Police Under Pressure

South Yorkshire Police has more trouble than most. It is struggling to rebuild a reputation tainted by the tragedy of Hillsborough and some of the worst crime figures in Britain. It is also struggling to keep the peace in some of its most difficult neighbourhoods. In some parts of Sheffield, tension between the existing white and Asian communities and newly arrived Roma from Eastern Europe is threatening to boil over into violence. In other areas, an epidemic of anti-social behaviour threatens to spiral out of control.

South Yorkshire Police is struggling to rebuild a reputation tainted by the tragedy of Hillsborough and some of the worst crime figures in Britain. They have just six months to turn things around and improve crime figures, or risk being taken over by government inspectors.

This episode follows officers in Sheffield as they investigate two separate incidents of missing girls, both victims of grooming and horrific sex attacks. Filmed before the Jay Report child abuse revelations became public, the programme follows South Yorkshire Police over 12 months as they struggle to rebuild their tarnished reputation while at the same time trying to deal with a new spate of child sex crimes.