''Crimewatch'' (formerly ''Crimewatch UK'') is a British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

s in order to gain information from the public which may assist in solving the case. The programme was originally broadcast once a month on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, although in the final years before cancellation it was usually broadcast roughly once every two months. ''Crimewatch'' was first broadcast on 7 June 1984, and is based on the German TV show ''

Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst ''Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst'' ("Case number XY... unsolved") is a German interactive television programme first broadcast on 20 October 1967 on ZDF. Created by Eduard Zimmermann, it aims to combat and solve crimes. The programme is currently ...

'' (which translates as ''File Reference XY … Unsolved'').

Nick Ross Nicholas David Ross (born 7 August 1947) is a British radio and television presenter. During the 1980s and 1990s he was one of the most ubiquitous of British broadcasters but is best known for hosting the BBC TV programme ''Crimewatch'', whi ...

and Sue Cook presented the show for the first eleven years, until Cook's departure in June 1995. Cook was replaced by

Jill Dando Jill Wendy Dando (9 November 1961 – 26 April 1999) was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She spent most of her career at the BBC and was the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997. At the time of her death, her ...

. After Dando was murdered in April 1999, Ross hosted ''Crimewatch'' alone until January 2000, when

Fiona Bruce Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for '' Panorama'' in 1989, and has since become the first female newsreader on the ''BBC News at Ten' ...

joined the show.

Kirsty Young Kirsty Jackson Young (born 23 November 1968) is a Scottish television and radio presenter. From 2006 to 2018 she was the main presenter of BBC Radio 4's '' Desert Island Discs''. She presented ''Crimewatch'' on BBC One from 2008 to 2015. Ear ...

and Matthew Amroliwala replaced Ross and Bruce following their departures in 2007. The BBC announced on 15 October 2008 that they would move production of shows such as ''Crimewatch'' to studios in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. Young and Amroliwala remained as the lead presenters until 2015. Following a brief period with guest presenter

Sophie Raworth Sophie Jane Raworth () (born 15 May 1968) is an English journalist, newsreader and broadcaster working for the BBC. She is a senior newsreader and is one of the main presenters of BBC News (mainly ''BBC News at Six'' and ''BBC News at Ten''). ...

in 2016, it was announced that the show would relaunch in September 2016 with a new weekly format. The new presenters were announced as

Jeremy Vine Jeremy Guy Vine (born 17 May 1965) is an English television and radio personality, presenter, broadcaster and journalist. He is best known as the host of his BBC Radio 2 lunchtime programme which presents news, views, interviews with live guest ...

and

Tina Daheley Tina Daheley (born ) is a British journalist, newsreader and presenter who works for the BBC, both on television and radio. She currently reads the news on '' The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' with Zoe Ball, often contributing to discussions during ...

. The new series began on 5 September 2016, with the final episode broadcast on 20 March 2017. In October 2017, the BBC announced that the main ''Crimewatch'' series had been cancelled, citing declining viewership. The daytime spin-off series ''Crimewatch Roadshow'' (now ''

Crimewatch Live ''Crimewatch Live'' (previously known as ''Crimewatch Roadshow Live'' or simply ''Crimewatch Roadshow'' and originally as ''Crimewatch Daily'') is a British television programme produced by BBC Studios Documentary Unit Cymru Wales, that recon ...

'') would continue to air, but will also air more episodes per year. ''Crime NI'', a similar live monthly programme in partnership with

Crimestoppers UK Crimestoppers Trust is an independent crime-fighting charitable organisation in the United Kingdom. Crimestoppers operates the 0800 555 111 telephone number, allowing people to call anonymously to pass on information about crime. People can also ...

, began airing on 13 September 2021 on

BBC One Northern Ireland BBC One Northern Ireland is a Northern Irish television channel based on the UK-wide BBC One, owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland. The service is broadcast from Broadcasting House in Belfast. In the rest of the UK, BBC One Northern Irela ...

and is presented by Wendy Austin and Dearbhail McDonald.

History

The idea for the show came from the UK programme '' Police 5'' and the German ''

'' (''File Reference XY … Unsolved''). Producers viewed the shows and rejected the overt reconstructions with music to build suspense in ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

'', 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).Schlesinger, Philip; Tumber, Howard (1994) "Fighting the war against crime: Television, police and audience." ''The British Journal of Criminology.'' 33:19-32 However, they favoured the idea of audience participation in the show. Originally, ''Crimewatch UK'' (as it was then known) was due to run for only three programmes. Newburn, Tim (2007) ''Criminology'', Willan Publishing, p. 105 It was regarded as an experiment when it was first shown due to doubts that the

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

would take part and scepticism as to whether witnesses and victims would welcome the idea. There was also concern that it could be considered to prejudice a jury. In over 25 years, 57 murderers, 53 rapists and sex offenders, 18 paedophiles, and others were captured as a direct result of ''Crimewatch'' appeals. The original theme music was ''Rescue Helicopter'' by John Cameron (Bruton Music 1980).

Show format

Main programme

''Crimewatch'' used to be shown once a month on

usually at 9pm, with a ''Crimewatch Update'' at 10.35 (following the ''

BBC News at Ten '' BBC News at Ten'' formerly known as the ''BBC Ten O'Clock News'' or the ''Ten O'Clock News'' is the flagship evening news programme for the BBC News channel and British television channel BBC One on weekdays and Sundays at 10:00pm. Huw Ed ...

''). Since March 2011 the show aired less frequently, roughly once every two months. It featured approximately three or four cases per show, with each case featuring reconstructions of the crime. It was one of the largest live factual studio productions. The films shown often feature interviews with senior detectives and/or relatives or friends of victims.Leishman, Frank; Mason, Paul (2003) ''Policing and the media: facts, fictions and factions'', Willan Publishing, p. 114 Key evidence is usually shown, such as E-FIT profiles of suspects and details of certain lines of enquiry. Other features to the show included a "CCTV section", which showed crimes caught on CCTV with enhanced imagery of suspects. A "Wanted Faces" section was also featured: eight close-up pictures of suspects police are trying to trace are shown on screen. This section also frequently involves information about suspects, including aliases. These eight photos are shown upon the programme's closing credits, one of the few programmes in which the BBC do not ' show the credits in reduced size'. Viewers could contact Crimewatch by phoning 0500 600 600, with the phone lines remaining open until midnight the night following the programme. Viewers could also send text messages to 63399. Due to the high demand for cases to be shown on the programme, many other cases are added to the Crimewatch website. These are joined by reconstructions, CCTV footage and wanted faces that have been shown on previous programmes. All reconstructions, CCTV footage, faces and cases remain on the Crimewatch website until the criminals are caught or suspects convicted. ''Crimewatch'' can be watched on the

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...

catch-up service for 24 hours from broadcast.

''Crimewatch Update''

Following the main programme, there was a 10–15 minute follow-up after the ''

'', with updates on calls and results from the earlier broadcast. This was removed when the show relaunched in September 2016.

Involvement

Several

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

s have appeared on the programme from the studio, including David Hatcher, Helen Phelps, Jeremy Paine, Jacqui Hames, Jonathan Morrison, Jane Corrigan, and Rav Wilding. For many years the programme also included antiques experts John Bly, Eric Knowles and Paul Hayes to help with 'treasure trove' details of recovered goods believed to have been stolen. Despite initial police concerns about involvement (only three forces out of more than 40 agreed to participate initially), ''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, ''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 Britain's most notorious crimes, including the kidnap of

Stephanie Slater Stephanie Slater, (born 7 February 1991) is a British Paralympic swimming, Paralympic swimmer competing in S8 classification events. Slater began her sporting career as an able bodied athlete, but after suffering nerve damage to her left arm s ...

and murder of Julie Dart, the M25 rapist, the road-rage killing by

Kenneth Noye Kenneth James Noye (born 24 May 1947) is an English criminal most recently sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Stephen Cameron in a road rage incident while on licence from prison in 1996. He was arrested in Spain two years later and c ...

, and the capture of two boys for the abduction and

murder of James Bulger James Patrick Bulger (16 March 1990 – 12 February 1993) was a two-year-old boy from Kirkby, Merseyside, England, who was abducted, tortured, and murdered by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson (born 23 August 1982) and Jon Venables (born 1 ...

. Over the years, ''Crimewatch'' has featured appeals from all 43 police forces in the country. 1 in 3 appeals leads to an arrest and 1 in 5 lead to a conviction. 4 or 5 requests to air appeals are received from police forces every day.

Ratings and public response

At its peak, ''Crimewatch'' was seen by 14 million viewers per week. However, by 2017, credited to competition from other programs, it had fallen to an average of 3 million. A study by the Broadcasting Standards Council found that ''Crimewatch'' increased the fear of crime in over half of its respondents, and a third said it made them feel "afraid". However, according to John Sears, senior English lecturer at

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

, it provides a beneficial role, performing "a social function by helping to solve crime, and drawing on the collective responsibilities, experiences and knowledge of the viewing audience in order to do so."

Presenters

Lead presenters

Police officers

Stand-in presenters

Featured cases

Victims

Suspects and criminal offenders

Transmissions

Spin-offs

''Crimewatch File''

First aired on 10 August 1988, ''Crimewatch File'' is an hour-long programme devoted to the reconstruction and investigation of a single case including cases that the programme has previously helped to solve. Presented by Nick Ross and Sue Cook concurrently (with Jill Dando taking over from Cook in 1996), more than thirty editions aired until April 2000, when the final edition, fronted by Ross, was broadcast. Following this, in latter years of the main ''Crimewatch'' programme, episodes would regularly feature segments and reports in a very similar vein to ''Crimewatch File''.

''Crime Limited''

''Crime Limited'' was the second spin-off from Crimewatch which took cameras behind the scenes of the crimes. The first series aired on

over ten episodes in 1992 and was presented by

and Sue Cook. A second series ran in 1993 and a third series ran in 1994.

''Crimewatch Extra''

First aired in late 1998, ''Crimewatch Extra'' was a short-lived spin-off from the main programme, which would give updates and reports received on the cases featured in the previous month's programme. Broadcast on

BBC Choice BBC Choice was a British digital television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 23 September 1998. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, as well as the BBC's second non-analogue-terres ...

, the series was presented by Emma Howard. Around ten episodes were broadcast, with the final episode airing on 25 August 1999.

''Crimewatch Extra'' transmissions

''Crimewatch Solved''

Beginning on 10 August 1999, a new yearly programme entitled ''Crimewatch: Solved'' was transmitted, showing cases previously featured on the programme that resulted in convictions. Aside from 2002, a new edition was broadcast every year until 2010, when the thirteenth and final edition aired on 1 September 2010.

''Crimewatch Live''

The BBC has aired a number of weekday ''Crimewatch'' programmes. Originally shown between 2000 and 2001, ''Crimewatch Daily'' was the first daily version of the programme, aired between 10:00 and 11:00am on weekday mornings, that appealed for help with unsolved cases not covered in the main programme. Originally shown between 2009 and 2020, ''Crimewatch Roadshow'' was the second daily version of the programme, that was broadcast on weekdays from 9:15 to 10:00am. From 8 March 2021, the show's name was changed to ''

'' and is aired between 11.00 and 11:45am on weekday mornings.

''Crimewatch Specials''

''Crimewatch'' also aired a number of one-off programmes. First aired on 21 May 1997, ''Crimewatch: Hot Property'' was a one-off special presented by

. The programme's aim was to help people find their stolen property that were recovered in police raids.

''Crimewatch Specials'' transmissions

New Zealand version

A licensed New Zealand version of ''Crimewatch'' was broadcast on TVNZ from 1987 until 1996 and was replaced by ''NZI Crimescene'' which was aired in 1997 and 1998. Based on the original BBC format, it was shown once a month on TV One. In its first year, ''Crimewatch'' was shown on fourth Mondays at 8pm before moving to fourth Tuesdays at 8pm in 1988 and 8.30pm from 1989 (with a ''Crimewatch Update'' aired at around 11pm) until mid-1996. The programme moved to TV2 on 1 August 1996 and aired at 8.30pm on a fourth Thursday until it ended later that year. Ian Johnstone presented the New Zealand version throughout its entire run, and was joined by Natalie Brunt (1987–88),

Carol Hirschfeld Carol Ann Hirschfeld (born 1962) is a New Zealand journalist, documentary maker, broadcaster, producer and media executive. She is best known for her role as a TV3 News presenter alongside John Campbell from 1998 until 2005. As a broadcast medi ...

(1989–93), Tiana Tofilau (1994) and Mairanga White (1995–96) as successive co-presenters. Calls to the show's special phoneline helped police solve approximately 1,400 cases.

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, 0185794, Crimewatch
''Crimewatch''
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Website
1980s British crime television series 1984 British television series debuts 1990s British crime television series 2000s British crime television series 2010s British crime television series 2017 British television series endings BBC crime television shows Law enforcement in the United Kingdom British television series based on non-British television series Crimewatch