1 (DRAMATIC MUSIC) (CAMERA SNAPS) (DOG BARKS) All right, get out! Get out! Protecting us from crime nationwide. You can go. (MAN GROANS) (BLEEP) (INDISTINCT RT CHATTER) This way! For the more than 1700 female police officers,... We'll be here all day. ...every day brings them face to face with danger. (MAN SHOUTS) Can you just show some respect, please? These streets are tough,... Don't tell people you're gonna kill 'em, then. ...so they need to be tougher. RT: People running for their lives. (BLEEP) Police dog handler. Come out now! They reckon there might be kids in there. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) You always worry when an ambulance turns up. Police dog handler. Come out now! We are required to help ambulance with an 18-year-old male who has been assaulted. (FUNKY UPBEAT MUSIC) Copyright Able 2017 Right team, thanks so much for being here this morning. I know it's real` super early. But, uh, Muppet's gonna take us through a, um, briefing, so, thanks, team. Thanks, Muppet. (FUNKY UPBEAT MUSIC) I am a Detective Sergeant, and currently I work in the Manurewa CIB. I run a team of detectives in serious crime enquiries. (KNOCKING AT DOOR) Police. Homicides, sexual assaults,... This is all the dry plants which have been found in the garage. ...high-end drug offences. Yeah, that sort of thing. So serious crime investigation. What's this here? MAN: Oh, those are the bottles that she's using to feed the plants. (LAUGHS) Oh my lord. To be honest, I wanted to be a police officer since I was probably under 10. Like, I used to run around the neighbourhood and spy on people and,... yeah. I think the older I got, I wanted to do it because I wanted to help people. I just think it was part of who I was. I was always gonna be a police officer. After 19 years in the police, Kate's involvement extends well beyond work hours. She sings in her local police choir and each year heads to the snow for the annual police ski champs. I love the whole balance that you can get out of being in the police. It's like` Coming to work's like coming to a` another family, and the reason that you become so close to the people you` you work with in the police is because you've effectively got to get to know them in a car for hours on end, but you've also got to know that they've got your back. It's quite clearly weed. While the CIB carry out the search warrant in South Auckland, a fire is in full flight just three streets away. What's happening up here, mate? A fire? Yeah. I've just, uh` Comms are letting Fire know, cos that's obviously a huge fire. Should we go and have a look? Probably should, eh? Should we shoot up? Let's go and have a look. OK. Kate leaves her CIB team to finish up and heads off to check it out. (SIREN WAILS) Fire has gone past us, so we'll just head up and possibly do some traffic control for them ` make sure there's no one in there; make sure that they get a hand if they need a hand. (SUSPENSEFUL PIANO MUSIC) Being first on the scene is rare these days for Kate. As a detective sergeant, her role is primarily follow-up investigation work, but when something serious unfolds, it's all hands on deck. For me, arriving first on the scene at a job is one of the best parts of policing. Like, I love the inquiry work, but right next to that I love the uniform work, where you are first on the scene at most` you know, at the jobs that you're sent to. Trick is here` is to just get people out of neighbouring houses. So what I'll do is we'll make sure the people in this house are, you know, as far away as what they can be. You just never know when a fire in a separate` in a house adjacent is gonna start. Arriving at a house fire, the first thing you have in your mind ` and I'd have to say you'd freak out about, but very carefully freak out ` is are there people inside? You know? The default setting is getting people out of adjacent buildings and adjacent houses, just in case there's some sort of, you know, um, connection between the houses or if the fire leaps from one house to another. You just don't know when that sorta thing's gonna happen. They reckon there might be kids in there. MAN: What? They're just a little bit concerned that, um, there might be` there might be some people in there. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Well, I dunno. The woman` The next door neighbour's really quite stressed about it. Hopefully there's no one in there, cos that'd be a bloody disaster. We're just really hoping that... it's gonna be a good outcome, rather than a really tragic outcome. (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC) (FIRE CRACKLES) (SOMBRE MUSIC) It's quite stressful if you don't know if there's people in there, you know, and you're waiting for the fireman to come out and tell you there's no one inside, you know. That's quite stressful, I must admit. ...the firey said if there's anyone in there? MAN: Uh, they can't find anybody, currently. But they're a bit worried about` There might be a 1-year-old child in there somewhere. Really? MAN: Yeah. Not good. You always worry when an ambulance turns up, you know? So, yeah, it's literally like hurry-up and wait, and you just have to stand around and let the guys do their jobs and let the firemen get on with it, help them as best you can. Do we know yet? Do we know if anyone's in there yet? Uh, she left about 7.30 this morning with everyone. She said there's no` should be nobody in there. Kids are all at school. Yep. No babies? No babies. Nothing like that. Thank Christ. I'll just double-check with Bid. Her in-laws` sister-in-law that lives on Mahia Rd, they've got a 1-year-old baby. OK. But it doesn't live here. Right, so, we've confirmed ` no one in there. That is awesome. What we're gonna try and find out now is where the seed of the fire was and whether it was maliciously lit. Um, with any luck, it wasn't. Uh, the detective's car will come shortly. Uh, the detective's crime car will come shortly, and they'll probably take over this from us. Since Kate and her team went to the fire as front line support, another section of the CIB will take over the reins on this case. But the job is not over yet. Do you want me to grab the puppy, buddy? (INDISTINCT CHATTER) Although there were no children in the house, they've discovered two small puppies in desperate need of some TLC. Give me him, buddy. I'll take him. FIREFIGHTER: There's, uh` There's another one in there. I'll just get him out. Hey pup-pups. Hey pup-pups. We'll just take you out here. We'll just get you out of the way. The other guy can sit in the garage. There's another puppy in the garage, and, uh, we'll just leave him in there. This guy's just freaking out, so we'll just hold on to him for a wee while. Eh, buddy? Aw. You're just a puppy, eh? You're just a puppy. With CIB taking over the case and the ambos taking over dog-sitting, Kate's off to her next search warrant of the day. That was` What if` What... a freaky thing to happen. Yeah, I know. Eh? Right in front of us almost, eh? Yeah. CIB's not just all inquiries. It's actually being on the scene of serious crimes, and that's another aspect of detective work that people don't really see or know about, which is cool. I mean, it happens when you're even in a desk job. You might hear a ra` something going on down the` on the radio, and you leap up, vest on, and you're out, you know? And that's cool. (FUNKY UPBEAT MUSIC) You're retired, so these days, everybody travels to you. Maybe you only do school runs. You work from home, so drive mostly on the weekend. At Youi, we tailor your insurance premium to how you use or don't use your car. It could save you lots. Call: (UPBEAT MUSIC) Wellington City ` with an estimated population of 400,000, it's split into four different police areas. But for Senior Constable Sue Burridge and her dog, Hades, they have to manage them all. And it's a big patch. (LIVELY MUSIC) We cover from the top of the Rimutakas, through to Wellington Airport and then just north of Waikanae. So it's a huge area. (DOG BARKS) What's happened? Tonight, she's been called to a car break-in in Naenae. A witness has seen the offender take off down the street. So, where did you see him cross the road? Was it around that lamp post? Yeah. A quick sniff and a scoot around the vehicle, and Hades is able to detect the scent of the offender. (FUNKY MUSIC) Good boy. I need to be extremely fit to keep up with Hades. He keeps me on my toes. Hades, come. He's the reason that I'm reasonably fit. (LAUGHS) Sue Burridge has been a police officer for 16 years ` 10 with the Wellington Delta Unit. (ACTION MUSIC) She's been the only female police dog handler in New Zealand for 10 years running. Keeping up with and handling 32kg of solid German shepherd means she has to be on her game. I do army circuits Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I run Tuesday and Thursdays. (ACTION MUSIC CONTINUES) And I've also started adding in a weight session two times a week to keep fit and to be able to lift Hades up over fences. (LAUGHS) (ACTION MUSIC FADES) SHOUTS: Police dog handler. Come out now! Come out! Put your hands in the air! Come on. Get up and come out! (HADES BARKS) Get out! Come on! Comms (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) on the corner of (BLEEP) and (BLEEP). Walk out to the street. Yeah, walk out to the street. Nah. Just do what you're told and there'll be no problems. Walk out to the street. Walk out to the right. Stay there. (PANTS) Good boy! Come. Good dog! That a good dog. Eh? Good boy. Eh? That a good dog. Good boy. Good boy. (BARKS) With no space for extras in the Delta unit, Sue hands this arrest over to the Public Safety Team officers. Hey, guys. We caught him. (GROUP SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Caught him down on (BLEEP). Ha! I love to be able to bring closure to people ` someone that's probably had the worst day of their life or been a victim in some way. I think it's really cool to be able to, for me` to be able to go back and say, 'We have the offender.' Awesome track. Yeah. Really, really good. I mean, you can see by the behaviour of the dog how fresh it was. So, yeah, pretty happy. Good dog, Hades. Yeah. You're a clever dog, eh? Good boy. (WHIRRING) In Cannons Creek, just north of Wellington City, Constable Emma Daken is on her way to an assault. So, ambulance have called police because they are attending a job where we're required. Um, so, the only information I've got at the moment is we are required to help ambulance with an 18-year-old male who has been assaulted. We don't know about the offender. We don't know if he's still on scene, what the injuries are. Just shy of two years' experience, Emma knows the area that she patrols well, as it's where she grew up. Kapiti Mana has areas of really low socio-economic... lots of poverty, unemployment, crime, and then you have your pockets of affluence. So it is challenging. Been assaulted a couple of times ` punched in the face, bitten on the forearm, and there was blood drawn and it ended up getting infected and I had a` I had, um, quite a bit of time off work with that. So that was pretty nasty. You put yourself in this job, and that's` that's unfortunately part of it. Um, but you just gotta deal with that and make sure that you keep yourself safe. In the last five years, due to better training, assaults on police have dropped by over a quarter. Regardless, learning to deal with aggressive customers comes with the territory for police officers. And it's an idea their partners also have to get used to. (COFFEE MACHINE WHOOSHES) (FUNKY UPBEAT MUSIC) Perfect, thank you. Give us a yell if you need anything else. Cheers. Thanks. Olly, my fiance, is very supportive of the job. We don't generally talk about work at home. I was` I was quite bad in the beginning, and everything was 'police', but since I've been in the job a little bit longer now, you do have to switch off some of the more serious things. So when I got bitten and I had to go to hospital, um, I did tell him about that. Being kicked or punched in the face, it doesn't even register. (FUNKY GUITAR RIFF) Olly's an engineer by trade, and their careers are poles apart. (SOLEMN MUSIC) The thought of Emma getting physically or mentally assaulted on the job is something he needs to get his head around. OLLY: Danger is a big part of her job. It sounds a bit callous, but sometimes I just have to` have to put that to one side and just rely on the fact that she's out there with people that know what they're doing. (MAN SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY) I think she really enjoys it, and I think that there are aspects of it that she gets frustrated at. But I think that there's diamonds in the rough as well (LAUGHS) to use an old expression, and that's, um` they really get enjoyment out of their job when they can work with those people and see, um` see a result out of the hard work that they put in. (DOORS SHUT) In Cannons Creek, Emma is attending an assault outside a fish and chips store. We're second unit to arrive there. Uh, located the male. Um, yep, physical injuries to his face, um, quite a bit of blood. So this guy's gonna have to go into A & E to see a trauma dentist, cos he's been punched in the face and he's had his teeth pushed backwards. With no sight of the suspected offenders, Emma goes to check out the scene of the crime. Yeah, there's blood here,... there, all over there as well. This unfortunate fellow got a lot more than he bargained for while getting a spot of lunch. His front teeth smashed in means he'll have to swap his shark and tatties for a trip to Wellington Hospital. So just Wellington ED, that's all? AMBULANCE OFFICER: Yeah, yeah, I'm` With no ambulance available, Emma's taking the young man to hospital, hoping he'll open up and tell her what happened. You say this has happened before, though? MAN: Yeah. Yeah, when was the last time? Why not? (TENSE MUSIC) Emma is concerned about the man's violent tales, but there's little she can do since he's not willing to shed any light on his previous assaults. A big part of the job is` is trying to help people, and (SIGHS) a big frustration is when you offer this help and you bend over backwards to help someone and they don't take that help on board. If you do something else` If you retaliate, then you're likely to get in trouble, aren't you? MAN: Yeah. And these guys are gonna get away with what they've done to you, eh? Life could be different, and it's up to you to make those choices and to make those decisions, and you just hope that they take on board what you say. By the time they get to the city centre, Emma works out that having a little too much time on his hands could be part of the problem. Priority for you is sort out this work situation. OK? So, go to WINZ. Have a chat. Say, 'This is what I'm looking at. Are there any courses? Can you help me with job interviews?' Um, 'What else can I be doing to help myself?' You know? Cos they love that kind of thing, eh. Easy-peasy. MAN: Shot for that. No worries. Appreciate it, eh. (SOFT PIANO MUSIC) He's a good kid. I think he's just a little bit misguided and a little bit lost, and, um, you know, hopefully today's interaction will be a good starting point. Hopefully we've built a bit of a rapport in this` in this car trip. Yeah, I mean, it's a challenge working where I work, but I love that, you know? You go home at the end of the day actually feeling like you have made a difference, so it's good. I'd quite happily work the rest of my career at Kapiti Mana if I could. (UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC) For New Zealand's only female police dog handler, Sue Burridge, peak fitness is an essential tool of her trade. (MUSIC CONTINUES) But it's not just Sue who needs to be put through her paces. MAN: Ready? Ready. MAN: Normal pace. Forward! About turn! Our training is continual, so we're forever` we're doing training tracks. Go. (EXCITEDLY) Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Yeah! Obedience ` which is where he walks beside me, looks up at me. Sit! Hand signals to sit down, stand up,... to bark. (BARKS) Go! It may look like it's all fun and games but these dogs are trained to intimidate and take down hardened criminals. You in the building ` it's the police! Come out now. The dog will be used to find you. I think with some people the intimidation or the` the knowledge that there'll be a police dog coming to the job is sometimes enough for them to put their hands up and come out and give up before we get there. (BARKS) That a good dog. (EXCITEDLY) Good boy, Hades! Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! It's quite terrifying because I've been at the end of tracks, training-wise, and my heart rate goes up, so I would imagine some of them are quite terrified. RT: The only description I've got is male, possibly wearing a white hoody and a hat` With just 30 minutes left of her Sunday night shift, Sue's off to a job in Newtown ` a central Wellington city suburb. The vehicle that the guys were pursuing has crashed. Passengers have stayed in the car and the driver's decamped. So if we get called out and it's at the end of a night shift, it can be a little bit soul-destroying. (CHUCKLES) But it's game on. (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC) OK. We'll have a crack, mate. Sue arriving at the scene only moments after the offender gapped it means there should be a strong scent for Hades to track. Hades, come. In order to detect the correct scent, everyone at the scene must give Hades a wide berth. Come! Good boy. And within moments, Hades has the track, so fast our cameraman Chaz struggles to keep up with Sue and Hades' pace. ANGRILY: Get up now! Oh no, Chaz was just about there. (LAUGHS) He was giving me enough room to cast the dog, and then I found the offender. (LAUGHS) Get up, or I'll let the dog go! (BARKS) (SUE SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) It's a good find for Sue and Hades. In under a minute, they've managed to track down the offender, who clearly needed to put more effort into his choice of hiding place ` less than 100m from the crashed car. (BARKS) Yeah, good boy. (BARKS) You all right? Yeah, I'm great, mate. I'm having an awesome night. Stoked. That's a really good way to finish our shift. Started the shift with a catch and finished it with a catch. Can't ask for more really, can ya? (BROOKE FRASER'S 'SOMETHING IN THE WATER') # I wear a demeanour made... GEORGE: The male bowerbird courts the female with brightly coloured trinkets, while the emu turns slightly blue and tries to inflate his throat. # How they sing, how they sing, how they sing. (GROANS)