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Episode details

Radio 4,31 Aug 2026,28 mins

3. Listen and Learn

The Great Crime Mystery

Available for 18 days

The risk from violence is the lowest it's been since records began, probably ever, in Britain - how can we keep it that way? Former BBC News Home Editor Mark Easton visits United Borders, an organisation in London that uses music to engage young people at risk of violence. It was founded after gang post-code wars in North London resulted in the killing of 22-year-old James Owusu-Agyekum - after he was mistaken for someone else - while he was standing on the doorstep of his mother's home. Founder Justin Finlayson believes mentoring and challenging young people about their behaviour can help to improve their decision making and put them on a better path. Mark also hears how a government programme offering parenting advice to families under strain has produced good results in reducing offending, and reveals the impact a healthier, cleaner environment has on developing young brains. As he pulls together the evidence and assesses the clues to reveal what lies behind the extraordinary 80 per cent fall in crime over the last three decades, he wonders could the answer actually lie much closer to home? MUSIC Featuring: 'Release', Pariz 1

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