An officer faces an anxious wait on tonight’s 24 Hours in Police Custody after being pricked by a heroin addict’s needle.
PC Craig Pearce is rushed to hospital amid fears he may have contracted HIV after impaling his hand on the syringe while searching suspect Jade Carrey’s coat at the custody sergeant’s desk.
To make matters worse, the drug user taunts him as he’s leaving, saying: “I hope I’ve got something, you know that? I hope I do.”
Community officer Craig is leading an investigation into Jade and boyfriend Iftikhar Ahmed who police believe have exploited a young, vulnerable woman by taking over her flat and using it as a drugs den.
The PC says on tonight’s episode: “There is a lot of precaution dealing with people who are addicts, but you just don’t know what people have got on them.
“It is scary being told there are potential viruses inside you. Having to go home and tell your partner or your family, it’s hard.”
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But Craig adds: “What happened isn’t a personal issue to me. You can’t think about it.
“You’ve got to put it aside, you’ve got to give that person that fair chance in interview.”
Jade later reassures him that his health is not at risk from the needle because she gets tested regularly.
It is not the first time the pair have crossed paths. By coincidence, Craig’s first arrest, two years earlier, was Jade’s former boyfriend on suspicion of assaulting her.
Craig says: “I actually feel sorry for her. When you join the police you don’t realise how emotionally attached you become to people like Jade.
“Jade hopefully will do something with her life.”
Later, following a string of burglaries in the same street in Luton, police arrest Jade and her boyfriend after they were caught on CCTV in a shop where bank cards stolen in the raids were used.
Iftikhar Ahmed was convicted of 21 charges of fraud and three counts of handling stolen goods. He was jailed for 20 months.
Jade Carrey received a 12-month suspended prison sentence for possession of a bladed article.
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* 24 Hours in Police Custody is on Channel 4 at 9pm tonight.