In this episode Middlesbrough Police Station's officers face the daily stark reality of drug abuse in the town, which has one of the highest drug related death rates in Europe.

PCs Tash Nicholls and Nancie Mitten are called to an on-going domestic where a man is having a drug-induced psychotic episode after taking £400 worth of cocaine. Back-up arrives as the officers struggle to restrain the man, and three officers are left injured, with one female officer receiving a black eye.

On the ground floor in custody, Sergeant Dave Barker attempts to book in a man arrested on suspicion of drink driving. When the suspect was detained he assaulted officers by spitting at them so is put in a spit-hood to protect police. In custody it takes five officers to handle the man who growls and tells Dave he has taken over one hundred Valium pills.

Across town, PC Jordan Raper is out on patrol with a rookie officer. They stop and search a suspected drug dealer who, they believe, has thrown a bag over a fence containing Class A drugs, an extendable baton, pepper spray, ammonia acid, and large quantities of cash. Dealing with drugs on the streets is a common occurrence for Jordan, "The drug problem in Middlesbrough is massive and there's also the violence that comes with it." Back at the station the suspect is handed over to detectives for questioning.

A recent spate of thefts and robberies are attributed to the drug epidemic in Middlesbrough, and PC Mark Insull is tasked with bringing in a man suspected of stealing from a Royal Mail van. Mark knows the suspect well. As they watch CCTV of the theft the man concedes, "It looks an awful lot like me", but adds, "when I've taken those tablets I wake up the next day and don't know what I've done… those tablets are the curse of this town." Just one week later, officers are called to the man's address, a sudden death has been reported and it's drug related.

In a typical month, Cleveland Police can respond to over one thousand mental health related calls. It puts a massive strain on the officers in Middlesbrough Police Station.

On a Saturday night shift, PCs Jordan Vasey and James Boyd Bell are called to a suspected domestic incident but upon arrival the suspect is struggling to breathe and in need of medical help having taken cocaine. After checks by paramedics, the suspect is arrested and taken to custody.

At Middlesbrough Station, PCs Will Douglas and Katie Welford prepare to go on patrol. A call comes in about a domestic between a mother and daughter that has resulted in a garden gate being set alight. At the scene it soon becomes apparent that it is more of a mental health issue and the suspect is arrested and taken to custody where she can be checked and given support. In Custody Detention, Officer Gary arranges help for the suspect.

Outside custody a police van arrives with an agitated man who has been arrested on suspicion of assault. He resists coming out of the van and threatens to kick police. It takes seven officers to get him into custody where he claims to have an injured shoulder and demands to go to hospital. He is taken to be checked out but refuses to be seen and threatens to kill officers. It takes two police vans and yet more officers to get him back to custody.

In town a man is self-harming in the street. PCs Jonny Whitwell and Rosie Stonehouse attend but struggle to get through to the appropriate mental health teams. They face a long wait for help and with urgent calls stacking up in Force Control they are under pressure. An exasperated Jonny comments "Every job we go to usually has some sort of mental health issue attributed to them but we're not really the right people to do anything for them."

This year, police forces in England and Wales plan to ease the number of mental health callouts they respond to.