After receiving a date to participate with the ridealong scheme, I arrived at Barkingside Police Station ready for the day ahead.
But nothing could prepare me for what I was about to witness – including a car pursuit, being at an arrest scene with armed police and watching a man be held on suspicion of raping a child.
I was shadowing officers from the East Area Command, an intelligence-led team which tackles crime across Barking & Dagenham, Havering, and Redbridge.
The shift started at 1pm, and I was met by Sgt Jo Peters who showed me into the office room.
I was immediately taken aback by how many officers were in the small space, and was told that I had caught them on a good day in terms of their numbers for the shift.
They gathered around a screen for a briefing, catching each other up with previous incidents they responded to that week and aims for the day.
We were soon on our way out, piling into an undercover police car parked in the courtyard of the station.
We hopped in one of the undercover cars (Image: Newsquest) Our first call of the day came in just minutes after we set off, with the radios crackling to life with static chatter.
Sgt Peters kindly helped translate the message for me – a car had failed to stop for officers and we were now making our way towards them.
With a quick press of a button, the sirens and blue flashing lights came on and the car surged forward with surprising speed.
Sgt Peters was behind the wheel, skilfully weaving the car between traffic whilst being guided by her colleague who was in charge of directions.
She revealed that driving courses for the Met can at times only last a matter of weeks.
We made our way towards the A13, reaching speeds of more than 60mph on tight streets and roads dotted with speed bumps.
I have never experienced anything like it and will admit that at times the quick motion made me feel slightly car sick.
Sgt Peters at the wheel (Image: Newsquest) To my relief, I was later assured this was normal for everyone’s first few times.
I quickly snapped out of it when I began to spot colleagues in marked police cars joining us from all directions.
It was like something out of a movie – with blue flashing lights suddenly pulling into view behind and in front of us.
We made it onto the A13, approaching the Wennington and Rainham junction, with a plan being devised over the radios.
I watched as the sirens and lights were switched off and the undercover cars containing other East Area Command colleagues began to pull into formation.
Before I knew it, we were behind the suspect vehicle and performing a manoeuvre to safely bring it to a stop.
A man was arrested after an A13 pursuit (Image: Newsquest) Before our car had even stopped moving, the seatbelts were off and a man was soon in handcuffs after being arrested on suspicion of blackmail.
He was also detained for a search after intel mentioned the possibility of threats of a knife.
After a search was conducted, we left the other officers at the scene and hopped back on the A13.
It wasn’t long again before the lights came back on and we were bombing it down Ripple Road at speeds of around 99 miles per hour in lane three.
Sgt Peters was alerted to reports of a car triggering an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera in Barking on suspicion of being cloned.
In the background, Eternal Flame by The Bangles played on the radio.
Frustratingly, we got caught up in traffic and had to pull out of responding.
We were one of five East Area Command cars to be out on shift, so colleagues closer to the incident went on their way.
Whilst stuck in the queues I learned that the team feels their shifts can be busier and more unpredictable during the school holidays.
We also responded to reports of a large fight in Dagenham (Image: Newsquest) The policing cuts seen by the Met have also had a knock-on impact on the number of East Area staff on patrol, I was told, sometimes seeing only two cars covering the three boroughs.
A machete fight in Dagenham was reported over the radio, with other colleagues sent on their way to handle it whilst we were still battling standstill traffic.
The next call that came through was related to another car that had pinged on ANPR cameras, this time on the Thames View Estate in Barking.
Intel revealed that the Porsche was suspected to have been involved in a road rage incident where a firearm had been reported just days before.
We made our way towards the estate, lying in wait for the car behind a corner.
Sgt Peters explained that the police helicopter had gone up, and they were waiting to see if it would be declared a firearms incident.
Meanwhile, colleagues in other cars had been pursuing the Porsche for 14 minutes without going detected.
A man was arrested in Barking on suspicion of possession of a firearm (Image: Newsquest) We finally got the confirmation that it was being dealt with as a firearms incident, so armed officers took control, blocking in the car as we pulled up at the rear.
I watched from the backseat as the man was removed from his car by officers with guns, before he was searched and arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm.
Up next on the agenda was a search at a property in Bow.
The team was looking to find a man who could be at one of two properties.
After a five car convoy to the first property in Bow Road, officers located the property and knocked on the door.
The police presence was noticeable to other residents in the area and it was great to see the way the Met were interacting and reassuring members of the public.
Feeling confident there was no one inside the property, Sgt Peters moved the teams on to the second address where a man was arrested on suspicion of string of offences.
A third man was arrested in Bow and police searched a car (Image: Newsquest) These included human trafficking, attempted child abduction, possession and distribution of indecent images, rape of a child, drugging of a child, common assault and more.
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The teams returned to the initial property and conducted a search where they had further grounds to arrest the man on suspicion of possession of class A and class B drugs.
It was an 11pm finish for the officers, who kindly insisted on dropping me back to my car to make my way home.
The whole experience is one I couldn’t recommend more, particularly for those wanting to learn more about the force and build trust.
To apply to join a ridealong, go to met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/st-s/stop-and-search/ras/met/ride-along-scheme/.