Police Stop!

Police Stop! is a British television documentary series, narrated and presented by Graham Cole, best known for his role as PC Tony Stamp in the Thames Television drama series The Bill, that was first developed in 1993 as a Direct-to-video series by creator Bill Rudgard. The series compiles footage filmed on cameras mounted in police cars and helicopters, with occasional material from road-side or hand-held cameras, with each episode focusing on a different type of road related crime, such as speeding, driving without due care and attention or dangerous overtaking, or in more extreme cases, hazards relating to weather conditions or car chases involving wanted criminals.

Police Stop!
GenreDocumentary
Directed byBill Rudgard
StarringGraham Cole
Insp. David Rowland
Narrated byGraham Cole
Theme music composerHugh Mitchell-Dawson
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes14
Production
Executive producerBill Rudgard
ProducerShaie Selzer
EditorRoy Wolfe
Running time50 — 80 minutes
Production companyLabyrinth Media
Release
Original networkSky1
Original release1 January 1994 (1994-01-01) –
2001 (2001)
Related
Police Camera Action!

Seven episodes were released straight to VHS before a deal was struck with BSkyB to broadcast the series on Sky One, with a new episode to be broadcast each year from 1996 onwards. A total of fourteen episodes were filmed, with the final episode, a special focusing on policing in the United States, airing in 2001. Prior to the broadcast of Police Stop! 5, Sky also broadcast the first four episodes previously released exclusively to VHS. The series also broadcast in the United States on Syndication, which notably resulted in several episodes being cut to remove footage for which clearance rights were unavailable.

The series also spawned an international spin-off, which began broadcasting in New Zealand in 1996. The series aired on TV3, and was fronted by former Australian race car driver Peter Brock. The series' format was similar to the British versions, using footage from both the United Kingdom and United States, with additional content from the New Zealand police. Later series were retitled Police Stop – Caught in the Act, which in addition to car chase footage, also featured footage from security cameras, often from shops or public places. Footage also extended to Brock himself working alongside the New Zealand police, giving an insight into general lines of police work. Although the series concluded in 1998, a special episode was screened in 2006 as a tribute to Brock, a week after he died in a Motorsport accident.

Broadcast

The first episode of Police Stop! was released on video in 1993, and was widely successful, partly due to a campaign run by The Sun, which offered readers a discount when ordered directly from the manufacturer. As such, a second video followed swiftly in April 1994. The second video is the only episode not to be presented by Graham Cole, instead fronted by Inspector David Rowland, a traffic division inspector from the Metropolitan Police. Although the episode was narrated by Cole. Graham Cole returned to voice two episodes focusing on policing in the United States, the first aptly titled Police Stop! America and the second Police Stop! Or We'll Shoot, which predominantly focuses on the work of the Texas Rangers. Police Stop! 3 and Police Stop! 4 both followed in 1995, before a compilation video, entitled Worst of Police Stop!, followed in 1996.

Police Stop! and Police Stop! 2 were produced with the co-operation of several British police forces, who contributed most of the material. Aside from the two American specials, Police Stop! 3 and Police Stop! 4 also included material primarily from the United States and mainland Europe. Notably, all seven videos were exempt from classification. From Police Stop! 5 onwards, the series transferred to Sky One, where a new episode was broadcast yearly until 2001. From this point onwards, the series continued to use more clips from non-British sources.

Police Stop! was regularly repeated on Men and Motors and ITV4 during the late 2000s, although the repeats resulted in some confusion for viewers when both channels erroneously listed the series as being presented by Alastair Stewart, confusing it with the former ITV series Police Camera Action!, which Stewart fronted. Notably, only ten of the fourteen episodes were repeated on both channels, with Police Stop! America, Police Stop! Or We'll Shoot, Worst of Police Stop! and Police Stop! 11 remaining unrepeated. Labyrinth Media, who produced the series, also produced two further direct-to-video releases featuring a similar format. Riot Police, released in 1994, features graphic footage of riots, including the riot of March 31, 1990 in Trafalgar Square, London. Real Life Rescues, presented by Alastair Stewart and also released in 1994, features camera footage of real-life rescues involving the emergency services.

Episodes
Episode Title Presented by Directed by Original airdate Viewers
(millions)[1]
1"Police Stop!"Graham ColeBill Rudgard1 January 1994 (1994-01-01)[2]TBA

Graham Cole introduces us to the worst types of driving on Britain's roads.

  • Two versions of this episode exist; the normal version is edited for syndication, due to clearance issues regarding copyright of footage, not censorship purposes.
2"Police Stop! 2"Inspector David RowlandBill Rudgard1 April 1994 (1994-04-01)[3]TBA

  • Three versions of this episode exist; two are edited for syndication, due to clearance issues regarding copyright of footage, not censorship purposes.
3"Police Stop! America"Graham ColeBill Rudgard1 May 1994 (1994-05-01)[4]TBA
A hard hitting look at the police on America's meanest streets, including drug busts, car chases and high speed action.
4"Police Stop! Or We'll Shoot"Graham ColeTBA14 November 1994 (1994-11-14)[5]TBA
Graham Cole looks at car chases which have resulted in the police having to threaten the culprits with weapons.
5"Police Stop! 3"Graham ColeBill Rudgard8 April 1995 (1995-04-08)[6]TBA

A look at driving internationally, featuring hazards in Australia, South Africa, and the United States.

  • Two versions of this episode exist; the normal version is edited for syndication, due to clearance issues regarding copyright of footage, not censorship purposes. The title sequence uses tyre tracks.
6"Police Stop! 4"Graham ColeBill Rudgard23 October 1995 (1995-10-23)[7]TBA

All new footage from police cameras both inside cars and outside, focusing mainly on the phenomena that is road rage and some of the most gruesome incidents of reckless driving.

7"The Worst of Police Stop!"Graham ColeTBA8 April 1996 (1996-04-08)[8]TBA
This episode features the best bits from Police Stop! 1—4, and also includes brand new, never before seen footage.
8"Police Stop! 5"Graham ColeBill Rudgard1996 (1996)TBA

This episode takes a look at drink-driving, road rage, speeding, roadworthiness checks and Christmas hazards on the roads.

  • This is the first episode to have a post-credits narration sequence containing a montage of footage discussing the episode's overall message. This does not use incidental music. The title sequence uses tyre tracks, as per Police Stop! 3.
9"Police Stop! 6"Graham ColeBill Rudgard1996 (1996)TBA

  • This is the first to use incidental music in the post-credits narration sequence discussing the episode's content. The title sequence for this episode uses a different font.
10"Police Stop! 7"Graham ColeBill Rudgard1997 (1997)TBA
11"Police Stop! 8"TBATBA1998 (1998)TBA
12"Police Stop! 9"TBATBA1999 (1999)TBA

Graham Cole takes a look at the dangers of large lorries and HGVs on our roads, plus how ice affects drivers.

  • This is the first episode since Police Stop! 2 to use presenter links, and it also features a montage of footage discussing the show's topics.
13"Police Stop! 10"Graham ColeBill Rudgard2000 (2000)TBA
14"Police Stop! 11"TBATBA2001 (2001)TBA
This episode looks at police in the United States.

See also

References
  1. "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". BARB. 4 July 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  2. "Police Stop!: 1". Amazon UK. January 1994.
  3. "Police Stop!: 2". Amazon UK. April 1994.
  4. "Police Stop!: America". Amazon UK. May 1994.
  5. "Police Stop or We'll Shoot". Amazon UK. 14 November 1994.
  6. "Police Stop!: 3". Amazon UK. 8 April 1996.
  7. "Police Stop!: 4". Amazon UK. 23 October 1995.
  8. "Police Stop!: Worst of Police Stop!". Amazon UK. 8 April 1996.
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