| Runtime: | 55–60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Creator: | Steve Warr Bill Rudgard |
| Developer: | Raw Cut |
| Producer: | John Everett |
| Executive Producer: | Steve Warr Bill Rudgard |
| Narrated: | Christopher Fox (2008–2015) John Thomson (2015–) |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Network: | Channel 5 |
| Last Aired: | present |
| Num Series: | 22 |
| Num Episodes: | 281 |
| List Episodes: | List of Police Interceptors episodes |
| Related: | Road Wars Street Wars |
Police Interceptors is a British factual programme that profiles the work of elite police units from across the UK. There have to date been 22 series, following police units from Essex, South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Cumbria, Lincolnshire, Durham and Cleveland, Cheshire and West Yorkshire. The current series follows the work of Nottinghamshire Police's Roads and Armed policing unit, as well as their dog unit.
The documentary has been broadcast by Channel 5 since the first episode on 9 May 2008. The show is produced by the same producers of the former Sky series Road Wars.
The first 3 series follows a police ANPR Intercept Team (now known as the Territorial Support Team) in Essex. Series 1 began on 9 May 2008 on Channel 5 (as Five) and ran for six weeks with an additional compilation episode. Series 2 began at 8pm on 10 October 2008 on Channel 5 and ran for twelve weeks with two additional compilation episodes. Series 3 began on 7 June 2010 on Five for 15 episodes.[1]
The 4th series began on 13 June 2011 on Channel 5 and rode with South Yorkshire Police's Road Crime Unit for 8 weeks and returned in January 2012, this time following Derbyshire Police's Road Policing Unit.[2] Series 5, consisting of 10 episodes, began on 28 January 2013 and followed the Cumbria Constabulary's Roads Policing Unit. Series 6, 7 and 8 all consist of 10 episodes and followed the work of Lincolnshire Police's Road Policing, and Special Operations Units.[3]
Series 9. 10 and 11 are based around the work of the collaborative Durham Constabulary and Cleveland Police's Specialist Operations Units.
Series 12 follows the work of the Cheshire Police Roads Policing Unit.[4] Series 13 & 14 saw the Durham and Cleveland Special Operations Unit return as hosts in September 2017.[5] Series 14 again follows the Durham Constabulary and Cleveland Police's Specialist Operations Units and began broadcasting on channel 5 on 30 April 2018.[6]
Police Interceptors returned for its 15th, 16th and 17th series in late 2018, March 2019 and October 2019 respectively, this time following a new police force, West Yorkshire Police's Roads Policing Unit (RPU), as well as other Specialist Operations Units. Series 18 returned to observe the work of West Yorkshire Police RPUs
The series features the following police officers from across the UK involved in high-speed car chases following car thieves in stolen vehicles, speeding and drunken drivers. They use the latest high-speed police cars to follow and hunt down boy racers presenting a danger to the public. The Interceptors also use the latest number-plate reading technology (ANPR) to detect drivers without car insurance, often resulting in an argument with the driver and the disclosure of other crimes. The chases are often interspersed with light-hearted incidents involving the team's food breaks, harmless drunks and practical jokes in the incident room. The show often identifies officers by humorous nicknames and on-screen graphics feature data on their years in service, likes and dislikes. Most incidents are tracked down by uniform officers from the Interceptor team but plain clothes and undercover police have also featured in the series.
| Series | No. of episodes | Policing unit | Original air date | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | ANPR Intercept Team in Essex. | 9 May 2008 – 20 June 2008 | [7] | ||
| 2 | 14 | 10 October 2008 – 20 March 2009 | [8] | |||
| 3 | 15 | 7 June 2010 – 17 September 2010 | [9] | |||
| 4 | 18 | 8 10 | South Yorkshire specialist pursuit unit Derbyshire policing unit | 3 June 2011 – 1 August 2011 16 January 2012 – 9 July 2012 | [10] | |
| 5 | 10 | Cumbria Constabulary road policing unit | 28 January 2013 – 30 September 2013 | [11] | ||
| 6 | 10 | Lincolnshire's Road Policing and Special Operations | 27 January 2014 – 31 March 2014 | [12] | ||
| 7 | 10 | 7 July 2014 – 11 September 2014 | [13] | |||
| 8 | 10 | 9 February 2015 – 20 April 2015 | [14] | |||
| 9 | 11 | Durham Constabulary high-speed intercept team, Cleveland Specialist Operations | 14 September 2015 – 28 November 2015 | [15] | ||
| 10 | 12 | 14 March 2016 – 30 May 2016 | [16] | |||
| 11 | 12 | 5 September 2016 – 6 February 2017 | [17] | |||
| 12 | 12 | Cheshire Police Roads Policing Unit. | 20 March 2017 – 19 June 2017 | [18] | ||
| 13 | 12 | Durham Constabulary high-speed intercept team, Cleveland Specialist Operations | 11 September 2017 – 28 November 2017 | [19] | ||
| 14 | 13 | 30 April 2018 – 22 July 2018 | [20] | |||
| 15 | 10 | West Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Unit | 5 November 2018 – 21 January 2019 | [21] | ||
| 16 | 15 | 11 March 2019 – 24 June 2019 | [22] | |||
| 17 | 15 | 16 October 2019 – 11 May 2020 | [23] | |||
| 18 | 16 | 12 October 2020 – 8 February 2021 | [24] | |||
| 19 | 15 | Nottinghamshire Police Roads Policing Unit | 10 March 2021 – 13 September 2021 | [25] | ||
| 15 | 10 November 2021 – 25 May 2022 | [26] | ||||
| 21 | 10 | 22 June 2022 – 21 September 2022 | [27] | |||
| 22 | 19 | 15 May 2023 – 18 September 2023 | [28] | |||
On 8 August 2011, a new show started entitled Ultimate Police Interceptors, a compilation of the best bits from episodes of the previous series.[29]
Series 1
| Synopsis | Original air date | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The new recruits are put to the test by a burglary. | |||
| A runaway driver leads the interceptors on a lengthy pursuit. | |||
| The interceptors deal with a knife-wielding man in Essex | |||
| The interceptors weed out a drug dealer. | |||
| The team contends with a street-fighting man. |
Series 2
| Synopsis | Original air date | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 12 March 2012 | |
| 2 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 19 March 2012 | |
| 3 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 2 April 2012 | |
| 4 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 9 April 2012 |
Series 3
| Synopsis | Original air date | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The specialist pursuit team arrest a man for domestic violence but he refuses to accept the situation he has found himself in, while Jon Peacock is kept on his toes by a nimble criminal. Elsewhere, a raid has an unexpected outcome when officers head to a suspected drug dealer's home. | 15 September 2014 | |
| 2 | A routine drugs raid brings officers from Lincolnshire Police's specialist team face to face with an armed suspect, and some rogue traders get a taste of their own medicine. Plus, a drink-driver receives an unwelcome home visit. | 22 September 2014 | |
| 3 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 27 September 2014 | |
| 4 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 6 October 2014 | |
| 5 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 13 October 2014 | |
| 6 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 20 October 2014 |
Series 4
| Synopsis | Original air date | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 5 June 2015 | |
| 2 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 12 June 2015 | |
| 3 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 19 June 2015 | |
| 4 | Highlights of the road-crime documentary series. | 26 June 2015 |
The Essex series included Best of Police Interceptors showing highlights of the chases and incidents from the previous programmes. At the end of series 4, Ultimate Police Interceptors contained highlights from previous shows with updates on the fate of the criminals since the series' first airing.
A spin-off to series 2, Police Interceptors: Special Edition,[30] was presented by Natalie Pinkham and Chris Barnes on Fiver (now 5Star) in 2011. This was a follow-up show to the main edition featuring highlights from the chases, interviews with members of the Essex team and the presenters participating in "hands-on" reconstructions and police training exercises. Presenters also took part in incident simulations, like driving a car while a stinger is deployed to puncture the car's tyres.