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The Best Episodes of 24 Hours in Police Custody

Every episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of 24 Hours in Police Custody!

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The landmark documentary series that captures real life drama at its most intense, following police detectives around the clock as they investigate major crimes.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    24 Hours in Police Custody Season 1 Episode 4 - The Drug Drop
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - The Drug Drop

    S1:E4

    This episode opens with a young man accidentally dropping a large quantity of cocaine from his jacket pocket outside a petrol station - all caught on CCTV. On the case are hard-bitten Detective Constable Colin Knight and fresh-faced Police Constable Oly Tomlinson, who joined the team three months earlier. They get off to a promising start, tracking down the owner of the vehicle the passenger was travelling in. DC Knight brings in his chief suspect for questioning and discovers that, just like the man in the CCTV footage, he has a striking tattoo on the right side of his neck, but could it be a case of mistaken identity? Also brought in to the custody suite is Darren, a man arrested on suspicion of theft of meat from Marks & Spencer. As he is booked into custody it soon becomes apparent he is a heroin addict. Sympathetic Custody Sergeant Pete Fitz-Gibbon tries his best to persuade him to stay strong and get clean. Both cases provide a stark picture about the dark world of young people caught up in a cycle of drug addiction and crime in Luton and the challenges facing the police as they tackle it.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 1 Episode 5 - The Morning After
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #2 - The Morning After

    S1:E5

    It's Saturday night in Luton, and Bedfordshire Police are dealing with drunken domestic disputes and a booze-fuelled fight. Police Constables Leanne Turner and Andy Parsons are sent out to investigate an alleged assault against a vulnerable and fragile 75-year-old man in a domestic dispute. The suspect is the man's private carer and has been living with him for the past seven years. When he made the 999 call, the elderly man alleged that he had been slapped in the head with an open palm. But when they arrive, PCs Leanne and Andy are confronted with a distressed victim who insists he does not want them to pursue the matter and who begs them to leave. At the police station, a Polish man arrested for a drunken row with his partner is admitted into custody. He's initially brought in for a 'breach of the peace' - to remove him from the situation and allow him to sober up and cool off - but things take an unexpectedly sinister turn when he whispers to the custody sergeant that he will kill his wife the following day.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 2 Episode 1 - A Crime Of Passion
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - A Crime Of Passion

    S2:E1

    Hardened detectives DS Hutton and DC Brecknock are shocked by an extraordinarily disturbing case of attempted murder in an ordinary terraced home

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 3 Episode 3 - Partners In Crime
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #4 - Partners In Crime

    S3:E3

    DS Simon Hancock and DC Cathie Layton have 24 hours to interview two men who they suspect are behind a string of knife-point robberies. And neither man knows what the other's saying...

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 3 Episode 5 - A Sixth Sense
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #5 - A Sixth Sense

    S3:E5

    DC Cathie Layton investigates the case of a man who is alleged to have assaulted a taxi driver and stolen his keys. But her instinct tells her that all is not what it seems...

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 4 Episode 1 - Human Cargo
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #6 - Human Cargo

    S4:E1

    Banging from within a refrigerated lorry alerts Bedfordshire Police to a group of 15 illegal immigrants within. What starts out as a routine case takes a dramatic turn when the men start falling seriously ill.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of 24 Hours in Police Custody

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  7. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 4 Episode 4 - One Punch
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #7 - One Punch

    S4:E4

    Two lives change in a heartbeat after a single punch fells a man outside a nightclub. The blow kills the victim and the police arrest the attacker. Cameras follow every twist and turn as the police try to disentangle what really happened.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 7 Episode 1 - Body In The Grass
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #8 - Body In The Grass

    S7:E1

    A woman's body is found in overgrown grassland. When detectives inform her partner of her death, his behaviour marks him out as a chief suspect.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 7 Episode 3 - A Knife through The Heart
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #9 - A Knife through The Heart

    S7:E3

    A man lies dying in the street from a stab wound to his heart. A friend at the scene is desperate to find out if he will survive but it is now a crime scene and he is not allowed to see the victim.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 10 Episode 1 - Two Wrongs
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #10 - Two Wrongs

    S10:E1

    Bedfordshire Police investigate a possible break-in and a devastating high-speed car chase, navigating the rights and wrongs of people taking the law into their own hands.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 1 Episode 2 - Love Hurts
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #11 - Love Hurts

    S1:E2

    Police Constable Cheryldeen Liversidge and Police Constable Kat Alison investigate two strongly contrasting stories about harassment and domestic abuse. Domestic abuse takes up to 40% of police time nationally and is now a priority for Bedfordshire Police, having had a poor record in the past. A scorned wife has dumped an ex-partner's clothes in a charity shop, while another woman complains of a series of highly threatening messages from a man with a violent past. On the surface, two very different cases, but both officers turn the cases they are investigating into something of a crusade and are determined to get to the bottom of what really went on in the private relations between their suspects and the victims.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 1 Episode 6 - Honour Thy Father
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #12 - Honour Thy Father

    S1:E6

    A devout Muslim has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting his daughter with an iron, after she married a man he does not approve of. Bedfordshire Police have set up a dedicated `honour-based violence' unit at Luton, but the investigation falls to DC Rachel Chandler in CID. Will she succeed in finding the evidence before time runs out?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 2 Episode 3 - Human Traffic
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #13 - Human Traffic

    S2:E3

    This episode follows an investigation into suspected human trafficking. DC Tom Stean says 'Human trafficking is getting worse and worse. I think Luton is a magnet.'

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 2 Episode 6 - Frequent Flyers
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #14 - Frequent Flyers

    S2:E6

    Cathie Layton and Brett Jones used to work together in the police, but now Brett's a legal rep, representing one of Luton's prolific burglars, with DC Layton on the other side of the table.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 3 Episode 1 - Bad Blood
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #15 - Bad Blood

    S3:E1

    The return of the documentary in which more than 60 cameras are used to follow the work of Bedfordshire Police, from the cells at stations to the operational heart of major investigations. A small town near Luton has been plagued with an outbreak of teen criminality, and DS Emma James and DC Cathie Layton pull a 22-hour shift to find the evidence against a young man accused of robbery and assault. He denies everything and paints himself as the victim. Will they uncover enough to charge, or will he be released?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 3 Episode 4 - Mother's Day
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #16 - Mother's Day

    S3:E4

    The police release a young man who's been accused of a vicious assault when he gives his mother as an alibi. But when she fails to support his story they have to try to find him again...

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 4 Episode 3 - Love Thy Neighbour
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #17 - Love Thy Neighbour

    S4:E3

    Bedfordshire Police have a high profile case to handle when, English Defence League founder, Tommy Robinson assaults a Muslim man in Luton. They also try to help a Muslim woman seeking protection.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 4 Episode 7 - The Lethal Weapon
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #18 - The Lethal Weapon

    S4:E7

    Officers search for an armed and dangerous man who is on the run from Bedfordshire Police's "Operation Bosun" - a specialist unit that tackles gun crime.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 4 Episode 8 - In Plain Sight
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #19 - In Plain Sight

    S4:E8

    During Luton's annual carnival a man seizes the opportunity to enter a house and sexually assault two young children. Bedfordshire Police scan thousands of hours of CCTV footage in the hunt for him.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 4 Episode 9 - A Complaint Of Rape
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #20 - A Complaint Of Rape

    S4:E9

    When a young woman reports that she has been raped by a man she met in a bar, Bedfordshire Police bring the man in for questioning and try to unpick the two very different accounts of events.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 5 Episode 1 - A Moment of Madness
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #21 - A Moment of Madness

    S5:E1

    A man walks out of a hotel lift covered in blood. He approaches the reception desk shouting that he has killed someone. As the terrified receptionist tries to rid get 999, the man grabs the phone, but the police have been reported.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 5 Episode 4 - Code Of Silence
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #22 - Code Of Silence

    S5:E4

    A man has been attacked and left unconscious on the floor of a crowded pub for over 30 minutes. Detectives face a wall of silence as they search for evidence.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 5 Episode 5 - The Golden Bracelet
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #23 - The Golden Bracelet

    S5:E5

    Bedfordshire Police are particularly busy. A care worker denies stealing a gold bracelet, a man denies being involved in a stabbing, and a suspect is questioned about an assault.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 6 Episode 1 - Sex & Corruption
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #24 - Sex & Corruption

    S6:E1

    Cameras follow all the twists and turns of the major investigation into an allegation of police corruption, as detectives track down, arrest and then charge a fellow officer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. 24 Hours in Police Custody Season 6 Episode 4 - Shallow Grave
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #25 - Shallow Grave

    S6:E4

    Police search in a Luton garden for the body of a woman who disappeared in 2003, as they turn up the heat on suspects in a case that's puzzled them for years.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Drug Drop" is the best rated episode of "24 Hours in Police Custody". It scored 8/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/20/2014. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Morning After".