A man refused to leave the scene of a fight outside The Engine Shed before he was chased and bitten by a police dog in the most recent episode of Channel 5’s Inside The Force: 24/7.
The incident sparked numerous debates about how police use aggressive dogs.
Filming for the eight-part series took place as the lockdown restrictions eased in summer 2021 and crime rates surged. Lincolnshire Police, the ‘country’s least funded force’, was stretched like never before.
A few hours into the night shift shown on episode five on May 2, Lincolnshire Police’s Force Control Room already dealing with over 500 incidents, including the fight.
Two officers tried to restrain a man on the ground before they were surrounded by a group of around 40 people, who intimidated them until back up attended to help disperse the crowd.
However, not all would leave and one man was chased by a police dog and bitten – to the shock of a few.
Many were supportive of the action taken.
I thought it was brilliant 😂 “It’s not gonna come up and tickle you” That episode made me embarrassed to call Lincoln my home. Well done to the police that night 🙌🏼
There was a lot of sympathy for the officers when crowds swarmed them. Two were injured in the scrum.
I’ve worked with folks from all of the emergency services & have heard some hideous stories. I still flinch watching shows like this. The two officers stuck in the middle of those people mad my blood run cold #InsideTheForce
Engine shed!!! Right in student territory!! Should be kicked out the uni if arrested!! We have enough hone grown idiots without outside brats causing issues #InsideTheForce
— Jacqueline Cunningham (@JJCunningham4) May 2, 2022
Others pondered who those featured in the programme were representing their city.
It’s like people have never had alcohol in their lives!! The way they behave. Especially lockdown, you could still at drink at home #insidetheforce
Have stumbled across #Insidetheforce. Set in Lincoln, I am now basically watching to see if I can spot anyone I went to school with. Tally so far is one. I’ll leave you to guess what side of the law they were.
Watching Inside the Force 24/7 makes me think I might never return to going out in town. 😂 Mind you, I always refused to go anywhere with a queue like that one at Home! #insidetheforce
The latest episode also saw four of the 22 cells out of order and custody reached full capacity. It means for the first time in nearly two years, custody runs out of cells.
When Lincoln-based PC Craig Wray was asked how often nights like that happen, he told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: “They don’t happen every week. Certainly on some weekend we can near full capacity, especially as the weather gets better, people start their all day drinking. But you look at the likes of Bank Holidays and things, there always going to be a flashpoint for that sort of stuff.
“I think what it didn’t show on that episode the other night was that actually that was the same night we had that murder as well so it was a very very busy night and there was a lot going on, but they are rare thankfully.”
The episode also once again highlighted the strain being put Lincolnshire Police whose resources have, at times, been stretched to the limit. PC Wray was asked by BBC Radio Lincolnshire if it was fair to see that at points they didn’t have enough people to respond to some of the things that are going.
He responded by saying: “Yes absolutely, it’s no lie that we feel underfunded as a force, (from) the opinion of someone who is on the front line there isn’t enough of us, that’s why we’re trying to police more cleverly.
“Why are we going to the same people 10 times a month if we can actually get to the route cause of that problem and prevent us from having to attend in the first place and save everyone a lot of work. We’ve got to police smarter but we still need more of us, it’s as simple as that.”
The father-of-three added that giving up days off happens “relatively regularly” and “happens more often than perhaps we’d like to but it’s part of the nature of what we do”.
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Exciting news for MyLocal app users and The Lincolnite readers! Our latest update is now available to download from your app store and comes packed with the best local news experience you can enjoy.
Revamped News Feed: Enjoy faster loading times and smoother scrolling that make catching up on local news a breeze.
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Update your MyLocal app from your app store (version 2.73) now and start enjoying these great new features today!
P.S.: Start your MyLocal membership today to support MyLocal and The Lincolnite deliver you a better local news experience and honest journalism from across Lincolnshire.
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