'17 years.
'That's how long this man has inflicted untold pain and fear
'on the most vulnerable members of our community.'
He thinks he owns those streets.
Like he owns the homes he breaks into.
Go out and show him you do.
'What we've got here is all the available cameras
'on the edge of your plot.' 'He was out last night.'
'Three burglaries.'
Yeah, he's got to be in a car as well.
My money's on Morton Way, straight down.
And that's the only vehicle to go down Morton Way in our time frame.
That looks like a small people carrier to me.
Yeah, maybe a Zafira.
'Coming so close is disappointing.
'I'm certain we'll get a second chance,
'but only if we stay sharp and focused.'
'Operator, which service do you require?'
WHISPERING: Police... He's breaking in!
'I'm sorry, did you say police?'
He's in my house! 'Is there somewhere you can hide, Sheila?'
CREAKING
LOUD THUD 'Sheila? What's happening?'
The police are coming! The police are coming! The police are coming!
SIRENS There he is!
We're monitoring a CAD from LX, a foot chase following a break in
at the home of an elderly woman.
'MP from Lima Oscar Three One, active.
'PC 1-2-6-3, chasing suspect on foot.'
'Who is this bloke?' 'He's just a man, Colin.
'A sad, sorry, messed-up excuse for a man.'
HUBBUB OF CONVERSATIONS
ECHOING: All right, settle down. Settle down.
Thank you. The guv'nor wants a word.
Two weeks after coming so close, I suspect,
oh, sod that, I know, cos I've heard you,
some of you reckon he's gone to ground
and this is just a big, expensive waste of time.
OK, the near-miss might've spooked him into packing up,
I concede that.
But I take a different view.
I think it'll drive him back into operating in the one place
we know he feels safe.
Our key lead remains the grey Zafira - and I know you all know that -
but take another look at these different angles.
Imprint them on your brain, so that at a glance, or from a distance,
you can clock it.
Thank you very much.
INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS
34. Cheers, Nath.
There you go. Thanks, Nath.
Bring it back in one piece... Are you all right, guv?
Well, you've seen it at Central 3000,
after midnight nothing happens.
Foxes and a few inquisitive cats, that's the extent of the action.
I am genuinely worried they're gonna start nodding off. No way, boss.
Or they get so used to nothing happening
they don't clock it when it does.
Well, I just can't see that. Why not?
Very first night, he drove right through the plot.
We didn't know he drove a Zafira then.
How many vehicles went through that night? Five?
They could've at least got a reg! With respect, Sir, that's harsh.
Clocking the number plate from an OP
and in the dark isn't exactly easy. Yeah, you're right, Neville.
I just want to get him before they pull the plug on us.
You think that's imminent? I don't know.
Come on.
Central 3000 will manage for one night without us.
'OP3 in position.'
'OP44 in position.'
'OP32 in position.'
'OP27 in position.'
We weren't expecting such august company, Sir.
Oh, well, we don't want any fuss, just want to see how it's done.
This way. Thank you.
Actually, we're down an OP tonight -
it's good to have you. Evening.
We'll bring you a cuppa for when the curtain goes up.
Much appreciated.
If you can handle things here,
we'll be in a scout hut down the next street.
Don't worry, we're not sleeping on the job.
After midnight it gets colder than a witch's tit in here.
'OP17 in...'
'OP20 in position.' Received.
Do you know U2?
What, the band? Yeah.
Yeah, course I do. How old d'you think I am?
I was massively into them as a kid.
I saw them at Wembley on The Joshua Tree tour.
That's a good album. I got it on vinyl somewhere.
Right, so, you know the song, Bullet The Blue Sky?
Yeah. Well, I had this t-shirt with the lyrics printed on it.
You know, "I can see those fighter planes,"
over a picture of a woman screaming.
I was dead pleased with it.
You know, it was serious, political.
Yeah. Not "Frankie says relax".
Right. Not "Choose life".
But whenever I wore it my mum would go,
"Can you see those fighter planes yet, Nev?"
BOTH CHUCKLE That's mums for you.
What made you think of that?
Dunno.
Just...
I never did see any fighter planes, so maybe...
You got that feeling now, have you?
Yeah. Yeah, I do, guv.
I mean...
..if this doesn't work, then... what then?
I tell you what.
When he does show up, we've got him.
He sets one foot on the plot and he'll stick out like a fucking...
All units, all units, from OP6, be aware.
We have a male on foot, Lavinia Gardens towards Morton Avenue.
Dark hoody worn up, no better description, stand by.
He's entering the driveway of number six Lavinia Gardens.
OP4. OP4. Did you receive?
'OP4. Received.'
Stand by, stand by. He's down the side of a house.
'Mobiles standing by and ready to deploy.'
We could be watching him work.
Negative, I repeat, negative, all units are to stand by.
Shit. What's that, a torch?
Should we make a move, guv? No.
No, if we blow our cover, then we've blown the op.
Just wait till we're sure it's him.
Stand down, stand down, it's a young white male going home to bed.
'Lucky bastard.' OP6 out.
'Mobiles standing down.'
DOG BARKS
BIRDSONG, CLOCK TICKING
You OK?
I'm stiff as a board!
I don't know how they do it night after night.
They sleep in the day, for one.
Can't you go in later?
I've got a Health and Safety briefing.
I missed the last two and it's been suggested from above
that I might want to start taking an interest.
Or what? I'm not giving them any excuse to take my toys away.
Well, you get killed on the M25,
they'll be the ones who need Health and Safety.
You know, delegation's a hallmark of strong, not weak, leadership.
Louise... You're running yourself into the ground.
Cos Nathan's away.
It's possible to care about your job and find... I don't know, balance.
Not for me. How hard have you looked?
That's the way I am, in for a penny, in for a pound.
I envy people who can leave their work at work.
No, you don't.
You're gonna be late.
Yes, I am.
It's watching you these last weeks...
I know it's been frustrating, nerve-wracking, exhausting...
I'm just not sure...
it's just about catching this man.
What d'you mean?
I think you're going at it this hard
because you know it's the last time...
..and you're dreading that more than anything.
I mean, just look at you.
You're out all night in the cold and straight back in this morning.
You don't want to miss a thing, or waste time sleeping,
cos you know how big a hole that's gonna leave.
And I don't blame you. How could I?
You're in your element, it's just who you are.
I just hope when it's over, when you're done...
that what we have is enough. That I'm enough.
And you can make your peace with pub quizzes and garden centres.
Yes to the former, no to the latter.
Oh, go on, make a joke of it.
Unless under duress or in disguise. Colin.
You're right.
I am scared about what's next.
The job's all I know and, to be honest,
I can't even imagine what it's gonna be like.
Right, I'd better go. We'll be all right, though?
I hope so.
We are all set.
Observation points will be radioing in any minute.
Cheers, Michelle.
All right? They let us go a day early.
Oh, yeah? What's that, time off for good behaviour?
Something like that, yeah. How was it? Yeah, fine.
But, erm, you've had a bit of a time of it,
so I'm relieving you as of now.
Oh, no, I appreciate the thought but I'm here now...
I second that. Do us all a favour and bugger off.
Do you want a coffee? Yeah, please.
Take tomorrow off, too.
It's the weekend, guv.
Er... OK.
All right. Yeah. OK, cheers.
Anything I should know?
Er, well, in the increasingly unlikely event
that we should actually need to stop someone...
Colin Sutton, disillusioned? I don't believe it.
It is essential that we do it as far away from the plot as possible.
OK...?
So that if they are ruled out they won't know where they were stopped.
Less chance of the op and its location leaking?
Nice to have you back, Nathan. Thank you. Thank you.
Nine o'clock.
That's a Zafira, right? Behind that red Citroen.
Yeah, that's a Zafira.
Facelifted model and the colour's right, too.
And it wasn't parked there
or any of the surrounding streets in the last fortnight.
Call it in.
Control, Control from OP6, can I give a circulation?
'Go ahead, Six.'
We have a grey Zafira
parked opposite our OP on Lavinia Gardens, facing east.
We haven't seen it before.
It's of the right colour and age to be of interest,
so can all units please bear this in mind
in case we put it up as moving later?
All received, OP6. All units, all units, please be aware
there is a grey Vauxhall Zafira
stationary on Lavinia Gardens, facing east.
It has not been seen previously
and OP6 will update if there is any movement.
Control out.
Not even a partial on the reg?
'Sorry, totally blocked from view.'
Someone could stretch their legs, get it that way?
No. Can't risk it. Stay in position.
Understood.
FOOTBALL MATCH PLAYING ON TV
Hello, love. Hello.
Thought I'd surprise you. Mission accomplished?
Nathan finished his course a day early. He insisted.
Hope you didn't put up too much of a fight?
Well, security had to see me out of the building, but apart from that...
And the Brazil game wasn't any kind of incentive?
Hadn't even crossed my mind, actually.
Uh-huh (!) But, er, if you're game, I am.
Oh, go on, then.
Tell Nathan thank you.
Hang on. Got a pedestrian heading east on Lavinia Gardens.
Make that two pedestrians.
Looks like they're heading for the Zafira.
No, they've moved past it to an adjacent vehicle.
OK.
Central 3000 from OP6.
We've got a sight of the Zafira's plates.
Can we get a PNC vehicle check, please?
OP6, let me have your warrant number and location.
3-7-6-4-2-2.
And Lavinia Gardens, over.
Received OP6, go ahead with the index.
Foxtrot Romeo Zero Six Oscar Bravo Hotel.
Should be a grey Vauxhall Zafira.
OP6 from 3000.
Indeed it is a grey Vauxhall Zafira, no trace lost or stolen, no reports.
Keeper since new shown as a Jennifer Grant,
leased under the Motability scheme.
'All received, 3000. OP6 out.' Motability Scheme?
Motability Operations Ltd to give them their full title -
based on Southwark Bridge Road. Doesn't sound like our man.
'Let's try and look on the bright side.
'It was only 1-0 and England sort of finished strongly.'
It was a valiant effort. They were shocking.
One, it's a friendly, two, you slept through most of it...
God help us in the World Cup.
Three, it's Brazil, so 1-0 is OK, it's respectable.
Lucky it wasn't 5-0.
Where is the next World Cup? South Africa.
Why don't we go? Seriously?
Keep us out of the garden centres.
DOG BARKS
Got what looks like a Black male
coming up from Lavinia Gardens in a hurry.
He's getting in the Zafira.
I repeat, he's getting in the Zafira!
Adam, you're our closest vehicle. Can you follow?
Received. Moving out.
He's driving away, heading north on Morton Avenue.
'Understood. Entering Lavinia Gardens now.'
Make sure aerial support get this,
the Zafira is mobile and heading north on Morton Avenue.
You're confident he came from Lavinia Gardens? 'Very confident.'
Someone needs to check the street for a break-in.
Could be a victim needs our help.
OP20, we're at the top end of Lavinia Gardens - consider it done.
Thanks, OP20, make sure you notify the adjacent OP so they can cover.
I have the eye. Suspect vehicle moving north on Morton Way.
He's moving north on Ambleside Avenue on the elevated section.
Adam, you've got the 4-2 coming past you for a closer look.
'4-2 to control. I have the target in sight.
'Hold back in this position.
'Heading past for a look now.' 'Copy that.'
'Confirmed. Driver is an IC three male, no passengers.'
Thanks, copy that.
'When shall we pull him, Sir?'
'The boss was very clear,
'we pick him up as far from the plot as possible.'
Can you be more specific? Yes, two miles.
We're taking 4-2 and giving you advanced backup.
Should be with you now.
'I'll leave it to you, then. 4-2 out.'
Cath. The light.
Police!
..fucking going? Come on. That's got to be two miles now.
Oh, shit. He's turned right. Repeat, he's turned right.
I'm still on him. 'Yeah, I'll scoot back round and catch you up.'
He's turned into a residential area. What's the plan now, Sir?
Plan hasn't changed.
Please wait, repeat wait, until he's two miles off the plot.
You have 9-9 tracking you as a fallback.
'3000 from 9-9,
'can confirm we have target vehicle in sight.'
Hello? Police, can you hear me?
Do you have an update, Adam?
I've turned onto Witham Street. Repeat, east on Witham Street.
'I'm back behind you.
'I know that road, it's all residential.'
You hear that, Sir? Witham Street's all residential.
Gonna be tough to follow him without showing up.
By the looks of things he could be off to hit a new house,
I say we pull him now.
I hear you, Adam. Cathy just called.
You were right, he broke into a bungalow on Lavinia Gardens.
Anyone hurt? Property was unoccupied.
'Sir?'
Go, go, go, take him!
Received. Gonna move in. Are we covered at the rear?
'Confirmed. We're covered.'
SIRENS WAIL
Everything all right? DC Adam Spier.
Would you mind telling me your name, sir? Not the exhaust, is it?
Your name, please.
Kelvin. Kelvin Grant.
OK, can you just turn the engine off and hand me the key?
You got some ID on you, Kelvin?
No, sorry.
Well, it looks like you've got a couple of bank cards down there.
They'll do.
SIRENS APPROACHING
Well, these say Delroy... Grant. Sure.
My name's Delroy Grant, but everyone calls me Kelvin.
Well, what should I call you?
Delroy.
OK, Delroy, well, if you can stay where you are for me,
my colleague's gonna take a look in your boot.
Is it open? Yeah, it's open.
What d'you do for work, Delroy? I'm a carer.
Oh, right. OK.
And what are you doing out this late?
I was waiting outside the Co-op to buy some puff,
but the guy never showed.
Adam.
Would you like to step out of the vehicle, please, Delroy?
Delroy Grant, I am arresting you
on suspicion of rape, burglary and indecent assault.
You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence
if you do not mention when questioned
something which you later rely on in court.
PHONE VIBRATES
Colin Sutton.
'Colin, it's Nathan. Looks like we've got him.'
Fuck. You're joking?
Do you really think I'd joke about something like that
at three in the morning?
'No, I suppose not. Are you sure it's him?'
Well, put it this way,
we recovered his grey top with black stripes
from his silver-grey facelifted Zafira.
The Colbridge Road footage? 'Perfect match,
'plus he had a crowbar and a screwdriver in the boot.
'It's early days,
'but I'd say the latter probably made all those pry marks.'
Bloody hell! What's his name?
Delroy Easton Grant.
From a continuity of command angle,
it probably makes sense for me to carry it on till morning...
Good to see that SIO course wasn't wasted.
'Yeah, didn't think I'd put it to use quite so soon.'
This is great work, Nathan, it's great work.
Please pass that onto the others for me, will you?
Yeah. Will do.
I'll see you at eight. 'Yeah. See you then.'
Who are you kidding?
We got him.
I'll put the kettle on.
'Simon Morgan.' It's Colin Sutton.
I'm sorry to call you so early, but I wanted you to hear it from me,
it looks like we've got him.
Simon?
'Yeah, I'm still here. Fucking hell.'
Yeah, that's what I said.
One of our OPs on Lavinia Gardens saw... 'I'm on my way in.'
OK, I'll fill you in when you get here.
DOOR BUZZES
This is the boss, Mr Sutton.
Hello, sir.
I'm so pleased to meet you.
So what are you, batting or bowling?
CHUCKLES
You're not into cricket, are you, sir?
Yeah. But you still don't play?
I do, as a matter of fact, yeah, occasionally. You?
Yes, yes, of course I do. Bat and bowl.
Oh, good for you. My knees won't let me bowl,
but I can still swing a bat around as well as I ever could.
Well, tell me, sir,
what do you think of England's chances in South Africa?
I think we could do with one more fast bowler
but, er, I think we've got a great chance.
Yeah, man, that's what I've been saying!
Just so you're aware, sir,
my wife suffers from MS and I'm her primary carer.
Obviously, this'll come as a shock to her.
Yeah, I imagine it will.
Well, I just want to make sure she's properly taken care of.
I'll be worried otherwise. Sorry to interrupt.
Mr Grant, could I have your signature for the DNA sample?
Prints now, please.
This way.
Still doing 'em old school? Oh, yeah. Can't beat a wet set.
I need your right hand, please.
Don't know why you're bothering,
you know I always wore gloves.
That was an interesting comment you made just now
about always wearing gloves.
Er, could we get a signature off you, just to confirm you made it?
Have you had any contact
with a vulnerable or an elderly person tonight, Delroy?
There's no-one out there with a broken hip
who can't get to the phone?
No-one in need of help and attention?
I haven't visited anyone tonight.
Very important that you ask
if there's anything you don't understand, Delroy. OK?
Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear. What is it, Delroy?
You really want to have a look at my son.
Your son?
This is hard for me... so hard...
..but given the seriousness of the offences,
I want to make sure you get the right man.
His DNA's gonna be the same as mine, or very similar,
plus we're the same height, and he lives in the area.
Why did you wait until now to tell us this, Delroy?
I'm still in a state of shock.
Bullshit. Yeah, course it's bullshit.
Twins can share DNA, but not fathers and sons.
He's right, though, they can be very similar.
We need to jump on this? Yeah, we need to make some calls.
Get Patricia to look the son up and we can get a sample.
Yeah. Will do, boss. And tell her I want to be there.
Oh. You didn't hang about.
We're sure it's him? Yeah, I think so.
The DNA will confirm. Was he in the system?
TBC - I came straight here. Congratulations.
Your day, your case, I just helped it over the finish line. Thank you.
I'll go check on the team. Yeah, I'll join you.
I just wanna see his face. Sure, yeah.
MURMURED CONVERSATIONS
OK, was he in the system or not?
It's complicated. He's not kidding.
I had to go and have a lie down when they explained it.
That's just you, Kenny. Go on, Nath.
There's a burglary, back in '99 in Bromley.
Local police inform the Minstead team,
but they don't think it's Minstead Man.
Didn't fit the criteria? No.
So Bromley go ahead and investigate.
Now a neighbour of the victim sees a car that she thinks looks suspicious
and she reports the number.
They run a trace and it's registered to a Delroy Grant
at an address in Forest Hill.
They put his name in the PNC.
It IDs six people of that name.
One in Hackney, had a burglary conviction. DNA on file.
Right. And this sample was compared to our scenes?
They informed us that Hackney Delroy wasn't Minstead Man.
Sounds straightforward. Yeah, except somehow that result
became assigned to Forest Hill Delroy's profile
and a nominal was created on our system.
Their mistake became our mistake?
Yeah. And it gets worse.
A DC from our team went to visit Forest Hill Delroy
to check his movements on the night of the burglary.
Yeah, and...?
He was out and it was never followed up.
And that's the Delroy we just nicked? Yeah.
Turn to your right.
If his DNA had been taken,
he would have instantly been identified as Minstead Man.
Christ...
From that moment on, the name Delroy Grant was ruled out.
Turn to your left.
And he wasn't on the swabbing list?
No, been formally eliminated by DNA.
So you'd never have got him that way anyway? No.
In 2001, the name Delroy Grant cropped up again
when someone called the hotline pushing him as a suspect.
It was after one of those Crimewatch appeals.
And the action got binned
because HOLMES said he'd been cleared by DNA.
Ten years ago.
A decade.
How many victims since then?
CHILDREN PLAYING
'Delroy Grant Jr?'
Come in.
Does, er, anyone live here with you, Delroy?
My mum and my brother. What's this about?
You're not in any trouble. No-one's died, it's nothing like that.
But we do have some difficult news to share with you.
OK...
Look, can we sit down?
Are you familiar with the Night Stalker case, Delroy?
Yeah, the bloke attacking old ladies? That's right.
Said on the news you arrested someone.
We have, that's correct.
I'm very sorry to tell you that
that man is your father, Delroy Easton Grant.
No.
No way. It can't be.
How...
How sure are you?
Well, we don't have absolute confirmation yet,
but we wouldn't be here unless we were very sure.
How often do you see your dad?
Now and then.
For a long time we had nothing to do with him.
"We"?
Me, Mum, my brother...
Why was that?
Well, he walked out when I was a toddler. Two, I think.
Yeah.
Didn't see him again till I was eight or nine.
Turned up at the school gates one day
and promised to take me and my brother swimming at the weekend.
Mum wasn't keen, but she saw how excited we were
and changed her mind.
I was giddy.
Like a... kid on Christmas morning.
Had my bags packed hours before he was supposed to pick me up.
I remember I really wanted to show him my backflip.
Pathetic, really...
But he never turned up?
I didn't see him again till I was in my 20s and... by then I knew.
Knew...? What he'd done to Mum.
The violence. The beatings.
What he'd put her through.
Those poor women...
Who got back in touch, you or your dad?
Me.
Me and my brother.
Someone told us that he'd remarried.
That his wife had MS and what an amazing husband he was,
what an amazing carer... Oh.
That must've been difficult to believe? Yeah.
"This I have to see," I thought. So we go round.
"Hello, Dad. Long time, no see."
All true.
His wife was sweet, but she needed a lot of care...
and there he was, providing it.
Kind, patient, everything organised.
I didn't begrudge her, how could I? But...
Hard to see.
Something else we need to tell you, Delroy.
We're giving it no credit whatsoever
but your father has accused you of committing these crimes.
What...? Yeah.
As Patricia said, we don't believe it for a minute,
but, er, we will have to eliminate you with a DNA test.
Sorry, hang on, he said...
The rapes and everything? He said it was me?
Why would he say that?
Because that's the sort of person he is,
and, from what you're telling us, always was.
There you go. Thanks.
They didn't have any torn avocado, I got you ham and cheese.
There you go.
My nan's 92 and still dyes her hair... what's left of it.
She said when you get old it's like you lose your identity.
People don't see you, they just see an old person -
grey hair, fawn coat, bad glasses, a sheep in a flock.
That's why this went on so long. Victims were invisible.
Yeah, and the rest of us are in denial.
We all think it won't happen to us. We'll buck the trend.
Bedpans, false teeth,
dementia, Zimmer frame. No way, no thanks. Not us, mate.
And the way we feed that lie is to ignore them.
I mean, we notice them, but we don't see them.
We don't avert our gaze, but we certainly don't linger
cos they're the future we don't want and can't escape.
Yeah. It's like we blame them, innit.
Exactly.
And what the fuck does that say about us?
You OK?
You said when this was over it would hit me.
Yeah, I did. Come on.
MURMURING
Good news? Just got the DNA back -
effectively 100% match with all our samples.
Semen from the rapes,
saliva from the cheek of the Harness Street victim,
the orange juice carton at Colbridge Road... "Effectively"?
Well, they word it like this,
"The DNA taken from Delroy Grant
"is 47.5 septillion times more likely to be linked to the DNA
"of Minstead Man than an unrelated person."
"Septillion." I like the sound of that.
What about the screwdriver marks? Definitely his, boss.
As they're present at two of the scenes where we got DNA
and loads of scenes where we didn't,
it links him to literally dozens of offences.
Has he been confronted with this?
No commented as soon as we started rolling.
CPS have given us a slot.
I say we charge him with as much as possible,
never mind "He's going down already."
Agreed. We get justice for as many victims as we can.
Let's throw the fucking book at him.
Do you understand the charges brought against you today?
Yeah, I do. And how do you plead?
Not guilty.
Mr Grant, you are charged with 22 offences
of the utmost gravity,
five of rape, six indecent assaults,
and 11 burglaries.
Notwithstanding that you deny them,
there is, in our opinion, a very high likelihood
that, if convicted, you may well receive a long prison sentence.
You are remanded in custody to...
Belmarsh, Madam.
To HMP Belmarsh.
Plenty of officers working past retirement age now.
Everybody's got to go sometime, though.
Just saying.
DI up in Kilburn got his bus pass five years ago.
Five years? Yeah.
Closed a double murder the other day.
I can finish up here if you want to get off.
No, no. You're all right.
You sure? Yeah.
Right. Nathan?
Thanks.
You let me in when, er, the others weren't so inclined.
I appreciate it.
Thank fuck I did, boss.
LAUGHTER, INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS
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