls on to a live train track, sustaining life-changing injuries, and an emergency medical technician struggles to get back behind the wheel of her ambulance after a vicious assault.

Merseyside police officers are shocked to discover a firearm and a bomb in a car – and when the driver admits he has filled the bomb with shrapnel, the Ministry of Defence are called in. In Kent, shocking footage shows a criminal driver swerving to drive directly at a police officer as he lays a stinger in the road. Hitting the officer at high speed, the driver speeds off without stopping. And in Dorset, a patient lashes out at a paramedic on the way to hospital.

In Humberside, firefighters are shocked when they are attacked by the residents of a burning house as they try to put out the flames. An Irish police officer turns to exercise after a devastating attack leaves him deeply depressed - a twist of fortune sees him focus on the 2022 Winter Olympics. And West Midlands Police officers patrol the streets of Birmingham on Black Friday.

In Staffordshire, a police officer shot at close range risks losing his sight. A speeding motorcyclist in London is pursued by both the Metropolitan Police and the National Police Air Service, and PC Claire Bond battles to get back to work after a criminal driver mows her down and leaves her with life-changing injuries.

In Ashford, a report of a burglary ends with a police officer fighting a man armed with a knife. A dog handler with West Midlands Police is impaled on a spiked fence as he and his four-legged colleague chase down a suspected thief, and Kent Police officers get to grips with taser training.

A rural village becomes the scene of a violent gun fight and a firearms team fear for their lives after being confronted by an armed man. Two paramedics with the Welsh Ambulance Service are victims of a terrifying attack in Bridgen, and a look inside the Police Treatment Centre in Scotland, a sanctuary for injured officers.

Two life-changing assaults cost a police officer his career and have a huge impact on his health as he is diagnosed with complex PTSD. In Kent, the drugs and gangs team are out on a raid, tackling the growing drug problem in their county.

In Taunton, a PCSO is attacked with a pair of scissors trying to apprehend a known prolific offender. Police and paramedics explain the power of bodyworn video. And a former paramedic from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service reflects on a career responding to traumatic events, including the Omagh bombing in 1998.

A former policeman from Northern Ireland rebuilds his life after losing both arms in a rocket attack on his vehicle. In Leeds, a patient threatens a paramedic with a 12-inch knife, and a Humberside police officer is determined to get back on the beat after a stay at the Police Treatment Centre.

A spate of burglaries at Christmas leads to a PCSO and his colleague being attacked as they track down and try to arrest the thief. A West Midlands police officer returns to work after an assault, only to be attacked again just weeks later, and a Yorkshire police officer starts his retirement needing physiotherapy after an attack.

A Critical Incident special exploring what it takes to police Britain's roads. A Metropolitan Police officer leads an operation to tackle moped-enabled crime. Police in Hampshire catch a criminal gang responsible for an ATM theft, and in north Wales a police officer sustains life-changing injuries after pursuing a suspect.

A Critical Incident special looking at knife crime in the UK. In Essex, a police task force is on a mission to stamp out knife crime. In London, a Metropolitan Police officer is the victim of a vicious knife attack, and a groundbreaking scheme led by West Midlands Police aims to educate young people on the consequences of knife crime.

The Covid-19 pandemic brings fresh dangers for emergency service workers all over the UK, including a surge in coughing attacks on police officers. Also, how groundbreaking research into the psychology of crowds could help prevent attacks on police.

Kent Police officers risk their lives to rescue an individual trapped on a cliff face. West Midlands police track down a man in possession of a gun, and how man's best friend came to play an essential role in British policing, tracking down criminals and protecting their handlers.

Two police officers are shocked after a nasty assault in Poole. Firefighters in Newcastle and Humberside are out on shift in the days leading up to Bonfire Night, the most dangerous time of the year. And in Birmingham an officer is run over by a hijacked police car.