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.

BBC Radio 4 LW

Behind the Crime: Marc

Marc

BBC Radio 4 - Behind the Crime, Marc

Two forensic psychologists interview Marc 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.

This is the story of a man who learnt early on in life that he couldn’t trust the police, and that his group of older friends could protect him from harm. It happened that those friends were into committing crime.
Between the ages of 15 and 21, Marc only spent one Christmas out of prison. He graduated from stealing hubcaps to committing armed robberies. 
During his last sentence, he ended up in HMP Grendon – a prison run on the principles of a ‘therapeutic community’ – where, for the first time, Marc was forced to confront his own actions and account for them not to the authorities, but to his peers.
HMP Grendon was ‘the hardest prison’ Marc had ever done. He cried for the first time inside Grendon.
And then, in an extraordinary twist, Marc was forced to use some of the ‘skills’ he had learned during his criminal career to save the lives of others – and he was labelled a hero.
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.

They 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.

The job of the forensic psychologists is to dig deep into Marc’s story, to understand the sequence of events that got Marc to the point where he committed a crime. 
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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