Crimewatch

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For other uses, see Crimewatch (disambiguation).
Crimewatch
Also known as 'Crimewatch UK'
Genre Factual
Presented by Sophie Raworth
Jason Mohammad
Martin Bayfield
Rav Wilding (Crimewatch Roadshow)
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
Production
Production location(s) Cardiff
Running time 60 minutes
Release
Original network BBC One
Picture format 576i (16:9 SDTV)
Original release 7 June 1984 (1984-06-07) –
present
Chronology
Followed by Crimewatch Update
Related shows Crimewatch Roadshow
External links
Website

Crimewatch (formerly Crimewatch UK) is a long-running and high-profile British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes in order to gain information from the public which may assist in solving the case. The programme was originally broadcast once a month on BBC One, although in more recent years it has more usually been broadcast roughly once every two months. It was announced on 15 October 2008 that the BBC would move the production of shows such as Crimewatch to studios in Cardiff.[1]

Crimewatch was first broadcast on 7 June 1984, and is based on the German TV show Aktenzeichen XY … ungelöst (which translates as File Reference XY … Unsolved). Nick Ross and Sue Cook presented the show for the first 11 years, until Cook's departure in June 1995. Cook was replaced by Jill Dando. After Dando was murdered in April 1999, Ross hosted Crimewatch alone until January 2000 when Fiona Bruce subsequently joined the show.[2]

Sophie Raworth, Jason Mohammad and Martin Bayfield currently front the show; following the departures of Ross and Bruce in 2007, Rav Wilding in December 2011, Matthew Amroliwala in March 2015 and Kirsty Young in December 2015.

History

The idea for the show came from the UK programme Police Five and the German Aktenzeichen XY … ungelöst (File Reference XY … Unsolved).[3] Producers viewed the shows and rejected the overt reconstructions with music to build suspense in America's Most Wanted, and were also against the idea of filming the reconstruction from the perspective of the offender as in Aktenzeichen XY … ungelöst (particularly for sexual assaults).[4] However, they favoured the idea of audience participation in the show.[4] It started as Crimewatch UK and was due to run for three programmes only.[5] It was regarded as an experiment when it was first shown, partly because of doubts about whether police would take part,[5] whether witnesses and victims would welcome the idea, whether it would actually lead to arrests, and whether it could be considered to prejudice a jury. In over 25 years, 57 murderers, 53 rapists and sex offenders, 18 paedophiles, and others were captured as a direct result of Crimewatch appeals[citation needed].

Show format

Former logo

The programme used to be shown every month on BBC One usually at 9pm, with a Crimewatch Update at 10.35, following the BBC News at Ten. Since March 2011 the show has aired less frequently, roughly once every two months.[6] The show features approximately three or four cases per show, with each case featuring reconstructions of the crime. It is one of the largest live factual studio productions. The films shown often feature interviews with senior detectives and/or relatives or friends.[7] Key evidence is usually shown, such as E-FIT profiles of suspects and details of certain lines of enquiry.

The show has other features, such as the CCTV section, presented approximately 15 minutes from the start and end of the programme by Martin Bayfield. This shows CCTV reports of many different crimes, with enhanced imagery of suspects police are trying to contact. Also presented by Martin Bayfield is the Wanted Faces, eight close-up pictures of suspects police need to talk to. This section also frequently involves information about suspects, including aliases. These eight photos are shown upon the programme's closing titles, one of the few programmes in which the BBC do not 'show the credits in reduced size'.

Viewers can contact Crimewatch by phoning 0500 600 600, with phonelines remaining open until midnight the night following the programme. Viewers can also send text messages. Due to the high demand for cases to be shown on the programme, many other cases are added to the Crimewatch website. These are joined by reconstructions, CCTV footage and Wanted faces that have been shown on previous programmes. All reconstructions, CCTV footage, faces and cases remain on the Crimewatch website until the criminals are caught or suspects convicted. Crimewatch can be watched on the BBC iPlayer catch-up service for 24 hours from broadcast—longer availability could potentially prejudice forthcoming legal proceedings[citation needed].

Crimewatch Update

Following the main programme, there is a 10–15 minute follow-up after the BBC News at Ten, with updates on calls and results from the earlier broadcast.

Crimewatch Solved

From time to time an extra programme Crimewatch: Solved is transmitted, showing cases that resulted in convictions; sometimes a Crimewatch special is produced which reviews an entire high-profile case, such as the murder of Sarah Payne, from beginning to end.

Crimewatch Hot Property

In 1997, Crimewatch did a special programme called Crimewatch Hot Property presented by Jill Dando and broadcast on BBC 1. The aim was to help people find their stolen properties that were recovered by police raids.

Crimewatch Roadshow

As of 2009, there has been no monthly show broadcast in June, instead this has been replaced with this accompanying series, which is broadcast for four weeks on weekday mornings from 9.15am - 10.00am. The programme travels to different police forces across the country to help solve everyday crime. To date, seven series of the show have been broadcast. Rav Wilding has been the main presenter of all seven series.

In series one (2009), his co-presenter was newsreader Sophie Raworth. For series two (2010), Raworth was replaced by journalist and radio broadcaster Ginny Buckley. For series three (2011), Buckley was replaced by Irish television presenter Miriam O'Reilly.

In series four (2012), Wilding had three co-presenters working on rotation: journalists Dave Guest, Alice Bandhukvari and Nicola Rees. For series five (2013), Wilding was joined by newsreader Sian Lloyd, who has gone on to co-present the following two series (2014 and 2015) as well. During series five, former Crimewatch presenter Jacqui Hames co-presented the show every Friday with Wilding, updating viewers on the success stories from the past few years.

During series seven (2015), the show once again adopted a rotation format with Lloyd co-presenting the first two weeks, before being replaced by Michelle Ackerley for the third week, and finally Sonali Shah for the final week.

Involvement

Several police officers have appeared on the programme from the studio, including David Hatcher, Helen Phelps, Jeremy Payne, Jacqui Hames, Jonathan Morrison, Jane Corrigan, and Rav Wilding. For many years the programme also included antiques experts John Bly, Eric Knowles and Paul Hayes to help with 'treasure trove' details of recovered goods believed to have been stolen, to trace owners.[7]

Despite initial police concerns about involvement[5] (only three forces out of more than 40 agreed to participate initially) Crimewatch developed a special status with police and was credited with an expertise of its own, notably through Nick Ross' long experience with public appeals. Unlike the American equivalent based on Crimewatch, America's Most Wanted, Crimewatch itself usually appeals for unsolved cases inviting viewers to be armchair detectives. According to the producers, about a third of its cases are solved, half of those as a direct result of viewers' calls. Its successes have included some of Britain's most notorious crimes, including the kidnap of Stephanie Slater and murder of Julie Dart, the M25 rapist, the road-rage killing by Kenneth Noye, and the capture of two boys for the abduction and murder of James Bulger.

Over the years, Crimewatch has featured appeals from all 43 police forces in the country. 1 in 3 appeals leads to an arrest and 1 in 5 lead to a conviction. 4 or 5 requests to air appeals are received from police forces every day.[citation needed]

Ratings and public response

Crimewatch is watched by between four and five million every month.[citation needed]

A study by the Broadcasting Standards Council found that Crimewatch UK increased the fear of crime in over half of its respondents, and a third said it made them feel "afraid".[8] However, according to John Sears, senior English lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University,[9][10] it provides a beneficial role, performing "a social function by helping to solve crime, and drawing on the collective responsibilities, experiences and knowledge of the viewing audience in order to do so."[11]

Presenters

Presenter Year Additional information
Nick Ross 1984–2007 Known for ending each episode by reminding viewers that violent crime is actually very rare and encouraging them not to have nightmares (due to the show's late air time). His phrase, "Don't have nightmares, do sleep well" has been referenced and spoofed in numerous TV shows and stand-up comedy routines. Left the show after 23 years.
Sue Cook 1984–1995 British broadcaster and author, left the show to focus on other work.
David Hatcher 1984–1999 Hatcher was the first policeman and longest serving police presenter on the programme. He was selected after being invited for audition for the first edition and was joined for several years by a fellow Kent officer Police Constable Helen Phelps. Joining the programme as a Chief Inspector from Kent Police he retired from that force and the programme in October 1999 having reached the rank of Chief Superintendent.
Jill Dando 1995–1999 Her murder was reconstructed and shown on Crimewatch, though the appeal did not result in the arrest of Barry George, who was later convicted of the killing but was acquitted on 1 August 2008.
Fiona Bruce 2000–2007 Left the show to host Antiques Roadshow.
Rav Wilding 2004–2011 A former policeman who joined the show on its 20th anniversary, Wilding specialized on the criminals "Caught on Camera" section. His departure was announced by Kirsty Young in the Crimewatch Update in December 2011. Left the show after seven years.
Kirsty Young 2008–2015 Former newsreader for Channel Five and ITV, Young was the main anchor of the show from January 2008 until her departure in December 2015.[12]
Matthew Amroliwala 2008–2015 Newsreader who presented the "How they were caught" section and updates on previous cases covered by Crimewatch; left in March 2015 and was subsequently replaced by Jason Mohammad.
Martin Bayfield 2012–present Former rugby player and policeman and now sports commentator, he succeeded Rav Wilding as presenter on the criminals "Caught on Camera" section.
Jason Mohammad 2015–present Stood in for Matthew Amroliwala in March and April 2015 before taking over from him full time in October 2015.
Sophie Raworth 2012, 2016–present Stood in for Kirsty Young in March 2012, before taking over her role of main anchor beginning on 8 February 2016.
Sonali Shah 2015 Stood in for Matthew Amroliwala in May, July and August 2015; stood in for Martin Bayfield in October 2015, and co-presented the final week of Crimewatch Roadshow in June 2015.
Sian Lloyd 2013–2015 Co-presenter of the 2013 and 2014 Crimewatch Roadshows, as well as the first two weeks of the Crimewatch Roadshow in June 2015.
Michelle Ackerley 2015 Co-presented the third week of the Crimewatch Roadshow in June 2015.
Sian Williams 2012, 2015 Stood in for Kirsty Young in July 2012 and May and October 2015.

Featured cases

Victims

Suspects and criminal offenders

Episodes

2010s

2016

Episode Title Presenter(s) Original airdate
1 "Episode One" Sophie Raworth • Martin Bayfield • Jason Mohammad 8 February 2016
Featured cases: The unsolved murder of David Brickwood in Abington, Northampton • The shooting and subsequent murder of Marvin Couson in Shoreditch, London in May 2002 • Unidentified remains of a busker found in a back garden in Galway, Ireland • The story of the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary and the search for the unidentified perpetrator only known as 'Basil'.
2 "Episode Two" Sophie Raworth • Martin Bayfield • Jason Mohammad 10 March 2016
Featured cases: The unsolved murder of John Palmer in Essex on 24 June 2015 • The rape of a woman in Derby on 7 September 2015 • A series of attacks on women in Lewisham in December 2015 and January 2016 • The search for rioters after a large scale disturbance in London on 31 October 2015.

See also

References

  1. ↑ BBC evicts top shows from London BBC News, 15 October 2008
  2. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/517637.stm
  3. ↑ Jewkes, Yvonne (2004) Media and crime, SAGE, p. 153
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Schlesinger, Philip; Tumber, Howard (1994) "Fighting the war against crime: Television, police and audience." The British Journal of Criminology. 33:19-32
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Newburn, Tim (2007) Criminology, Willan Publishing, p. 105
  6. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006ppmq/episodes/guide
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Leishman, Frank; Mason, Paul (2003) Policing and the media: facts, fictions and factions, Willan Publishing, p. 114
  8. ↑ Palmer, Gareth (2003) Discipline and liberty: television and governance, Manchester University Press ND, p. 80–81
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Bignell, Jonathan (2004) An introduction to television studies, Routledge, p. 197
  12. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34942220
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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