Stephen Warren is a club owner and criminal boss in Manchester. After naively arresting one of Warren's men, Sam Tyler learns that Warren has an arrangement with the police where they keep off his back and he keeps them informed about criminals and drug dealers. Sam is unhappy with the situation, knowing that arrangements like this reduce the public's trust in the police force in the future. Gene ignores him at the time and Warren pays them both off. After thinking about it and trying to give it to his younger mother, who, despite her debt problems with one of Warren’s men, refuses, Sam returns to the club to give the money back. He also mentions the rent collector who has been bullying Ruth, to which Warren offers to ‘deal with it’.