File on 4 Investigates Folgen

If you’ve been the victim of sexual or violent crimes then you can apply for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). During 2017-2018, the government funded scheme paid out over £154 million to help people rebuild their lives. But for some victims it’s not straightforward. Solicitors and charities argue that inflexible rules exclude too many people from successfully making a claim, including those who apply more than two years after a crime happens, and those who have an unspent conviction of any kind.Even where people are eligible for compensation, are they always getting what they deserve? Applications to the CICA can be made without the help of a solicitor but File on 4 investigates whether victims without legal advice may be being deprived of their entitlement.Serious questions are also being asked about the effect on vulnerable applicants when the CICA puts an award into a legal trust and dictates exactly how the money will be spent.A government review into the scheme is currently underway and is set to report back later this year but in the meantime, is it fair to those whose lives have been affected by abuse or violence – or is it penny-pinching to save public money? Presenter: Lesley Curwen Producer: Emma Forde Editor: Gail ChampionPhoto credit: Education Images\Getty

Police across the globe have successfully infiltrated leading dark web criminal markets. The result is that the trade in illegal drugs, stolen credit cards and indecent images of children is shifting to encrypted mobile phone apps. The crooks believe their business is protected by 'uncrackable' technology. So what should Government and the telecoms companies do to ensure criminals do not exploit secure encryption?Reporter: Geoff White Producer: David Lewis Editor: Gail Champion(Photo credit: NurPhoto\Getty Images)

Transforming Care is the NHS policy which should be moving learning disabled people out of hospital units and into their own supported homes. But File on 4 asks if the growth in the supported living sector is really providing the happy, safe and secure homes it was meant to. While the NHS has struggled to get its money into the hands of the councils who provide supported living, councils have gone their own way; commissioning services from care companies and homes from private landlords to give learning disabled adults their own front doors and their own independence. But with little in the way of inspection and councils under budgetary constraints, File on 4 asks if the push to build supported living risks repeating the mistakes of the past, with some of the country's most vulnerable people housed in institutions far from public scrutiny. Reporter: Claire Bolderson Producer: Rob Cave Editor: Gail Champion(Photo Credit: MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)