Behind the Crime

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Factual: Crime & Justice

Is it possible to prevent crime by understanding the root causes of offending behaviour?

Two forensic psychologists talk to people who have received court sentences for their crimes to understand what drove them to offend, and crucially, what might help them change.

As a society, we send close to 100,000 people to prison each year. Criminal behaviour costs the country around £60 billion every year, according to Home Office research. 

Is it possible to prevent crime by understanding the root causes of offending behaviour?

Sally Tilt and Dr Kerensa Hocken are forensic psychologists who work in prisons.

Their role is to help people in prison to look at the harm they've caused to other people, understand why it happened and work out how to make changes to prevent further harm after they've been released.

In Behind the Crime, they take the time to understand the life of someone whose crimes have led to harm and, in some cases, imprisonment.

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Behind the Crime: David

David

BBC Radio 4 - Behind the Crime, David

Two forensic psychologists interview David about his life and the crime he committed.

Sally Tilt and Dr Kerensa Hocken, two forensic psychologists working in prisons, interview people who have committed offences to understand their lives and the causes of crime.

Criminal behaviour costs the country around £60 billion every year, according to Home Office research.
Is it possible to prevent crime by understanding the root causes of offending behaviour?
Sally Tilt and Dr Kerensa Hocken are forensic psychologists who work in prisons.
Their role is to help people in prison to look at the harm they’ve caused to other people, understand why it happened and work out how to make changes to prevent further harm after they’ve been released.
In Behind the Crime, they take the time to understand the life of someone whose crimes have led to harm and, in some cases, imprisonment.
In this final episode they talk to David who served a prison sentence for fraud. 
This is the story of a man working in a ‘fake it til you make it’ environment, and who slipped into unethical, and then criminal behaviour almost without realising. 
Through this extraordinary conversation, we see how David’s habit of lying formed in his childhood, and why that deeply-rooted pattern of behaviour led to both success in business, and then to a humiliating downfall.
The job of the forensic psychologists is to dig deep into David’s story, to understand the sequence of external influences that led him to prison. 
In prison, David saw a side of life he had never experienced before, and he shares his unique perspective on the criminal justice system that we, as a society, pay for.
For details of organisations that can provide help and support, visit bbc.co.uk/actionline

Producer: Andrew Wilkie
Editor: Clare Fordham  
Behind the Crime is a co-production between BBC Long Form Audio and the Prison Radio Association.

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