24 Hours in Police Custody: when is new series on Channel 4 - and what happens in episode one?

The show returns with fly-on-the-wall insight into police duties, criminal cases and suspects in custody
24 Hours in Police Custody returns to Channel 4 for a 12th season24 Hours in Police Custody returns to Channel 4 for a 12th season
24 Hours in Police Custody returns to Channel 4 for a 12th season

Channel 4’s landmark documentary series, 24 Hours in Police Custody, is back this month with six new episodes.

The series follows Bedfordshire Police as they attempt to catch criminals and get answers for victims and their families.

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The show began in 2014 and has given viewers the chance to observe how cops conduct investigations in the immediate aftermath of a crime.

So, when is it back on TV and what can you expect from this series? This is everything we know so far.

When is 24 Hours in Police Custody  on TV?

The series will return on Monday 27 September and run across six successive Mondays, at 9pm on Channel 4.

What is 24 Hours in Police custody about?

The show follows cops working for Bedfordshire Police Division, as they investigate serious crimes and work around the clock to bring justice to victims and take perpetrators off the streets.

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The show involves interviews with officers involved in each case, detectives leading investigations and fly-on-the-wall footage from inside the cells and the interview rooms of Luton Police Station.

What cases will be covered in episode one?

As the show returns for another series, the first episode will delve into the case of a man in Luton who disguises himself as a delivery driver to force his way into people’s homes and commit brutal assaults.

The case struggles to get off the ground and the family of a victim, impatient at the lack of progress, launch a campaign for information on social media - which increases the likelihood of the criminal seeing he is at risk of discovery and evading justice.

The attacks took place in September 2019 and led to a huge manhunt, as well as significant press attention.

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One video, shared online by the three victims who were attacked in the same home, showed the perpetrator entering the home in a high-visibility vest after knocking the first victim unconscious at the door. He then attacks a second woman in the hallway as she runs to help her relative.

The perpetrator was caught on CCTV exiting the propertyThe perpetrator was caught on CCTV exiting the property
The perpetrator was caught on CCTV exiting the property

He appears to threaten the second woman as he drags her and her unconscious relative to the kitchen before lying in wait for a third woman who runs down the stairs as she hears the commotion.

The video appears to have been taken on a security camera in the downstairs hallway of the home. The family are thought to have been three generations of the same family.

The youngest victim in one of the attacks was left with severe facial injuriesThe youngest victim in one of the attacks was left with severe facial injuries
The youngest victim in one of the attacks was left with severe facial injuries

The suspect, posing as a delivery driver, left the youngest of the three with severe eye injuries and the grandmother - left unconscious - with a serious head injury.

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At the time of the attack in 2019, the family posted to Facebook: “This person has not been caught yet. He is on the run now. ‘Please please help me. Share this post in Great Britain even internationally so this person can be recognised or be seen and get caught.

“Please, please help me. Share this please. My daughter may lose her eye and my mum is going to have head surgery. So please please help me share this post and get this person please. This happened on Monday (2 September) in Bedfordshire.”