The Truth About Crime - Theft and Burglary

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 find out the truth behind the crime headlines. Nick shows how, if the opportunity to steal is there, people will take it; and it is not just our homes and our businesses which are vulnerable, as increasingly we are victims of online fraud too. The Truth About Crime filmed 24/7 for a fortnight with the emergency services in Oxford, whose crime pattern is typical of the country as a whole, to create a unique crime audit. Using crime figures from the police and other agencies, the series creates crime maps that give a rare insight into patterns of crime - when and where it happens. Nick meets victims of crime - from the elderly who have been targets of 'distraction' burglaries on the edge of town to students whose shared accommodation proves an easy target for local drug users - and follows their stories, and that of the perpetrators, to see how they are treated by the police, prosecutors and the courts. Finally Nick looks beyond the criminal justice system to see how design solutions - from improving locks to tightening online security - can prevent theft and fraud from happening in the first place.