In a broadcasting first, the BBC has followed a team from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons as it investigates conditions in a prison near Rugby in Warwickshire.
The result is a unique insight into the problems faced by the prison system. This portrait of a prison on trial reveals how under-resourced prison staff are failing to stop copious amounts of drugs being brought in, and are struggling to provide a safe and productive environment in which prisoners can be prepared for release back into society.His Majesty’s Prison Onley is a category C, medium security prison, housing 740 inmates. Its governor, Mark Allen, says Onley is among the top ten prisons for incursion of drugs via drones and admits many of his staff are too inexperienced to handle the inmates, resulting in frustration among prisoners, and violence. In its last inspection three years ago, Onley was found to be struggling in various areas, and it doesn’t take the inspection team long to find out that things are, if anything, getting worse. Inspectors meet prisoners who complain about everything from lack of laundry facilities to failure to provide meaningful work opportunities, or help with their offender behaviour. One inspector has to intervene when she finds a prisoner ‘spiced up’ and in need of immediate help. Another prisoner is refusing to leave the relative safety of the segregation wing, because he’s being threatened with violence over his debts to drug dealers within the prison. Inspectors discover evidence that officers are too ready to resort to force to deal with difficult prisoners and failing to keep accurate records of their restraining methods.Prison officers talk about the challenges of trying to deal with violence within the prison and of trying to prevent drugs coming in.In a lighter moment, lead inspector Angus Jones visits the prison library and discovers a surprising inclusion among books the prisoners are not allowed to read.The inspection ends with the team meeting to agree how to score Onley against their key criteria for a ‘healthy prison’ and then presenting their conclusions to the Governor. Presenter: Rex Bloomstein
Producers: Brian King and Rex BloomsteinA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
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Sex Offenders:The Long Way Back
Alison Holt, BBC social affairs editor, has been given exceptional access to the clients of a Nottingham charity that works to reintegrate men who have been convicted of sexual offences. 'John, Matt, Dan and Liam', not their real names, are determined to turn their lives around after prison sentences. We hear how they work towards this with the help of the staff and volunteers at the Safer Living Foundation, the only charity of its sort in the country. Always mindful of the victims of sexual crime, the principal aim is to prevent further offending and the creation of further harm. There are hurdles to overcome - public abhorrence, plus grave difficulties with accommodation and work among them . The Foundation also runs Aurora, an online advice scheme for people who have not offended but who are worried about their sexual thoughts. Presenter: Alison Holt
Producer: Susan Marling
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4
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Domestic Abuse: Beyond the Checklist
Leila Nathoo investigates the risk assessment system for domestic abuse, and asks whether it is any longer fit for purpose.The DASH form is the gateway for victims and survivors of domestic abuse - used by the police, charities and social workers to assess people who may be at risk of domestic abuse. It is deeply embedded in the whole system and plays a central role in deciding what further support victims receive. But Leila reveals troubling evidence that DASH too often incorrectly identifies those at the highest risk, meaning they do not get the support they need. And people across the system tell her that the form has not kept pace with the latest research about domestic abuse. Leila asks those who use the form, those who have studied its use, and those who developed it, what improvements need to be made, and why it has taken so long.Producer: Daniel Kraemer.
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Rivers of Lead
There are over 6,000 abandoned lead mines across the UK leaking hundreds of tons of metals into our rivers each year. With climate change causing an increase in flooding, contamination is likely to get worse. Is this lead ending up in our food chain, water system and blood?Presented by Lucy Taylor and Dan Ashby
Producers: Pūlama Kaufman and Kelly Windsor Burgin
Researcher: Charlie WestA Bite Your Tongue production for BBC Radio 4
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My Faulty Knee Replacement
File on 4 Investigates reveals how surgeons had raised concerns about a faulty replacement knee eight years before its US manufacturer finally decided to withdraw it from use.Knee replacement surgery is one of the most common operations carried out by the NHS, with over 100,000 procedures carried out each year. It’s a surgical success story - but things can go wrong. Around 10,000 problematic 'NexGen' knee implants, made by the US medical tech giant Zimmer Biomet, were fitted into UK patients over the past decade or so, until they were withdrawn in 2022. But File on 4 Investigates exclusively reveals that warnings were given to both the company and the government regulator eight years before the product was recalled. Reporter Adrian Goldberg talks to patients who had to endure the agony of new corrective surgery and orthopaedic surgeons whose reputations were thrown into doubt.Reporter: Adrian Goldberg
Producer: Jim Booth
Story and Development Producer: Nazrin Wilkinson
Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Richard Fenton-SmithImage: Deborah Booker following her knee replacement operation in 2016
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