Louis Theroux: Law And Disorder In Philadelphia

Theroux seems to relish the challenge in his documentary on BBC2, Law and Disorder in Philadelphia. The endearingly weedy Theroux is seen bounding in and out of police cars, thrust into the frontline of rapid response teams. “My first thought was, If I get killed it’s not because I’m going to get shot or mugged, it’s because I’m going to die in a car accident”, he says. “The cops are unbelievable because they’re breaking all the red lights, going down one-way streets the wrong way, going down the middle of the road in heavy traffic, and dodging other cars.”

The new documentary is certainly his riskiest assignment yet. The BBC’s safety guidelines meant he had to wear a bulletproof vest so thick he was unable to do up his seatbelt. But you can’t blame the production team for being cautious when you consider that there are an estimated 400 homicides a year in Philadelphia, more than 10,000 aggravated assaults and almost 40,000 thefts.