Failed by flawed system
THE week’s TV kicks off with a statistic that is a national disgrace: only 1 per cent of reported rapes in England and Wales results in a conviction.That’s a shameful indictment of the justice system and tonight, the intrepid journalists at Panorama delve into the reasons behind this situation.
BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT: BRITAIN’S RAPE CRISIS
(BBC1, 9pm) heads to the frontline of law enforcement with Derbyshire Police, to investigate what goes wrong between a report of rape and a possible conviction.
Over 18 months, cameras follow five people who have reported they’ve been raped, as well as the detectives looking into their claims as they journey through a criminal justice system that is failing victims.Among the brave souls coming forward are “Sam,” (not her real name), who claims she was raped by a stranger on a night out.
Even more shocking, perhaps, is hearing from two sisters who say their father repeatedly raped them as children, yet they’ve had their case turned down by the Crown Prosecution Service. It transpires that the reasons for cases failing are nuanced and numerous, but that’s no excuse – it’s devastating for victims and survivors of rape and bad for society if rapists are allowed to get away with it.
Kudos to Panorama for bringing this scandal into the light.
Channel 4 floods their schedule with adrenaline this evening by debuting two thrilling new series about the emergency services.
RESCUE: EXTREME MEDICS
(C4, 9pm) follows the work of the Scottish Trauma Network, the medics tasked with attending accidents and emergencies in the remotest corners of Caledonia.
They cover an area of 30,000 square miles, where hospitals can be few and far between.
In this evening’s opener, we jump in a helicopter with a Glasgowbased trauma team to attend an incident in a far-flung corner of Skye – a man is trapped under an all-terrain vehicle weighing 1,400lbs and we watch as the medics deploy all their expertise to save his life.
Meanwhile, in rural Aberdeenshire, a cyclist has come out the loser in a head-on collision with a digger and medics scramble to save him.
Tensions remain high as we head across the pond for
POLICE CUSTODY USA (C4, 10pm), a new series following real-life, gun-toting American cops as they investigate murders in the American heartland of Kansas.
It kicks off with a brutal murder in a trailer park attended by old-school homicide cops Tiffany Burgtorf and Shane Carpenter. When they come across the victim, felled by a single bullet at pointblank range, and talk to witnesses who report seeing a fight and a 19-year-old female relative fleeing the scene, they begin to suspect the killing was a family affair.