Police was a BBC Television

BBC Television

BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

 documentary television series about Thames Valley Police

Thames Valley Police

Thames Valley Police, formerly known as Thames Valley Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley area covered by the ceremonial counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire....

, first broadcast in 1982. Produced by Roger Graef

Roger Graef

Roger Arthur Graef OBE is a criminologist and film-maker. Born in New York, he moved to Britain in 1962, where he has made ground-breaking documentary films with his ability to gain access to hitherto closed institutions, including Government ministries and court buildings.-Early life:Graef was...

 and directed by Charles Stewart, it won the BAFTA award for best factual series.

Graef was given access to film Thames Valley Police by the Chief Constable, Peter Imbert, who went on to be Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police

Metropolitan police

Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...

. Filming was based in Reading police station and took place in 1980 and early 1981.

The series had a significant impact on debate about the role of the police. The most influential episode was the third, A complaint of rape, in which a woman who claimed to have been raped by three men was treated harshly and dismissively by three male police officers. The public reaction led to changes in the way in which the UK police handled rape cases. In less than a year, Reading police station had a new dedicated rape squad consisting of five female police officers.