Crime

Crime is difficult to measure and that makes it easy to be alarmed by newspaper reports that might not tell the whole story. We look behind the headline figures and put them in context

9 April 2025

BBC radio bulletins massively overstate Britain’s cocaine consumption

News bulletins on Radio 2, Radio 3 and 6 Music claimed Britain consumes “117 million tonnes” each year—which is roughly a million times what National Crime Agency estimates suggest.

7 April 2025

Was Netflix’s Adolescence based on a true story?

Some, including Kemi Badenoch, have suggested the series was based on a real-life crime committed by a boy who wasn’t white—but the show’s co-creators say it wasn’t based on any single case.

31 March 2025

Warnings of a knife-wielding teenage killer on the loose are hoaxes

The images date back to 2018 and the man pictured was convicted of a different offence to those claimed.

25 March 2025

Posts about a murder suspect on the run in England are false

The mugshot accompanying the posts was taken by police in Australia in 2016.

28 February 2025

Posts warning a killer is on the loose are false

The posts feature an image of a man who is allegedly on the run in connection with the incident, but this is not true.

13 February 2025

MPs listed in viral image didn't 'vote' against deportation of foreign rapists

Those named on the list signed a letter asking the government to halt the deportation of foreign criminals, some of whom were rapists, until a report into the Windrush scandal had been published.