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| Crimewatch | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Factual |
| Starring | Kirsty Young Matthew Amroliwala Rav Wilding |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Original run | 7 June 1984 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
Crimewatch is a long-running and high-profile British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes with a view to gaining information from the members of the public. The programme is usually broadcast once a month on BBC One. It was announced on 15 October 2008, that the BBC is to move the filming shows such as Crimewatch to studios in Cardiff.[1]
The show was first broadcast on 7 June 1984, and is based on the German TV show Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst (which translates as File XY... Unsolved). It was first presented by Nick Ross and Sue Cook. When Cook decided to leave in 1995, she was replaced by Jill Dando. After Dando's murder in April 1999, Fiona Bruce took over.
Kirsty Young and Matthew Amroliwala currently front the show, following the departures of Ross and Bruce in 2007.
Contents |
About the show
The idea for the show was inspired by programmes in the UK, as well as the United States and Germany – Police Five, America's Most Wanted and Aktenzeichen XY... Ungelöst (Case XY... Unsolved) respectively.[2] 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).[3] However, they favoured the idea of audience participation in the show.[3] It started as Crimewatch UK and was due to run for three programmes only.[4] It was regarded as an experiment when it was first shown, partly because of doubts about whether police would take part,[4] 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 1990, six years after the programme began, it announced that it had led to 251 arrests from 686 cases, resulting in 171 convictions.[5]
It is one of the largest live factual studio productions. The format of the programme usually involving three or four reconstructions, often followed by interviews with senior detectives and/or relatives or friends.[6] Other briefer appeals use the E-FIT computer system, CCTV and photos, usually with two lists, each showing four or five mugshots of Britain's Most Wanted about 15 minutes into the programme and again towards the end of the programme. These photos are, then, shown again during the credits, and this is one of the few programmes in which the BBC do not 'credit squeeze'.
Crimewatch airs once a month at peak time with a 15-minute follow-up later in the evening, Crimewatch Update, which reports updates on calls and breakthroughs. From time to time the team airs an extra programme Crimewatch: Solved showcasing cases that resulted in convictions; and sometimes produce a Crimewatch special which reviews an entire high-profile case from beginning to end such as the murder of Sarah Payne.
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".[7] However according to John Sears, it provides a beneficial role, performing "a social function by helping to solve crime, and drawing on the collective responsibilites, experiences and knowledge of the viewing audience in order to do so."[8]
Involvement
Several police officers have also featured in the studio, including David Hatcher, Helen Phelps, Jeremy Payne, Jackie Haymes, Jonathan Morrison, Jane Corrigan and most recently Rav Wilding. For many years the show also recruited antiques experts John Bly, Eric Knowles and Paul Hayes to help with 'treasure trove' appeals to trace owners of goods that had been recovered and which were assumed to be stolen.[6]
Despite initial concerns about police involvement[4] (only three forces agreed to participate at first) 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 spawned by 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 the 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.
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. |
| Jill Dando | 1995 - 1999 | Her death 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 | 1999 - 2007 | Left the show to host Antiques Roadshow after eight years. |
| Rav Wilding | 2004 - | A professional policeman, who specializes on the criminals 'Caught on Camera'. |
| Kirsty Young | 2008 - | Former newsreader for Channel Five and ITV now main anchor of Crimewatch and presenter of Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 |
| Matthew Amroliwala | 2008 - | Newsreader who presents the "How they were caught" section and presents updates on previous cases covered by Crimewatch |
Featured cases
Victims
- The Murder of Colette Aram, the first case to be featured on the show.[9]
- The Murder of Sally Anne Bowman
- The Murder of James Bulger
- The Murder of Jill Dando
- The Murder of Amanda Dowler
- The Murder of Daniel Handley
- The Murder of Danielle Jones
- The Murder of Rhys Jones
- The Murder of Sophie Lancaster
- The Murder of Stephen Lawrence
- The Rachel Nickell murder case
- The Murder of Nisha Patel-Nasri
- The Murder of Sarah Payne
- The Murder of Damilola Taylor
- The Stabbing of Abigail Witchalls
- The Murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman
- The disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh
- The disappearance of Claudia Lawrence
- The New Cross double murder
Suspects and criminal offenders
- Antoni Imiela, the M25 rapist.
- Fred Lawlor, child abuser and murderer
- Fiona Mont, formerly Britain's Most Wanted Woman
- Kenneth Noye, murderer.
- Michael Sams, rapist, kidnapper, extortionist and murderer.
- Joel Smith, murderer.
- Michael Stone, murderer.
- Steve Wright, serial killer in the Ipswich 2006 serial murders.
Crimewatch Roadshow
This accompanying series began on 1 June 2009, and will run for 20 episodes. It is shown on weekdays from 9.15 - 10am.
See also
- Traffic Cops (also called Car Wars).
- America's Most Wanted, similar programme for the United States of America.
- Police Report, similar programme in Hong Kong.
- India's Most Wanted inspired program in India.
- Police Report, similar program in Hong Kong.
- Linha Direta, similar program in Brazil.
- Efterlyst, similar program in Sweden.
References
- ^ BBC evicts top shows from London. BBC News. 15 October 2008.
- ^ Jewkes, Yvonne (2004). Media and crime. SAGE. p. 153.
- ^ a b Schlesinger, Philip; Tumber, Howard (1994). "Fighting the war against crime: Television, police and audience." The British Journal of Criminology. 33:19&ndash32.
- ^ a b c Newburn, Tim (2007). Criminology. Willan Publishing. p. 105.
- ^ Jewkes, Yvonne; Letherby, Gayle (2002). Criminology: a reader. SAGE. p. 126.
- ^ a b Leishman, Frank; Mason, Paul (2003). Policing and the media: facts, fictions and factions. Willan Publishing. p. 114.
- ^ Palmer, Gareth (2003). Discipline and liberty: television and governance. Manchester University Press ND. p. 80–81.
- ^ Bignell, Jonathan (2004). An introduction to television studies. Routledge. p. 197.
- ^ "Man remanded in 1983 death case". BBC News. 9 April 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/7990989.stm. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
External links
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