Following the force on S4C

We all think that we know what the police do from day to day, but do we really?

In a brand-new series of 999: Y Glas (The Boys in Blue) on S4C, the cameras will be following the force's every move in Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot and the district as Boom Pictures Cymru's cameras are allowed exclusive access to the daily work of the 572 policemen in the area as they try and keep 316 square miles in check.

Pictured - Sgt, Justin Knight (above) and PC, Gavin Williams (below)

Prepare yourself for an eye-opener as we watch the South Wales Police Control Unit in the west at work on 999: Y Glas on S4C on Monday, 2 September.

"Patience, patience, patience," that's what it takes to be a policeman according to Constable Richard Davies who's based at the Gorseinon Station, and we see this throughout the series as the CID, the Rapid Entry Team, the Traffic Department, the Police Dog Section and the Drugs Team deal with all manner of cases, problems and people in south west Wales.  

Whilst driving around Townhill during his afternoon shift PC Rhys Evans spots a young man who's broken his bail conditions, and he's an individual the police have been looking for for quite a while.

"I'd seen him down the road with his friend but when he saw the van, he ran off. But he was right opposite his house so I decided to go down there," explains PC Rhys Evans. But when he gets to the house and starts to search, will Rhys find him, or will the young man manage to escape yet again?

Searching for people is something that the police do often, a task which often proves difficult but can be surprisingly easy every now and again.

"People hide in all sorts of places," says Sergeant Justyn Knight from Neath Police Station. "Under the bed, in the attic, behind bath panels." But Sergeant Phil Morgan from the Swansea Station wins the prize for the most unlikely find. "We'd been looking for a man for quite a while and I knew that he was in the house, and we eventually found him in the fridge!"

Also in the first programme, PC Steffan Jones faces a serious situation and a tough decision as he responds to an emergency call in Swansea.

"When we arrived there was a lot of noise coming from upstairs, a lot of screaming. We went up and saw a woman on the bathroom floor and there was blood everywhere – pools of blood all over the floor."

After her partner tried to end their relationship the woman had punched a glass window; the glass slashed her arms and she was, by this point, losing copious amounts of blood.

"She was falling in and out of consciousness. We've got some first aid training but the truth is that the ambulance service was busier than us at that time, there just wasn't one available, so we had to take the call."

A situation such as this one – a life or death situation - calls for a quick response. We'll see how PC Steffan Jones copes in the first episode of 999: Y Glas.

Although most of the situations and problems that the force deals with from day to day are serious ones, there are plenty of anecdotes that will make you laugh during this series as well. How is a policeman supposed to deal with a horse galloping down the high street like it's in the Grand National? 

"They don't train you for this sort of thing at the police training college!" says Constable Richard Davies as he races down the road after the horse. Patience indeed!

999: Y Glas
Monday 2 September 9.30pm, S4C

English subtitles
Website: s4c.co.uk
On demand: s4c.co.uk/clic
A Boom Pictures Cymru production for S4C