Inside the Force: 24/7

The documentary returns, going behind the scenes to show what life is really like for the officers and staff at Middlesbrough's main police station. In the first edition, officers from the homicide team investigate the stabbing of a 15-year-old girl, with DS Denise Knox and DC Kellam Chaytor working against the clock to charge a 23-year-old man. Members of the response team must deal with a distressed female who called 999 saying that her ex-partner has assaulted her.

Middlesbrough officers deal with a spate of burglaries and thefts, the number of which has increased by a third in the last year. PCs are called to a report of a potential armed burglary in progress, with a male having been seen prowling round a property dressed in dark clothing, allegedly with a bladed instrument in his hand. Plus, a pizza delivery driver alleges that he went to an address only to have a knife pulled on him and the food stolen, while a man is robbed in a hotel room by two men he believes might have spiked his drink.

Cleveland has the highest rate of violent crimes in the country, and in Force Control, Despatcher Leanne gets a call about a shop that has allegedly been robbed by someone with a knife and gun. The suspect is tracked down to a nearby estate and Sergeants Steven Bolsover and Chris Phelan arrive to provide back-up to the armed response unit who close in on the suspect. As the neighbourhood watches on, a male is detained and booked into custody at Middlesbrough nick. But with such a big police presence, lively crowds start gathering creating another problem for the police.

The next call comes in from an off-duty police officer who spots a man walking the streets, brandishing knives in broad daylight. Officers draw their tasers and manage to restrain the man who is found to be carrying three knives, a balaclava and what looks like a home-made detonating device.

Towards the end of a night shift, in the early morning, PCs Katie Welfrod and Tash Nicholls are despatched to a fight. There's been a dispute over an alleged £40 debt. Paramedics are told that a meat-cleaver or mini machete has been used and the victim has sustained serious facial injuries. The suspect is taken into custody where Sergeant Phil has seen it all too often: "People can be ruthless and we are seeing more and more weapons involved in fights."

In Force Control, a 999 call comes in from a woman whose windows have been shot at with a shotgun while she was in bed sleeping. The suspects have driven off on a quad bike wearing balaclavas. PC Adam Woodland secures the scene and the incident is handed over to the Major Crime Team. "You'll find certain weapons are shared out among that criminal group… We've even seen that people will hire out weapons as a business."

Officers respond when a 999 call comes into force control about a mass brawl in a town centre pub, with the fight spilling out onto the street, leading to multiple arrests. A woman who has been drinking and has injured her ankle allegedly assaults an officer - leading to her arrest.

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.

In this episode Middlesbrough Police Station's officers face the daily stark reality of drug abuse in the town, which has one of the highest drug related death rates in Europe.

PCs Tash Nicholls and Nancie Mitten are called to an on-going domestic where a man is having a drug-induced psychotic episode after taking £400 worth of cocaine. Back-up arrives as the officers struggle to restrain the man, and three officers are left injured, with one female officer receiving a black eye.

On the ground floor in custody, Sergeant Dave Barker attempts to book in a man arrested on suspicion of drink driving. When the suspect was detained he assaulted officers by spitting at them so is put in a spit-hood to protect police. In custody it takes five officers to handle the man who growls and tells Dave he has taken over one hundred Valium pills.

Across town, PC Jordan Raper is out on patrol with a rookie officer. They stop and search a suspected drug dealer who, they believe, has thrown a bag over a fence containing Class A drugs, an extendable baton, pepper spray, ammonia acid, and large quantities of cash. Dealing with drugs on the streets is a common occurrence for Jordan, "The drug problem in Middlesbrough is massive and there's also the violence that comes with it." Back at the station the suspect is handed over to detectives for questioning.

A recent spate of thefts and robberies are attributed to the drug epidemic in Middlesbrough, and PC Mark Insull is tasked with bringing in a man suspected of stealing from a Royal Mail van. Mark knows the suspect well. As they watch CCTV of the theft the man concedes, "It looks an awful lot like me", but adds, "when I've taken those tablets I wake up the next day and don't know what I've done… those tablets are the curse of this town." Just one week later, officers are called to the man's address, a sudden death has been reported and it's drug related.

A big fight breaks out on an estate on one of the hottest days of the year; PCs attend a dispute where threats are made to torch a house; and a man is accused of assaulting his cousin.

In a typical month, Cleveland Police can respond to over one thousand mental health related calls. It puts a massive strain on the officers in Middlesbrough Police Station.

On a Saturday night shift, PCs Jordan Vasey and James Boyd Bell are called to a suspected domestic incident but upon arrival the suspect is struggling to breathe and in need of medical help having taken cocaine. After checks by paramedics, the suspect is arrested and taken to custody.

At Middlesbrough Station, PCs Will Douglas and Katie Welford prepare to go on patrol. A call comes in about a domestic between a mother and daughter that has resulted in a garden gate being set alight. At the scene it soon becomes apparent that it is more of a mental health issue and the suspect is arrested and taken to custody where she can be checked and given support. In Custody Detention, Officer Gary arranges help for the suspect.

Outside custody a police van arrives with an agitated man who has been arrested on suspicion of assault. He resists coming out of the van and threatens to kick police. It takes seven officers to get him into custody where he claims to have an injured shoulder and demands to go to hospital. He is taken to be checked out but refuses to be seen and threatens to kill officers. It takes two police vans and yet more officers to get him back to custody.

In town a man is self-harming in the street. PCs Jonny Whitwell and Rosie Stonehouse attend but struggle to get through to the appropriate mental health teams. They face a long wait for help and with urgent calls stacking up in Force Control they are under pressure. An exasperated Jonny comments "Every job we go to usually has some sort of mental health issue attributed to them but we're not really the right people to do anything for them."

This year, police forces in England and Wales plan to ease the number of mental health callouts they respond to.

In this episode, officers from Middlesbrough Police Station deal with drug and drink related urgent calls.

In Force Control, a call comes in about a burglary taking place. The caller has seen three males break into the property. PCs Adam Woodland and James Sexton investigate but can't see or hear anything. Adam rings the 999 caller back for more information who insists the burglars must still be inside so a back-up is called to force entry. As they enter, Adam immediately sees what the property is being used for – it's a big cannabis farm with tens of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis plants crowding every room. Its also an electrical hazard with illegal overloaded sockets everywhere – Adam warns everyone to be careful of booby traps like spikes behind doors.

Across town, two plainclothed officers on a special operation are struggling on the ground with a suspect and call for urgent assistance. Multiple units respond, including PC Ben Burgess, and help arrest the suspect who is suspected of offering the plain clothed officers crack cocaine. The address he exited is searched and more crack cocaine is discovered, along with a drawer full of cash.

Back at the station, PCs Jamie Roberts and Mason Gale are starting a shift when they're called to a dispute between neighbours that started as a party but has escalated into a street fight, resulting in a 14-year-old girl allegedly being assaulted by a man. On arrival, there are conflicting stories between the alleged victims and aggressor. To find out who did what, Mason and Jamie track down CCTV of the incident and start to piece together what happened. As one of the officers says, "There's three sides to a story, there's your side, there's their side and there's the truth in the middle." Mason and Jamie need to establish where this truth is.

In this episode Middlesborough Police deal with reoffenders. It's estimated that the annual economic and social cost of reoffending is £18bn.

On a busy Friday night PCs Phoebe Brough and John Walker are called to deal with a fight in progress between neighbours. On arrival, the officers find a group of people angry at their neighbour, who has allegedly been playing loud music and is drunk. As they are investigating, the suspect comes out of his house and becomes increasingly agitated, so he's arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly.

A week later PCs Connor Pearson and Johnny Whitwell are called back to the same address after a 999 call from a family member saying the same man has become drunk and aggressive. On arrival, Connor and Johnny arrest the man on suspicion of common assault and take him back to custody.

On another call Sergeants Laura Baker and Steven Bolsover attend an urgent call about a knife-wielding man in the road. As they chase him down and draw a taser, the suspect allegedly throws the knife over a bridge but Sgt Laura retrieves what turns out to be a large combat knife. The suspect denies it is his, but Steven says he's known him for about 20 years as someone who's well versed in the criminal justice system.

In the early hours of the morning, PCs Tash Nicholls and Kern Smiles respond to a call about a house window being smashed. They can't rouse the resident so with concern for their safety, they go in through the broken window. The resident is asleep unawares upstairs and unharmed. She thinks it's antisocial behaviour because she's part of a scheme to improve the road. The officers say they see it time and time again – the same offenders causing problems for everyone else.

Officers at Middlesbrough police station must deal with the realities of drug abuse in a town with one of the highest drug-related deaths in Europe. A man crashes a car into a garden wall and flees, but once arrested, there is suspicion he might be under the influence of drugs. Police are also called to the sudden death of a 41-year-old woman who is a known drug user and it's suspected she overdosed. But when questioning three people in the house, their stories don't seem to add up, and they are all arrested on suspicion of administering a noxious substance.

Officers gear up for a busy shift dealing with alcohol-related incidents in Middlesbrough town centre, attending a serious assault outside a club that left a man unconscious and bleeding heavily from his head. In Force Control, a 999 call comes in from a shaken woman who has just been robbed by some men in town, but she struggles to give her exact location.