Violent Crime

Why do we think crime is rising, when the official figures suggest it is coming down?

This three-part documentary series follows presenter Nick Ross on a journey to learn the truth behind the crime headlines.

The programme conducts a unique Crime Audit: Filming 24/7 for a fortnight with the emergency services in one city, Oxford, whose crime pattern is typical of Britain as a whole, the cameras reveal what crime in one city really looks like. Using official crime figures, the series creates crime maps to show patterns of crime - when and where it happens. But The Truth About Crime also carries out an online questionnaire of the population of Oxford and the largest ever survey of the city's school children, to uncover people's hidden experiences and feelings about crime.

In the first episode, Violent Crime, Nick reveals the extent to which alcohol fuels violent crime on the street and in the home, but how there is also a lot that can be done to combat it.

In each film of the series - episode two explores Theft and Burglary; and the final one, Anti Social Behaviour - Nick asks how likely we are to be a victim of crime. He follows the stories of individual victims filmed during the crime audit to see how they are treated by the police, prosecutors and the courts. Finally, he looks beyond the Criminal Justice System to see what can be done to stop crime happening in the first place.