DOCUMENTARY

Another real-life case in this utterly compelling series.

Police get wind that a young woman has not been seen for a while, and two drug addicts have moved into her flat.

“They pinned her down and made her inhale heroin,” says the anxious voice on the 999 call.

On arrival, the officers realise it’s a case of “cuckooing”, when criminals take over the home of someone vulnerable to use as a base for drug dealing. Community Officer Craig Pearce knows the female offender – and needless to say she doesn’t particularly like him.

The accused is full of pleas of innocence, but her handbag contains evidence to the contrary: two knives, a crack pipe, blades, two mobile phones, miniature scales, a vial, plus the prison ID of her boyfriend – who has just done a runner.

It’s a disturbing case and an insight into the heroic work of community officers.