5 TO EXPLORE CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN THE UK IN LAWLESS BRITAIN SEASON OF PROGRAMMES

5 is to take a provocative look at crime and the justice system in the upcoming Lawless Britain season of programmes.

With concern about crime doubling last year* tackling rising levels of property and violent crime has become a top priority for the government – in addition to trying to fix our overburdened prison and court system.

But is the system fit for purpose, and are people’s fears really being tackled?

Across a range of films and debates taking us inside the police, prisons and the court system, 5 asks whether Britain really is in danger of losing the war on crime.

From The Sentence: You be the Judge - a film exploring the British public’s view of sentencing in the UK; to an all-access look at HMP Wandsworth, the programmes will provoke opinion and spark debate around this hotly discussed topic.  5 News and the Jeremy Vine and Storm daily shows will all include elements of the debate within their own programmes across the schedule.

Two thirds of British people believe that sentencing in the UK is too soft. There is no more a divisive issue facing the justice system, than how to punish convicted criminals. In a challenging social experiment presented by Anne Robinson, 5 will allow viewers the chance to compare their judgements about convicted criminals against real judges. The Sentence: You Be the Judge (1 x 90’) will painstakingly reconstruct four REAL sentencing hearings - a key part of the trial system that juries are excluded from. Viewers will get to decide what sentence they think a convicted criminal offender should get – before revealing what sentence the Judge actually passed. They can also compare their judgements against four groups who will be judging along with them – retired judges, former inmates, retired police officers and relatives of crime victims. It’s a controversial view of a part of the justice system we rarely see. (Commissioning Editor,  5: Dan Louw.  Produced by Good TV, Executive Producer: Elliot Reed; Producer/Director: Gillian Bancroft).

Anne Robinson said: “Why is the sentencing of criminals so widely inconsistent? Why does a protester who climbs up a bridge to stop the traffic spend more time in prison than someone who punches an innocent man who dies as a result?  This programme tells a jaw dropping story. The government needs to watch it.”

We’ll investigate one of Britain’s most troubled jails.  In Wandsworth Prison: Fit for Purpose? (1x 60’), we see footage from inside the jail which has become notorious for prison escapes, public sex between guards and inmates and one of the most damning inspection reports in recent prison history.  We hear first-hand testimony from those who have served time and those who have worked inside HMP Wandsworth.  We find out what life is really like inside Wandsworth from those who know, and we ask how things have got so bad, and what, if anything, is the solution? (Commissioning Editor, 5: Dan Louw.  Produced by Good TV; Executive Producer: Elliot Reed).

There were more than 20 million shop thefts last year – a crime that used to be classed as ‘petty’ is now becoming very organised, very violent, and is costing more than £2bn a year.  Hunting the Shoplifters (w/t) from Raw Cut TV (the makers of Police Interceptors) comes a film about a multi-agency task force working across Britain to tackle shoplifting head on, and to try to stop the spread of a modern crime epidemic.  (Commissioning Editor, 5: Adrian Padmore.  Produced by Raw Cut TV, Executive Producer Steve Warr and Mark Roberts).

Taking a more radical approach to crime and punishment, The Trial (w/t) is a powerful one-off drama produced by Adorable Media, starring Ben Miles, Claire Skinner and Saoirse-Monica Jackson. This thought-provoking special explores a chillingly plausible near-future in which parents are held legally responsible for the crimes of their children, raising unsettling questions about justice, culpability, and the limits of state control. (Commissioning Editor, 5: Paul Testar.  Produced by Adorable Media). 

From pickpocketing to bike theft, phone snatching to shoplifting, street crime is sweeping Britain – and so much of it now captured on our ‘phones. Lawless Britain: Catching the Street Thieves looks at how overstretched police and unable to investigate the majority of incidents, communities are forced to take matters into their own hands. Our host Rebecca Mason, an ex-police detective of 14 years, is going to help the British public get justice. She’ll meet the victims, then track down and confront the brazen criminals on their doorstep, who thought they’d got away with it. Using facial recognition technology, live-tracking software, old-fashioned detective work, and knowledge of the goings-on in local communities, Rebecca and her team are about to make a difference, by catching the street thieves. (Commissioning Editor, 5: Federico Ruiz.  Produced by Kalel Productions.  Executive Producer: Nick Parnes; Producer Director: Myles Judd).  

To round off the season, Dan Walker on Death Row (w/t) is a one-off documentary that takes an unflinching look at the deeply divisive issue of capital punishment in the United States.  Commissioned by Commissioning Editor Guy Davies and produced by ITN Productions, this 1x90’ film sees 5 News host Dan Walker immerse himself in America’s death penalty system, meeting those on all sides of the debate from convicted prisoners and victims' families to executioners and exonerated former inmates.

With capital punishment abolished in the UK, the debate on its reinstatement remains contentious, reignited by high-profile crimes and shifting public opinion. Against this backdrop, Dan Walker on Death Row asks: Could Britain ever follow America’s example?

Further programmes included in the season to be announced.

“Law and order is a huge challenge in the UK,” commented Ben Frow, Chief Content Officer, 5 and Paramount UK.  “Throughout this series of programmes, we seek to ask why that is and how we can begin to take back control.  Do we have the right measures in place? Is the length of sentencing appropriate? What can we do about prison overcrowding? Are our prisons fit for purpose? Are our police forces across the country well-equipped to fulfil the increasing demands on their limited resources? These are important and difficult questions and we explore the many facets of the debate across a variety of films and programmes across the week.”