Joe Mather: Editor of BBC Crimewatch

Crimewatch Editor, Joe Mather speaks about the production of the Live shows and how their appeals aim to help the police solve unsolved crimes in the UK. As well as discussing his responsibilities as the Editor, he explains what qualities he would look for in someone aspiring to join the Crimewatch team.

Eric Allison: Prisoner to Prison Correspondent

“In prison I used to get put in segregation for saying my piece and yet here I am giving you my comments and my thoughts and getting paid.”

Eric Allison, 71, spent around 16 years behind bars all for theft related offences. In 2003, he applied for the job as the Guardian’s Prison Correspondent with a criminal record for a CV. In the past decade, he transformed his life from a prisoner to a prison reporter.

As a young boy, aged 11, Allison got his first conviction for housebreaking on his criminal record, and three years on, at 14 he was given his first custodial sentence.

I was always pretty anti-authority; if somebody told me to do something I would go out of my way to not do it.  I was very rebellious. I wasn’t very happy as a child. I had quite a bad stammer and a squint in my eye, and I used to get a lot of name calling and I would fight them. I was always fighting as a kid, and I stopped going to secondary school. I was away from school far more then I attended.

I ran away from home and broke into a day nursery to sleep. I was caught and put on probation and when I was 14 years old I breached that probation because I stole a chewing gum machine. I was sentenced at the juvenile court in Manchester and two police officers took me down to Foston Hall detention centre, on the border of Staffordshire and Derbyshire. It was December and it was dark when we got there, it was a big sort of gloomy Victorian building with barbed wire fence round. We went into the reception area and this guy told me to stand on the white line and give my name, I said “Eric Allison” and I was going to say “Sir” but because of the stammer the Sir wouldn’t come out. The guy just walked across me, clenched his fist and punched me really hard across the face. I was so frightened because I thought if he could assault me in front of two police officers, what were they going to do when the police were gone? I was terrified so much that I wet the bed in the cell that night. They put me in a dormitory with other kids who wet the bed and they used to wake us up every hour to go to the toilet whether we wanted to or not. We were knackered because it was run on the military lines. You’d never stop.

“You wouldn’t let the system beat you”

The detention centre was meant to be a short sharp shock. The idea was to frighten the life out of us so we wouldn’t come back, and of course it didn’t work. This comes back to the defiance, you start sticking together and it becomes us against them or them against us and you become determined not to let them win. You wouldn’t let the system beat you.

I’ve been locked up with murderers, terrorists, rapists and psychopaths. You name it, even gangsters. I’ve seen a lot of examples of prisoners behaving badly towards one another, but if I was to list the worst twenty acts in humanity that I have ever seen in prison, not one of them in the top twenty would be carried out by a prisoner. I’ve seen six or seven prison officers beat people to pulp, with sticks, and I have had it, I’ve been beaten and batten myself. There had been times when I thought: “These bastards are going to kill me.” 

 “I got a buzz out of it”

Not many days would go by when I didn’t commit a crime. I loved the excitement; I got a buzz out of it. I miss that excitement even now. It was never about the money, it was actually the taking part. The buzz… I got a buzz from it without a shadow of a doubt.

Around 1968, I was sent to Strangeway’s prison for 4 and a half years, this was the longest time I spent away in one go because I lost all the remission I may have got for good behaviour. In the 60s, it was a stinking place, all the “slopping out” because there was no in-cell sanitation then, everything was lousy, visiting was lousy, the staff were lousy too; there were a lot of bullies, a lot of thugs. I spent a long time in segregation.

On April fool’s day 1990, a time where Allison was at liberty, a riot broke out in Strangeway’s Prison. The protest lasted 25 days, the biggest in British Penal History.

Prisoners protesting on the roof at Strangeways Prison

I was out of prison but I remember it, I had been somewhere Sunday morning and I came back home and my stepson said: “It’s gone off at Strangeways, it’s on the news” and I drove down straight away and I saw them all on the roof and it was quite…quite emotional because I had a very bad relationship with the place. I hated the place and to see these kids on the roof I actually felt quite jealous in a way. I wanted to be there on the roof.

I took a loud-hailer down with me most days, and I was shouting up to them on the roof and I was talking to people, all of the press that were there, I was telling them what was wrong with the place. I just felt quite emotional; they did something that we had never managed to do. I was elated for them, but also concerned because I knew the ring leaders would pay a very heavy price and so they did.

In 1996 Allison was sent back to Strangeway’s prison, he was sentenced to seven years for scamming £1 million from Barclay’s bank. This was the last time he was in jail, serving just over 3 years.

When I went back in the 90s everything had changed, but the biggest change was the attitude of the staff; all the thugs had gone. I had my own moral boundaries that I wouldn’t cross in crime. I thought in a way I’ve always been a good criminal, but when the system is cruel and unjust then the criminal becomes the victim.

Freedom is a funny thing, I came out just at the millennium but even now I get feelings, and I visit prisons quite a lot so it still takes me back. Prison changes you…It’s a bit like, you know, you….you sort of get solitude…

The first time I was in a cell on my own it was very lonely, and I found the loneliness quite difficult. You make a virtue out of a necessity and I began to embrace loneliness then. I find it difficult to live with people. I’m much better off living alone. I think prison has a lot to do with that.

My eldest girl was at University while I was away and she had told me that somebody would say “What does your dad do? – “Oh my dad’s a thief” - but having got the job she says “my dad writes for the Guardian”. That was a good moment in my life.

I always enjoyed writing; it was always the one thing I was good at in school. I like words and I got my education in prison. The Guardian advertised for the position and I applied for the job. They wanted a 500 word essay and a CV, but my CV was all prison and crime. I never thought for one second that I would get the job; I didn’t even think that I wanted it. I just thought I would tell them what was wrong with the prison system.

I couldn’t type; I didn’t know one end of the computer from the other. I had to start absolutely from scratch. When they said the jobs yours I had to go away and think about it. I just knew it would be a massive change. I can’t remember when I didn’t steal… I was five or six when I started nicking stuff, I was quite frightened by the idea of being a straight go-er and even now I feel like a bit of an imposter sometimes.

This will be my eleventh year at the Guardian now, sometimes it seems as if I have been here all my life and other times it feels like I’ve just arrived. Occasionally I do stuff for ‘Comment is Free’ and they’re always very apologetic it’s only 90 quid, but I say, “Are you kidding?” In prison I used to get put in segregation for saying my piece and yet here I am giving you my comments and my thoughts and getting paid…it’s odd.

If it hadn’t have been for the job, I would still be at it without a shadow of a doubt, because that would be the only thing I knew. 

A version of this article has been published on The Justice Gap, a trade magazine on the law and justice. Click here.

Sex predator jailed for ‘humiliating and degrading’ attacks on women

A sex predator has been jailed for 19 years after he was found guilty of 20 offences including rape and sexual offences, spanning over a period of eight years.

Paul Kent, of no fixed abode, was described by the judge as a man with an “armour plated sexual arrogance” after he “blagged his way” through the trial at Winchester Crown Court.

The public gallery, packed with victims and their families, listened tearfully as the barrister read out their impact statements before the judge’s sentence.

One victim said, “she felt worthless” and attempted suicide. Another victim said she suffered nightmares and “every time she closed her eyes she would see Paul Kent’s face.”

Officer in the case, Detective Constable Louise Trigg told WINOL: “The sex offence he committed against them, plus a lot of humiliating and degrading things that he made them do as well, was just absolutely appalling.

“What he made these ladies do was terrible,” adding: “I don’t think it’ll be something they will ever forget I think it’s going to affect them for the rest of their lives.”

She praised the victims for their courage in coming forward: “They’re just extremely brave because to go through that in the first place must be awful but to then relive it and talk about it in front of people you don’t know and be judged on what you’re saying and questioned about it must be absolutely horrific, but they were all strong.”

Passing sentence, Judge Guy Boney said to Kent: “not once did you express one smidgeon of remorse or sorrow,” and said he had “deliberately treated them not just badly but brutally.”
The 37-year-old was sentenced to 19 years in prison, and will remain on the sexual offenders register for life.
 
DC Trigg was praised by the judge for her hard work in bringing this case to justice. In response she said: “I feel as if what I joined the police for I have achieved, I have made a difference and put someone in prison, that deserves to be there and hopefully made a difference to the victims in that they can get on with their lives now.”

Claudia Murg: A Lesson in Journalism

Claudia Murg's background lies within investigative journalism, one that I will certainly argue as the toughest and most mentally challenging forms of Journalism. She started out as an immigrant from Romania, working as a fish and chip shop worker, now she can proudly say she has been apart of the biggest investigative platforms including World in Action, Dispatches and Panorama, and that is down to her sheer determination, fearlessness and passion to find a story and take responsibility for it. Her history within journalism is impeccably inspiring, without fail I am always left amazed by the stories and golden advice she has to share, and speaking from her experiences it is advice I value and wish to share. 

It was an honour to have Claudia return to the WINOL newsroom this week, after visiting us last year it was certainty a wake up call to be re-connected within the realities we are facing as budding journalists.

She is always honest, and thats the best thing of all, the reality that our bulletin this week didn't meet up to high expectations, and frankly this is the truth. Claudia told us we need to be aiming higher and higher each week, because if you aim high you have the chance to do something well. Every journalist needs a plan. Do not go anywhere without having done you research or forward planning. Think about the pictures you want to get, who is interested in your story, what response you want from your interviewee and find the human interest to the story. Every time Claudia visits she always knows our stories inside out before she speaks with us, because she has done her research. I found it an extremely effective approach that she made us score our performance out of /10 allowing us to think deeper about our thought processes when working on our stories and self critiquing how it went. 

The main point Claudia was emphasising is what are you going to do to justify the time someone is spending watching your story. You have to bring something new to the story, it is not journalism if what you are reporting is the same as what every other reporter has done; we need to work on developing our stories. Stress was placed on how crucial contacts are, journalism is all about curiosity and contacts. We should be calling up our contacts regularly and continue to build a trusting relationship, don't wait for a story to break before you call them, and then expect them to just help you. They are more likely to be helpful if you've not just called them when you need something all the time. This is the idea of contacts that we often miss, we should be in regular contact and using them as our main source to find out scoops to stories, not mimicking the papers and stealing their contacts because everyone else is doing it. 

Claudia and I had a long chat about the interview process, which gave me a lot to think about and reflect upon from my interview this week with the Governor of Winchester prison. When it comes down to the interview, the first thing you should do is clarify with your interviewee what your expectations are, let them know you are not there to waste their time. We need to remember that the interviewee can get bored too, we need to find a way of making the interview interesting and different. Ask random questions, you'll get the most intriguing answers it's just a matter of taking control. Don't even bother asking them questions you can get the answer to on the internet, or repetitive questions that they probably hear all the time, as a journalist you want to be memorable, ask innovative and challenging questions. Prove to the interviewee you know what you are talking about and that you have a depth of knowledge within the subject, if you have done your research you can challenge it more, the key is to be confident and be in control. 

Control plays a huge factor in the success of a story, we are the creators of our stories and therefore we 

hold the power, and this is something we shouldn't be afraid of. We shouldn't let our interviewees take over, we should know when to interrupt, to challenge and to reflect. We need behave like journalistic surgeons listening closely to what it is they are saying, it's no surprise that we are missing the simplest of leads into finding a hook because we are too busy worrying about the next question. If we are analysing bit by bit what is being said, and challenging the moments we feel are of human interest, the story is more likely to develop; it's the unexpected comments that we should be concentrating on. This was a huge lesson for me this week, I scored myself a low performance, because I did not feel as in control of the interview as I would of liked to, my questions weren't challenging enough and visually the story was weak. Despite health and safety issues down at the prison I should of pushed for the next best thing to have it filmed outside the prison, and visually and technically this would of probably worked a great deal better then it did as a studio set up. Claudia reassured us that confidence to take control will come with practise but its all about keeping in tune with your emotions and reflecting these aspirations in to your story. 

As aspiring journalists we need to be fearful she said, it's all about taking the risks, especially now more then ever when we have the comfort and support of our team and tutors. It's certainly a lot tougher in the real world, and on the outside we have to face up to the issues ourselves. It's those who are willing to go get it and just do it and find solutions and alternatives who will succeed. Journalism is an obsession, you either have the state of mind of a journalist or you do not. I'm sure as individuals the journey we will all take will lead us down different paths, but one way or another we will find out if we have what it takes.    

Week 2 and 3 - The Justice Gap

Week Two

This week in our Skype conference, I put forward the idea of reporting on the IPCC's update on the Hillsborough investigation. The stadium disaster is one of the biggest cases of police corruption. From the get-go the police failed the fans and families, covering up the truth of their wrongdoing. I wanted to get this message across in my article and therefore question the families on the police misconduct, especially after the pre-inquest hearing brought about new allegations that police footage may have been edited.

The Editors feedback last week was to ensure we are pushing our articles on rather then recycling press releases, finding solutions to get original quotes to make the article unique to the Justice Gap. Taking this on board I contacted the Hillsborough Justice Campaign and the Hillsborough Families support group to get a response from the people who are directly affected. I set up a phone interview with a man named Steven Kelly who sadly lost his brother in the crush, he openly was happy to comment on his feelings towards the coverup. This was a new experience for me, conducting an interview whereby it wasn't on camera, and therefore I couldn't rely on the footage to pick up the quotes. I had to write down what he was saying accurately and quickly! This is where the skill of shorthand would come in handy, therefore I am continuing to practise this skill to pick up speed.

When it comes to news writing, I've learnt that you need to lead with the best quotes, similarly to how you would in a news package by leading with your best pictures. The top line, followed by the powerful hard hitting quotes need to go straight at the top, no point in hiding them lower down as readers won't get that far. The editor praised how powerful and hard hitting the quotes were, his feedback was extremely encouraging. Initially he thought the quotes had been taken from a statement or from another publication but he was pleased to know that the quotes were all from my own source. From this week on, the importance of finding my own sources is in the forefront of my mind, adding human interest to each article is crucial and far more engaging for the readers. People who are willing to comment are on the other end of the phone, we just have to pick it up and target the people affected and willing to comment.

Click the headline below to read the full article.

Police corruption ‘rubs salt in wounds’ of Hillsborough families

Week Three

This was a big week for the Justice Gap Reporters, the editor organised a day trip to London to meet with some big names in the legal profession. First of all we headed to Hardwicke Building in Lincoln Inn where we set up our equipment in the room we had been given. We met with David Jessel who was the commissioner for the CCRC between 2000-2010 and Eddie Guilfoyle, an innocent man who is fighting to clear his name after wrongfully serving 18 years in prison for the murder of his wife. The case of this miscarriage of justice can be read here. We filmed Jessel interviewing Guilfoyle which will be uploaded on the Justice Gap website. It was an extremely interesting day to hear his story first hand and to be given the opportunity to speak with David Jessel regarding Jeremy Bamber which is a case I have closely followed.

We then moved on to Chancery lane to meet Michael Mansfield who was launching his new chambers that day. It was an absolute privilege to conduct the interview with Mansfield, who is the country's leading human rights barrister. Over the last few weeks I have been reading his book Memoires of a radical lawyer and I looked into the cases he has worked on including Birmingham 6, Stephen Lawrence, Jean Charles de Menezes, Hillsborough and most recently Mark Duggan.

Although I had a million questions I wanted to ask Mansfield, the main focus that I was informed of that morning was the launch of his new chambers, this brought to my attention that as journalists we have to be adaptable to get the freshest news scope that we can find. We must also take into consideration when dealing with influential professionals, there will be questions they won't be able to answer, in this instance there were several topics he was unable to comment on, such as Hillsborough as he is currently working on this case. His previous chambers Tooks closed down due to government cut backs on legal aid, and with the new chambers opening that day we made this the primary focus to lead with, turning the story around within a day to keep it current. You can watch this part of the interview here.

I transcribed the video to include the quotes in my article which accompanied the video. Doing a lengthy interview was good practise for me, as it allowed me to consider leads into different news agendas, cutting down the footage into different topics.

It was a real pleasure to meet Mansfield, an extremely valuable experience. I look forward to sharing the other parts of the interview with you, which will go up on the Justice Gap website next week.

Michael Mansfield QC with the Crime Unit

Graham Marshall Interview

Our first year as young freshers is coming to an end, and these last few weeks have been packed with useful training... of course with the help of the second years; all in aid of helping us progress to join the WINOL team next year. We've been given plenty of advice, the do's and the don'ts and told about all the highs and lows, a definitely needed heads up for the daunting year ahead.

We were all assigned a second year student to produce a profile on their roles and contributions to WINOL. We shadowed Graham Marshall, transport and environment reporter on WINOL and contributor towards WINOL GAMES. It was an interesting week observing the daily routine of news room roles through to production and studio work. It gave us a great opportunity to experiment with the cameras, get to grips and refresh ourselves with final cut pro and all in all make mistakes that we can  learn from. Most importantly we produced our first package, and here it is:

With Special Thanks to Graham Marshall for all your help. 

Radio Bulletin - News Story 2

News Story 2: Bluestar introduces extra buses 

Bus Operator Bluestar is introducing more buses to benefit commuters on the Winchester to Southampton route.

From February 26th there will be an increase of four buses an hour during peak times, compared to the usual three.

Commuters are advised to check the new timetable as departure times will change slightly.

Winchester locals proposed how they will benefit from this improvement.

First Vox Pops

We were set the task to produce a vox pops on a recent story, so Nadine and I set out in to town to ask the people of Winchester City their opinion! Although daunting at first, approaching strangers wasn't all that bad, and all in all I felt we got some good responses. With help from Harry we edited the recordings, found some backing music for the audio and recorded an intro to make it flow. Check out the team work!

Radio Bulletin - News Story 1

In a few weeks time we have to all record our own Radio Bulletin, so in the upcoming weeks we will be writing stories and gathering audio. Here is my first story on the death of Whitney Houston. RIP.


News Story 1: Whitney Houston's Death

Whitney Houston was found dead at her hotel room in Los Angeles.

Paramedics failed to revive the 48-year-old-singer after she was found unconscious in her bath.

An autopsy is due to take place, but it will take eight weeks for toxicology tests to confirm whether alcohol or drugs are involved.

Her body has been flown back to her home town, New Jersey, where she will be buried in the Church she sang in as a child.

Ambulance Service Interview at the Christmas Market

Today Nadine and I volunteered to carry out our very first interview! It involved going down to the Christmas market to interview the ambulance service about their intentions to get volunteers on board. It was a great first interview scenario, .the people were approachable, not making it too awkward when standing cm's away from them with a microphone, and most importantly our questions were answered clearly and concisely.

We got back to show the radio team what audio we had achieved, definitely feeling chuffed with ourselves! The MA student who kindly taught us some editing tips, was surprised that we managed to do it all in one take, with no "ums" and "ers"... we were even told the quality of our audio is of a higher standard then some MA students. If only you could see the look on our faces, we left feeling extremely pleased and proud of ourselves!