File on 4 Investigates

Latest Episodes:

Searching Questions May 25, 2022

Show notes

Why are a disproportionate number of black children being strip searched? File on 4 hears from teenagers taken in for a ‘strippy’ so often, it’s become part of life. The strip search of ‘Child Q’, a fifteen year old black girl in a London school, was headline news, sparking outrage and official inquiries. Her teachers claimed she smelled of cannabis, but no drugs were ever found. A safeguarding report said racism a likely influencing factor in Child Q’s ordeal. The Metropolitan police admitted the strip search should never have happened. But for some black girls and boys, humiliating – and sometimes unlawful – strip searches are nothing new. File on 4 hears from young people who’ve been strip searched so often they’ve lost count – in their bedrooms, in children’s homes, and in the back of police vans. We know children from ethnic minorities are being disproportionately strip searched. File on 4 can reveal that in the last five years, on average fifty children a week were strip searched in England and Wales - a disproportionate number of them from ethnic minorities.

Reporter: Jane Deith Producer: Hayley Mortimer Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Payton Editor: Carl Johnston

Ukraine: Taking in the Trauma May 17, 2022

Show notes

More than 150 thousand people have signed up to the UK’s ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme - hoping to open their doors to those desperately fleeing the war. But it’s a process that has been dogged with delays, and is raising serious safeguarding concerns as vulnerable women and children try to match up with potential hosts through unregulated sites online. By following those escaping the conflict, and the host families trying to help them, File on 4 investigates the difficulties this new scheme is facing, and examines how schools, councils and health services are coping with the arrival of so many traumatised families.

Reporter: Adrian Goldberg Producer: Mick Tucker Editor: Maggie Latham

Locking Up the Sick May 10, 2022

Show notes

Almost half of all the seriously mentally ill people in prison assessed as needing hospital treatment are being refused the help they need. In this episode of File on 4, Shell and "Ian" tell us the reality of living with mental illness whilst in prison, why so many people fail to get the crucial treatment they need whilst inside and what impact that has on them. And prison officer "Mike" describes how a shortage of staff and a lack of training contribute to he and his colleagues struggling to help mentally ill prisoners.

File on 4 research shows that the number of seriously mentally unwell prisoners denied a transfer to hospital has tripled in the past decade, leaving hundreds of desperately unwell people living in deeply unsuitable conditions.

Reporter: Annabel Deas Producers: Jim Booth, Tom Wall Editor: Nicola Addyman

For details of organisations that can provide help and support with mental health, self-harm and feelings of despair, visit the BBC Action Line. Mental health & Self-harm: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1NGvFrTqWChr03LrYlw2Hkk/information-and-support-mental-health-self-harm Suicide / Emotional distress https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4WLs5NlwrySXJR2n8Snszdg/information-and-support-suicide-emotional-distress

Ukraine: War Stories Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

Day by day, hour by hour, people all over Ukraine tell the story of the Russian invasion. We hear from people packing up and leaving with their children and those who remain in the eye of the storm, some fighting for survival amidst food shortages and shelling and others taking up arms to defend their country. Since the war began, many of those affected have been recording their daily struggles for File on 4 - keeping audio diaries, sharing their innermost thoughts at their most vulnerable.

Among them, a language teacher from Mariupol who doesn’t even know if her parents are still alive - and a young beautician-turned-soldier who now patrols the streets of Kyiv with a Kalashnikov.

Reporter: Paul Kenyon Production team: Jim Booth, Annabel Deas, Nicola Dowling, Hayley Mortimer and Mick Tucker Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Editor: Carl Johnston

Controlling My Birth Control Mar 08, 2022

Show notes

Reproductive coercion: a form of abuse you've probably never heard of.

From deliberately sabotaging contraceptives to forcing someone to have an abortion, it is used to gain power and control - and can have devastating consequences.

But with links to domestic violence and even homicide, is enough being done to spot the signs?

Rachel Stonehouse investigates.

Producer: Alys Harte Editor: Maggie Latham

Details of organisations that can provide help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline including:

Domestic abuse https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3FQFSnx6SZWsQn3TJYYlFNy/information-and-support-domestic-abuse

Sexual abuse and Violence https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/22VVM5LPrf3pjYdKqctmMXn/information-and-support-sexual-abuse-and-violence

Emotional distress https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4WLs5NlwrySXJR2n8Snszdg/information-and-support-suicide-emotional-distress

The Paedophile Preacher Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

File on 4 tells the story of a charismatic preacher on the run from British police for child sex offences. Three years ago, File on 4 tracked him down to an impoverished Roma community in Bulgaria where he was sexually abusing boys as young as 10. Daniel Erickson-Hull was arrested and charged by the Bulgarian authorities after he was confronted by File on 4 but has since been released and continues to offend. Yet despite overwhelming evidence, the self-styled preacher from London has been left alone. Paul Kenyon asks why the Metropolitan Police has failed to use its powers to bring him to justice and stop boys being sexually abused.

Reporter: Paul Kenyon Producer: Ben Robinson Editor: Carl Johnston

Subscription Scams Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

From pills that resolve chronic pain issues overnight to diet supplements which promise to help shed pounds in days, the internet is awash with adverts making bold claims. Some come with a celebrity endorsement, where household names appear to give their personal stamp of approval to a product. But many of these are scams, with customers tricked into parting with more money than they realise ever intended. File on 4 investigates the growth of online subscription scams, where customers are unwittingly signed up to schemes which hit them with hidden charges, unexpected monthly fees and products which are made deliberately difficult to cancel. We hear from victims with chronic illnesses desperately searching for a solution to their ailments, who are instead left out of pocket and we speak to the celebrities furious their names are being used to endorse such products. The programme goes in search of those running these schemes online and exposes the tools and tricks designed to scam unwitting customers and sheds light on the creation of a global multi-million pound industry.

Reporter: Athar Ahmad Producer: Anna Meisel Editor: Carl Johnston

A First Class Scandal Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

Two years ago File on 4 investigated how a computer system, called Horizon, was behind what has now become one of the biggest miscarriages of justice this country has ever seen. Hundreds of innocent postal workers wrongly accused of stealing money from their branches by the Post Office itself. Many faced financial ruin, some even went to prison.

Since that programme, dozens have had their convictions overturned, and the Post Office has pledged to provide ‘full, fair and final’ compensation to those affected, at the cost of hundreds of millions of pounds to the taxpayer. In this episode, Hayley Hassall revisits the victims she spoke to in 2020 who say they are still fighting for justice - and investigates what the Post Office really knew as this scandal unfolded, as it ruthlessly pursued and prosecuted its very own workers.

Reporter: Hayley Hassall Producer: Mick Tucker Editor: Maggie Latham

Drink spiking Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

After an alarming rise in complaints of drink spiking last year, and reports of people being injected with syringes, Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to women who say they have been “spiked” and finds out what the police are doing to tackle it.

Reporter: Datshiane Navanayagam Producer: Nicola Dowling Editor: Nicola Addyman

Missing Evidence Feb 01, 2022

Show notes

Michael Cowan investigates the consequences for victims of crime and those accused of offences when crucial evidence goes missing or is lost by police forces. He speaks to a man who says he is trying to clear his name but vital evidence has been lost.

Reporter: Michael Cowan Producer: Jim Booth Editor: Nicola Addyman Additional research: Wil Crisp and Sophie Eastaugh

If you have been affected by sexual abuse or violence, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/22VVM5LPrf3pjYdKqctmMXn/information-and-support-sexual-abuse-and-violence

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