Police Stop!
Encyclopedia
Police Stop! was a series of real-life police video programmes, which were made originally for video
from 1993 onwards and were later originally broadcast on Sky1. The series has recently been repeated on Men and Motors in 2007, and more recently in 2008 on ITV4
. Police Stop! was presented and narrated by Graham Cole
who is best known as PC
Tony Stamp in the Thames Television
police drama, The Bill
. The series focused mainly on road
based crime and mostly consisted of footage from cameras mounted in police cars and helicopters, with occasional material from road-side or hand-held cameras.
, was very successful. This was followed by Police Stop 2, Police Stop 3 (both 1994) and Police Stop 4 (1995). Worst of Police Stop (1994) was a compilation of the first three, and a further release entitled Police Stop America was also released in 1994, featuring American only footage. The first video included an introduction by Inspector David Rowland, a traffic officer of the Metropolitan Police
and had obtained the co-operation of several UK police forces, who contributed most of the material. Later videos increasingly included clips from elsewhere, primarily the United States
and mainland Europe. Each video included several long car chases, interspersed with groups of shorter clips relating to a common theme such as unroadworthy vehicles or dangerous overtaking manoeuvres. Occasionally, a "humorous" clip was shown; the most famous example, used by a number of similar television programmes since, shows a moped rider transporting a long plank of wood balanced across the back of his machine. All five videos were exempt from classification
. From Police Stop 5 onwards, the programme was aired on Sky One and were never released on video. From this point onwards, the series continued to use more clips from non-UK sources. The series was transmitted on Sky One up until Police Stop 11, which was an all American special in 2002.
hosted the programme. He instead presented the similarly formatted Police Camera Action!
- although interestingly, the pilot episode of that series did indeed air under the title of "Police Stop!". Re-screenings of episodes 1 to 10 have now been commissioned for sister-station ITV4
and are being broadcast every week, the channel has yet to screen the Worst of Police Stop!, Police Stop! America and Police Stop! 11.
version of Police Stop was made in several series between 1996 and 1998, airing on New Zealand's TV3
and presented by the well-known Australia
n race car driver Peter Brock
(died 2006 in a motorsport accident).
The series format was similar to the overseas versions, utilizing footage from the UK and American versions - with additional New Zealand content, and Peter Brock
's presentations.
Later series were renamed Police Stop - Caught in the Act, which in addition to car chase footage, also showed New Zealand filmed scenes of security camera footage, often in stores or public areas. In 1997 and 1998 series, footage also extended to Brock himself alongside the New Zealand Police in action, showing general lines of police work.
A special episode of Police Stop was screened in 2006 a week after Brock's death as a tribute, this was repeat screening of an episode from the final 1998 series.
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
from 1993 onwards and were later originally broadcast on Sky1. The series has recently been repeated on Men and Motors in 2007, and more recently in 2008 on ITV4
ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
. Police Stop! was presented and narrated by Graham Cole
Graham Cole
Graham Cole is an English actor.He is best known as PC Tony Stamp in the ITV police drama The Bill, a role he has played from 1984 until 2009. He had made previous uncredited appearances as an unnamed PC....
who is best known as PC
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
Tony Stamp in the Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
police drama, The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
. The series focused mainly on road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
based crime and mostly consisted of footage from cameras mounted in police cars and helicopters, with occasional material from road-side or hand-held cameras.
VHS Releases & TV Screenings
The original Police Stop video was released in 1993 and, after receiving much publicity from The SunThe Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, was very successful. This was followed by Police Stop 2, Police Stop 3 (both 1994) and Police Stop 4 (1995). Worst of Police Stop (1994) was a compilation of the first three, and a further release entitled Police Stop America was also released in 1994, featuring American only footage. The first video included an introduction by Inspector David Rowland, a traffic officer 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...
and had obtained the co-operation of several UK police forces, who contributed most of the material. Later videos increasingly included clips from elsewhere, primarily the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and mainland Europe. Each video included several long car chases, interspersed with groups of shorter clips relating to a common theme such as unroadworthy vehicles or dangerous overtaking manoeuvres. Occasionally, a "humorous" clip was shown; the most famous example, used by a number of similar television programmes since, shows a moped rider transporting a long plank of wood balanced across the back of his machine. All five videos were exempt from classification
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
. From Police Stop 5 onwards, the programme was aired on Sky One and were never released on video. From this point onwards, the series continued to use more clips from non-UK sources. The series was transmitted on Sky One up until Police Stop 11, which was an all American special in 2002.
Episode List
| # | Title |
|---|
Re-screenings
Police Stop! was regularly repeated on Cable and Satellite Channel Men and Motors. The channel initially inaccurately reported that Alastair StewartAlastair Stewart
Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster. Stewart is currently employed by ITN where he is a main newscaster for ITV News.-Early life:...
hosted the programme. He instead presented the similarly formatted Police Camera Action!
Police Camera Action!
Police, Camera, Action! is a police video programme made by Optomen Television for ITV and broadcast on the ITV Network and ITV4. The program was originally commissioned through Carlton Television....
- although interestingly, the pilot episode of that series did indeed air under the title of "Police Stop!". Re-screenings of episodes 1 to 10 have now been commissioned for sister-station ITV4
ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
and are being broadcast every week, the channel has yet to screen the Worst of Police Stop!, Police Stop! America and Police Stop! 11.
Funny Moments & Errors
In Police Stop 9! Graham Cole is doing a piece to camera inside a moving vehicle. He is talking about un-safe Truck Drivers on the roads. Behind him, as he is reading a piece to camera - is a lorry tailgating the vehicle Graham Cole is in. The lorry then does a dangerous overtake just as he is finishing reading his piece. Graham Cole is trying not to laugh as he seems to know what is going behind him. In Police Stop! 2 (and repeated in "The Worst of Police Stop!"), there are a few editing errors which include parts of clips just shown, that haven't been edited out correctly popping up for a second or two before the idents between clips (this is only apparent once in these episodes though).New Zealand Series
A New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
version of Police Stop was made in several series between 1996 and 1998, airing on New Zealand's TV3
TV3 (New Zealand)
TV3 is a New Zealand commercial television network, owned by MediaWorks New Zealand. Launched on 26 November 1989, the first private television network in New Zealand...
and presented by the well-known Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n race car driver Peter Brock
Peter Brock
Peter Geoffrey Brock, AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other...
(died 2006 in a motorsport accident).
The series format was similar to the overseas versions, utilizing footage from the UK and American versions - with additional New Zealand content, and Peter Brock
Peter Brock
Peter Geoffrey Brock, AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other...
's presentations.
Later series were renamed Police Stop - Caught in the Act, which in addition to car chase footage, also showed New Zealand filmed scenes of security camera footage, often in stores or public areas. In 1997 and 1998 series, footage also extended to Brock himself alongside the New Zealand Police in action, showing general lines of police work.
A special episode of Police Stop was screened in 2006 a week after Brock's death as a tribute, this was repeat screening of an episode from the final 1998 series.
Related videos
The same production company (Labyrinth Media) also made the following videos, which were not exempt from classification:- Riot Police (1994, certificate 15) - this included graphic footage of riots, including the riot of 1990-03-31 in Trafalgar SquareTrafalgar SquareTrafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - Real Life Rescues (1994, certificate PG) - selection of real-life emergencies and emergency services attending scenes of accidents.
See also
- Police Camera Action!Police Camera Action!Police, Camera, Action! is a police video programme made by Optomen Television for ITV and broadcast on the ITV Network and ITV4. The program was originally commissioned through Carlton Television....
- a similar police video programme shown on ITV1ITV1ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
with a similar format. - Road Wars - widely recognised as the replacement of Police Stop! Also produced by Bill Rudgard.
- Brit CopsBrit CopsBrit Cops is a British reality television series following the work of police officers in the UK. It was first broadcast on Bravo. Since the closing of Bravo on January 1, 2011, older episodes were shown on Channel One until the channel closed down on February 1, 2011 and Series 5 is continuing on...
- police reality show currently showing on Sky. - Police InterceptorsPolice InterceptorsPolice Interceptors is a TV documentary series that profiles the work of a police ANPR Intercept Team in Essex, United Kingdom and in series 4 profiles the work of South Yorkshire Police's Road Crime Unit...
- show about traffic cops broadcast on Channel 5. - Traffic CopsTraffic CopsTraffic Cops is a documentary series on BBC One which follows traffic officers from various British police forces. The current series follows Bedfordshire Police. Previous series have followed Cheshire, Hampshire, Humberside, South Wales, South Yorkshire and Sussex police forces...
- also called Car Wars and Motorway Cops. BBC TV series with a similar format. - Sky CopsSky CopsSky Cops is a British reality TV show revealing the work of the air police in the UK. The BBC show follows police helicopters from the South Yorkshire Air Operations Unit and the Metropolitan Police Air Support Unit...
- series about helicopter police on BBC OneBBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. - Street Crime UKStreet Crime UKStreet Crime UK was a docusoap focusing on law enforcement in various parts of the UK, as police go about their duties on the streets of Britain's towns and cities....
- TV show on Bravo documenting police work in the UK.