1 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:15,890 Speaker 1: Pushkin. 2 00:00:20,490 --> 00:00:24,650 Speaker 2: Derrick Ridgwell moves through the London underground with the easy 3 00:00:24,770 --> 00:00:27,490 Speaker 2: swagger of a man who knows his star is on 4 00:00:27,530 --> 00:00:31,890 Speaker 2: the rise. Confident and charismatic, the twenty seven year old 5 00:00:32,010 --> 00:00:34,770 Speaker 2: is a detective in the British Transport Police and he's 6 00:00:34,810 --> 00:00:39,290 Speaker 2: well liked by his colleagues. He's even enjoyed some minor celebrity. 7 00:00:39,970 --> 00:00:42,770 Speaker 2: A few years ago, he gave a television interview about 8 00:00:42,770 --> 00:00:46,290 Speaker 2: his decision to leave the Rhodesian Police Force in nineteen 9 00:00:46,370 --> 00:00:51,250 Speaker 2: sixty five. Ridgwell had served for several years, but in 10 00:00:51,330 --> 00:00:56,610 Speaker 2: his words, the force was a military organization designed to 11 00:00:56,690 --> 00:01:00,850 Speaker 2: suppress the Africans, and he quit on account of what 12 00:01:00,930 --> 00:01:06,330 Speaker 2: he called its sickening racism. The young officer now leads 13 00:01:06,370 --> 00:01:10,530 Speaker 2: a special squad of plain clothes police who patrol the Tube, 14 00:01:10,850 --> 00:01:15,450 Speaker 2: London subway system. It's accepted that mugging is on the 15 00:01:15,570 --> 00:01:19,410 Speaker 2: rise in London, and the most dangerous thugs favour the 16 00:01:19,450 --> 00:01:24,530 Speaker 2: shadowy network of tunnels beneath the city. Derrek Ridgwell wants 17 00:01:24,570 --> 00:01:28,290 Speaker 2: Londoners to feel safe again. He plans to clear up 18 00:01:28,330 --> 00:01:36,370 Speaker 2: the Tube arrest by arrest Tonight, March the sixteenth, nineteen 19 00:01:36,410 --> 00:01:39,810 Speaker 2: seventy two. Is on the Northern Line, a branch of 20 00:01:39,850 --> 00:01:42,770 Speaker 2: the underground that snakes its way from the north to 21 00:01:42,810 --> 00:01:46,090 Speaker 2: the south of the city. He set his sights on 22 00:01:46,450 --> 00:01:50,570 Speaker 2: Oval Station, a stop in a quiet district just south 23 00:01:50,610 --> 00:01:53,850 Speaker 2: of the River Thames and a known haunt of the 24 00:01:53,890 --> 00:02:03,690 Speaker 2: most vicious thieves and muggers across town. Twenty two year 25 00:02:03,730 --> 00:02:08,010 Speaker 2: old Winston True is hurrying towards the tube. It's gone 26 00:02:08,170 --> 00:02:11,370 Speaker 2: ten pm and he's keen to return to his wife, 27 00:02:11,450 --> 00:02:15,050 Speaker 2: Marie and their two small children. They live in the 28 00:02:15,090 --> 00:02:18,090 Speaker 2: south of the sprawling city, and the journey home will 29 00:02:18,130 --> 00:02:23,130 Speaker 2: be a long one. Winston is happily chatting with three friends. 30 00:02:23,610 --> 00:02:26,090 Speaker 2: They've just been to a meeting of their organization, The 31 00:02:26,170 --> 00:02:29,330 Speaker 2: for Simbers, who are at the heart of the British 32 00:02:29,410 --> 00:02:34,050 Speaker 2: Black Power movement. In recent decades, Britain has seen waves 33 00:02:34,090 --> 00:02:37,330 Speaker 2: of immigration from the Caribbean islands that were formerly part 34 00:02:37,370 --> 00:02:42,090 Speaker 2: of its empire. Some members are the children of those immigrants. Others, 35 00:02:42,330 --> 00:02:47,170 Speaker 2: like Winston, moved to Britain as children. Winston's father was 36 00:02:47,210 --> 00:02:50,970 Speaker 2: in the police force in Jamaica, where black officers couldn't 37 00:02:51,050 --> 00:02:55,130 Speaker 2: rise above the rank of sergeant. Determined that his children 38 00:02:55,170 --> 00:02:58,690 Speaker 2: would not face the same discrimination. He moved the family 39 00:02:58,730 --> 00:03:04,490 Speaker 2: to Britain. He believed deeply in that core British value meritocracy. 40 00:03:05,450 --> 00:03:09,490 Speaker 2: Winston and two of his brothers, Clement and che Ammelin, 41 00:03:09,970 --> 00:03:14,170 Speaker 2: were even named after prime ministers. But his bright hopes 42 00:03:14,210 --> 00:03:20,250 Speaker 2: were dashed. In Britain, the family encountered bitter racism, and 43 00:03:20,530 --> 00:03:24,850 Speaker 2: after Winston's father died in an accident at work, they 44 00:03:24,890 --> 00:03:30,890 Speaker 2: fell on hard times in nineteen seventy two. For Winston, 45 00:03:31,490 --> 00:03:34,850 Speaker 2: the Fa Simbers are a bright spot on an otherwise 46 00:03:34,970 --> 00:03:39,290 Speaker 2: bleak horizon. They offer a philosophy of self help and 47 00:03:39,410 --> 00:03:43,250 Speaker 2: self development that appeals to him. They want black men 48 00:03:43,290 --> 00:03:46,530 Speaker 2: and women to gain more skills and greater confidence, and 49 00:03:46,610 --> 00:03:51,930 Speaker 2: they organize community initiatives and education programs. Tonight, Winston is 50 00:03:51,970 --> 00:03:55,170 Speaker 2: carrying a bundle of books he's collected for his children's 51 00:03:55,210 --> 00:03:59,410 Speaker 2: Saturday school. As they excitedly discussed their plans, he has 52 00:03:59,610 --> 00:04:03,690 Speaker 2: one eye on the time. He's promised Marie he won't 53 00:04:03,730 --> 00:04:07,210 Speaker 2: be late if he can just get home by midnight. 54 00:04:08,250 --> 00:04:11,010 Speaker 2: The fastest room, he thinks to himself, will be the 55 00:04:11,010 --> 00:04:14,490 Speaker 2: Northern Line, and then a bus for the final leg 56 00:04:14,530 --> 00:04:15,130 Speaker 2: of the journey. 57 00:04:15,930 --> 00:04:18,170 Speaker 1: Where can he pick up a bus? Oh? 58 00:04:18,250 --> 00:04:24,850 Speaker 2: Yes, Oval station just south of the River Thames. As 59 00:04:24,850 --> 00:04:29,210 Speaker 2: Winston descends into the subterranean gloom, he hears a train 60 00:04:29,650 --> 00:04:33,610 Speaker 2: pull into the platform. Come on, he urges his friends. 61 00:04:34,130 --> 00:04:35,570 Speaker 1: They bore just in time. 62 00:04:37,410 --> 00:04:43,210 Speaker 2: The doors close shut behind them. I'm Tim Harford and 63 00:04:43,290 --> 00:05:13,130 Speaker 2: you're listening to cautionary tales. Winston and his friends Sterling Christy, 64 00:05:13,490 --> 00:05:18,610 Speaker 2: George Griffiths, and Constantine Bouchet, also known as Omar, left 65 00:05:18,690 --> 00:05:22,810 Speaker 2: the train as planned. At Oval station, where Winston was 66 00:05:22,850 --> 00:05:26,530 Speaker 2: going to catch a bus, a man was standing at 67 00:05:26,530 --> 00:05:29,490 Speaker 2: the end of the tube platform, just by the exit, 68 00:05:30,210 --> 00:05:34,730 Speaker 2: A white man looking in their direction. Was he waiting 69 00:05:34,810 --> 00:05:40,130 Speaker 2: for them? Winston felt uneasy, but the man did nothing 70 00:05:40,170 --> 00:05:43,490 Speaker 2: as they passed him, and the group hurried up the escalator, 71 00:05:43,730 --> 00:05:48,690 Speaker 2: keen to each the open air on the escalator too, However, 72 00:05:49,250 --> 00:05:50,650 Speaker 2: something unsettling. 73 00:05:51,730 --> 00:05:55,130 Speaker 3: Two white men were blocking the way. They were just 74 00:05:55,170 --> 00:05:59,530 Speaker 3: standing there. We asked to pass, but they ignored us. 75 00:06:01,730 --> 00:06:04,690 Speaker 2: The group shrugged it off and rode the escalator to 76 00:06:04,770 --> 00:06:10,410 Speaker 2: the top. Here, Winston turned towards the exit, and then 77 00:06:10,730 --> 00:06:11,930 Speaker 2: quite suddenly. 78 00:06:12,290 --> 00:06:14,810 Speaker 3: The two men in front turned around and one grabbed me, 79 00:06:15,290 --> 00:06:18,170 Speaker 3: holding my arm and dragging and pushing me against the wall. 80 00:06:18,890 --> 00:06:23,050 Speaker 2: The other man grabbed sterling Christie. Then two more men appeared. 81 00:06:23,290 --> 00:06:26,970 Speaker 2: They started shoving George and Omar and shouting at them 82 00:06:27,290 --> 00:06:31,050 Speaker 2: what was going on. Muggers were known to lurk on 83 00:06:31,130 --> 00:06:33,810 Speaker 2: the tube, so weather being robbed. 84 00:06:34,890 --> 00:06:39,050 Speaker 3: I could hear him saying, get over there, move, get 85 00:06:39,090 --> 00:06:42,730 Speaker 3: the fuck over there. They shout at us, and we 86 00:06:42,850 --> 00:06:44,410 Speaker 3: shouted at them. 87 00:06:44,650 --> 00:06:48,250 Speaker 2: One of the men, the leader, looked young. He had 88 00:06:48,250 --> 00:06:51,490 Speaker 2: a kind of cocky swagger, and he reminded Winston of 89 00:06:51,530 --> 00:06:54,210 Speaker 2: the white boys he had been at school with, the 90 00:06:54,250 --> 00:06:58,610 Speaker 2: ones who always stood too close, invading his space in 91 00:06:58,690 --> 00:07:00,650 Speaker 2: an implicit threat of violence. 92 00:07:01,930 --> 00:07:03,450 Speaker 1: They weren't being robbed. 93 00:07:04,210 --> 00:07:10,410 Speaker 2: We're the police, declared Detective Sergeant Ridgewell, the police. They 94 00:07:10,450 --> 00:07:14,210 Speaker 2: weren't dressed like the police. Winston asked to see some 95 00:07:14,290 --> 00:07:15,970 Speaker 2: id he knew his rights. 96 00:07:16,530 --> 00:07:20,010 Speaker 1: Neh, you bloody right about ID. Some of you blogs 97 00:07:20,050 --> 00:07:22,770 Speaker 1: of nick and handbags. We're going to search you a lot. 98 00:07:23,570 --> 00:07:29,730 Speaker 2: Winston was baffled stealing women's purses. Didn't have any purses 99 00:07:29,730 --> 00:07:32,170 Speaker 2: on them, just the coloring books he had collected for 100 00:07:32,210 --> 00:07:37,370 Speaker 2: the children. The men faced each other in a tense standoff. 101 00:07:38,450 --> 00:07:39,930 Speaker 1: How do we know you're the police? 102 00:07:40,810 --> 00:07:45,290 Speaker 2: Just saw us? Some id it all? Seemed ridiculous. Winston 103 00:07:45,290 --> 00:07:48,690 Speaker 2: would later recall, surely these men were drunkards. They just 104 00:07:48,770 --> 00:07:50,650 Speaker 2: left the pub and they were having a laugh at 105 00:07:50,650 --> 00:07:56,250 Speaker 2: the group's expense. Stop fucking pushing me. Winston heard Omar shout. 106 00:07:57,090 --> 00:08:00,970 Speaker 2: The standoff was broken. Omar had punched the man who'd 107 00:08:00,970 --> 00:08:04,250 Speaker 2: been pushing him. The group had been learning karate, and 108 00:08:04,330 --> 00:08:08,730 Speaker 2: their instinct was to defend themselves. Another man rushed at Winston, 109 00:08:08,810 --> 00:08:11,970 Speaker 2: who pushed him back. He fell to the ground, where 110 00:08:11,970 --> 00:08:14,450 Speaker 2: he grabbed at Winston's feet, pulling him down to the floor. 111 00:08:14,850 --> 00:08:17,330 Speaker 2: A second attacker seized Winston in a headlock. 112 00:08:17,810 --> 00:08:21,370 Speaker 3: The man holding he was angry, and he began applying 113 00:08:21,410 --> 00:08:25,530 Speaker 3: pressure to my neck. I could hardly breathe. He was 114 00:08:25,570 --> 00:08:28,770 Speaker 3: trying to strangle me. Then he whispered in my ear, 115 00:08:29,850 --> 00:08:32,410 Speaker 3: this how fucking clever you are. 116 00:08:32,330 --> 00:08:40,050 Speaker 2: Now, And then it was all over. Clothes torn, covered 117 00:08:40,090 --> 00:08:44,370 Speaker 2: in cuts and bruises. Winston and his friends were loaded 118 00:08:44,410 --> 00:08:48,250 Speaker 2: into a police van and taken to the station. Here, 119 00:08:48,490 --> 00:08:53,050 Speaker 2: his request for a phone call was denied. It's my right, 120 00:08:53,970 --> 00:08:55,410 Speaker 2: Ridgewell drew close. 121 00:08:56,730 --> 00:08:59,450 Speaker 4: You blacks have got no bloody rights. 122 00:08:59,850 --> 00:09:01,090 Speaker 1: He snarled into his face. 123 00:09:02,330 --> 00:09:03,410 Speaker 3: Not in ear anyway. 124 00:09:04,090 --> 00:09:10,570 Speaker 2: Another voice chimed in. Winston couldn't understand how he'd ended 125 00:09:10,650 --> 00:09:14,210 Speaker 2: up here alone in a prison cell. A mix of 126 00:09:14,810 --> 00:09:25,970 Speaker 2: dread and heart thumping shock coursed through his body. The 127 00:09:26,010 --> 00:09:31,690 Speaker 2: following morning, Winston, Omar George and Sterling were charged with 128 00:09:31,970 --> 00:09:39,330 Speaker 2: seventeen counts of robbing persons undetermined. They would face trial 129 00:09:39,450 --> 00:09:43,290 Speaker 2: later that year, but for now they were released on bail. 130 00:09:45,410 --> 00:09:50,570 Speaker 2: As Winston awaited trial, he noticed that media coverage of 131 00:09:50,810 --> 00:09:57,570 Speaker 2: muggings was growing fevered and frantic. The Daily Mirror newspaper 132 00:09:57,810 --> 00:10:03,130 Speaker 2: led the charge, announcing the night of the mugger. In 133 00:10:03,170 --> 00:10:06,730 Speaker 2: the darkness outside a London railway station on Tuesday night, 134 00:10:07,170 --> 00:10:10,290 Speaker 2: a stiletto flashed and an old old man fell dead, 135 00:10:10,810 --> 00:10:14,690 Speaker 2: stabbed in the heart. Mugging, explained the article, is a 136 00:10:14,730 --> 00:10:18,810 Speaker 2: crime fairly new to Britain. It has its origins in America. 137 00:10:19,250 --> 00:10:22,810 Speaker 2: The word itself is derived from attacking a mug an 138 00:10:22,810 --> 00:10:27,050 Speaker 2: easy victim. The murdered man, a widower named Graham Hills, 139 00:10:27,290 --> 00:10:30,810 Speaker 2: had been exactly what the cunning three man gang had 140 00:10:30,850 --> 00:10:37,090 Speaker 2: been waiting for, easy prey, for a quick steal. The 141 00:10:37,130 --> 00:10:40,570 Speaker 2: police already knew that the crime of mugging was on 142 00:10:40,690 --> 00:10:45,290 Speaker 2: the rise in gritty urban districts. Now it was time 143 00:10:45,410 --> 00:10:48,410 Speaker 2: for the general public to become acquainted with the term 144 00:10:48,810 --> 00:10:53,410 Speaker 2: and alert to the danger. According to the American Police, 145 00:10:53,850 --> 00:10:59,250 Speaker 2: mugging usually involved crushing the victim's head or throat in 146 00:10:59,330 --> 00:11:03,370 Speaker 2: an armlock, and robbery by any degree of force, with 147 00:11:03,890 --> 00:11:07,130 Speaker 2: or without weapons. It was said that in the United 148 00:11:07,170 --> 00:11:11,090 Speaker 2: States this crime had more than trebled in ten years. 149 00:11:11,530 --> 00:11:14,490 Speaker 2: One hundred and fifty such muggings had been reported on 150 00:11:14,530 --> 00:11:18,850 Speaker 2: the London underground in the last three years. The implication 151 00:11:19,530 --> 00:11:23,690 Speaker 2: was clear. Mugging had made its way across the Atlantic, 152 00:11:24,170 --> 00:11:29,290 Speaker 2: and now it was reproducing itself on British soil, spreading unchecked. 153 00:11:29,690 --> 00:11:37,970 Speaker 2: It was terrifying and it was totally unprecedented, or was 154 00:11:38,010 --> 00:12:02,530 Speaker 2: it cautionary? Tales will return? London, July the eighteenth, eighteen 155 00:12:02,810 --> 00:12:08,890 Speaker 2: sixty two. It's gone midnight. Member of Parliament James Pilkington 156 00:12:09,330 --> 00:12:13,610 Speaker 2: is walking along Pall Mall, a grand thoroughfare in Westminster, 157 00:12:13,930 --> 00:12:17,970 Speaker 2: the seat of power in Britain. He's just passing the 158 00:12:18,010 --> 00:12:22,250 Speaker 2: famous monument to the crimean War, a statue of three 159 00:12:22,370 --> 00:12:27,330 Speaker 2: guardsmen whose somberly survey the gas lit street. Should he 160 00:12:27,330 --> 00:12:31,130 Speaker 2: head to his private club, No, he thinks it's late 161 00:12:31,810 --> 00:12:35,250 Speaker 2: time to go home. He turns towards Waterloo Place. 162 00:12:38,250 --> 00:12:42,930 Speaker 4: I remember crossing Pall Mall and then all consciousness left me. 163 00:12:44,610 --> 00:12:48,010 Speaker 2: An attacker, or perhaps a group of attackers, have hit 164 00:12:48,250 --> 00:12:51,250 Speaker 2: James Pilkington on the back of his head. When he 165 00:12:51,290 --> 00:12:55,210 Speaker 2: comes to, his clothes are soaked with blood, and his 166 00:12:55,330 --> 00:13:00,730 Speaker 2: watch and chain are missing. Once the public learns what 167 00:13:00,930 --> 00:13:05,410 Speaker 2: has befallen James Pilkington, a member of Parliament, no less, 168 00:13:05,930 --> 00:13:11,050 Speaker 2: there is uproar. Pilkington, it is said, wasn't just attacked 169 00:13:11,330 --> 00:13:15,050 Speaker 2: and robbed. He was a victim of the sinister new 170 00:13:15,170 --> 00:13:20,810 Speaker 2: crime of gorotting. According to the newspapers, gangs are now 171 00:13:20,970 --> 00:13:26,610 Speaker 2: professionalizing the art of street robbery. One attacker crushes the 172 00:13:26,610 --> 00:13:30,530 Speaker 2: throat of the target, leaving him writhing in agony, with 173 00:13:30,810 --> 00:13:35,290 Speaker 2: tongue protruding and eyes starting from their sockets. Unable to 174 00:13:35,290 --> 00:13:44,610 Speaker 2: give the alarm. The attacker's colleagues meanwhile rob the poor victim. 175 00:13:45,290 --> 00:13:51,130 Speaker 2: There's something distinctly foreign about carotting. The word comes from 176 00:13:51,290 --> 00:13:57,050 Speaker 2: a Spanish weapon, a gruesome handheld ligature used to torture 177 00:13:57,250 --> 00:14:04,930 Speaker 2: and strangle unfortunate victims. One editorial declares that London's Bayswater 178 00:14:05,090 --> 00:14:12,090 Speaker 2: Road is now as unsafe as Naples, Spain, Italy. Whatever. 179 00:14:12,690 --> 00:14:17,810 Speaker 2: This crime wave is uncongenial to the soil and manners 180 00:14:17,930 --> 00:14:24,810 Speaker 2: of Englishmen. It reeks of Mediterranean villainy. And if an 181 00:14:25,010 --> 00:14:29,250 Speaker 2: MP can be attacked in genteel Westminster, then even the 182 00:14:29,290 --> 00:14:33,130 Speaker 2: more respectable pockets of the city are now the dominion 183 00:14:33,330 --> 00:14:37,370 Speaker 2: of thugs. No one is immune to garrotting. No one 184 00:14:37,450 --> 00:14:41,450 Speaker 2: is safe to walk alone at night. As summer turns 185 00:14:41,450 --> 00:14:46,450 Speaker 2: to autumn, the papers fixate on the threat. Reports proliferate 186 00:14:46,690 --> 00:14:50,770 Speaker 2: about garrotters hauled up before the magistrates to face justice. 187 00:14:52,170 --> 00:14:56,610 Speaker 2: Garrotting is the talk of the town, declares the Illustrated 188 00:14:56,650 --> 00:15:03,770 Speaker 2: London News. Penal jurisprudence a favorite after dinner topic. Everyone 189 00:15:03,850 --> 00:15:06,930 Speaker 2: has an opinion about where this crime wave has come from, 190 00:15:07,290 --> 00:15:12,930 Speaker 2: and everyone has the pet solution. For one reader of 191 00:15:12,970 --> 00:15:18,010 Speaker 2: The Times, the police are at fault for they've grown lax. Laxity, 192 00:15:18,450 --> 00:15:23,530 Speaker 2: he explains, is the nurse of crime. For others, the 193 00:15:23,570 --> 00:15:27,810 Speaker 2: trouble started when Britain stopped shipping its criminals to Australia. 194 00:15:29,130 --> 00:15:33,650 Speaker 2: What's more, those criminals are now being granted their freedom 195 00:15:33,850 --> 00:15:38,050 Speaker 2: early with a kind of parole document. Called a ticket 196 00:15:38,290 --> 00:15:42,610 Speaker 2: of leave. As a result, there's a surplus of delinquents 197 00:15:42,690 --> 00:15:47,010 Speaker 2: on the streets, and they are undoubtedly waiting to pounce. 198 00:15:48,930 --> 00:15:53,130 Speaker 2: The good newspaper reading people of London begin taking matters 199 00:15:53,130 --> 00:15:57,370 Speaker 2: into their own hands. After all, if the authorities stop 200 00:15:57,530 --> 00:16:02,290 Speaker 2: transporting convicts to Australia, they cannot depend on the authorities 201 00:16:02,330 --> 00:16:07,330 Speaker 2: to protect them. The discerning gentlemen might purchase homemade weapons 202 00:16:07,810 --> 00:16:11,610 Speaker 2: or hire a uniform escort to ward off potential attackers. 203 00:16:12,290 --> 00:16:17,250 Speaker 2: A range of defensive gadgets goes on sale one walter 204 00:16:17,410 --> 00:16:22,650 Speaker 2: Thornhill a cutler. Patents are designed for an anti garrotting device, 205 00:16:23,210 --> 00:16:27,130 Speaker 2: a spiked steel collar to be worn about the all 206 00:16:27,250 --> 00:16:33,010 Speaker 2: too vulnerable neck. The panic about garrotting soon spreads to Yorkshire, 207 00:16:33,530 --> 00:16:46,690 Speaker 2: Lancashire Nottinghamshire. Britain is on a knife edge. In the 208 00:16:46,770 --> 00:16:52,570 Speaker 2: nineteen seventies, the psychologists Sarah Liechtenstein and Paul Slovich began 209 00:16:52,770 --> 00:16:58,610 Speaker 2: studying how well people estimate the likelihood of certain lethal events. 210 00:16:59,610 --> 00:17:03,170 Speaker 2: In a series of experiments, they asked six hundred and 211 00:17:03,210 --> 00:17:07,730 Speaker 2: sixty adult participants to judge how frequently they thought death 212 00:17:07,770 --> 00:17:12,370 Speaker 2: occurred from fairy different causes. They found that we tend 213 00:17:12,410 --> 00:17:17,050 Speaker 2: to exaggerate the likelihood of very dramatic and sensational happenings. 214 00:17:17,650 --> 00:17:23,370 Speaker 2: Death by tornado, for example, was generally overestimated, while death 215 00:17:23,410 --> 00:17:28,370 Speaker 2: from diseases such as diabetes and asthma were vastly underestimated. 216 00:17:29,530 --> 00:17:35,010 Speaker 2: Also particularly bad at judging the likelihood of violent crimes, 217 00:17:35,490 --> 00:17:39,370 Speaker 2: as Tom Gash has noted in his book Criminal, The 218 00:17:39,490 --> 00:17:44,850 Speaker 2: Truth About Why People Do Bad Things. That includes crimes 219 00:17:44,890 --> 00:17:48,210 Speaker 2: such as murder, but it seems likely that it also 220 00:17:48,370 --> 00:17:51,530 Speaker 2: extends to being attacked at random in the street and 221 00:17:51,610 --> 00:18:02,370 Speaker 2: garrotted or ambushed on the London underground and mugged. Media 222 00:18:02,490 --> 00:18:07,850 Speaker 2: coverage influences this too. In another experiment, Paul Slovich and 223 00:18:07,930 --> 00:18:11,650 Speaker 2: Barbara Comb's found that the more coverage a dramatic event 224 00:18:11,770 --> 00:18:15,130 Speaker 2: receives in the local press, the more likely people were 225 00:18:15,530 --> 00:18:20,610 Speaker 2: to overestimate its chance of happening. Again, we simply don't 226 00:18:20,610 --> 00:18:23,810 Speaker 2: have a very good understanding of the risk of shocking 227 00:18:23,930 --> 00:18:29,330 Speaker 2: and sensational dangers in everyday life. Distorted media coverage can 228 00:18:29,410 --> 00:18:32,410 Speaker 2: make that worse. When it comes to the stories we 229 00:18:32,450 --> 00:18:37,170 Speaker 2: tell about crime. Big scary numbers like the idea that 230 00:18:37,330 --> 00:18:41,170 Speaker 2: muggings have more than trebled can play into this, they 231 00:18:41,250 --> 00:18:45,650 Speaker 2: grab our attention. We're all too ready to anticipate such 232 00:18:45,730 --> 00:18:57,250 Speaker 2: danger anyway. By November eighteen sixty two, panic about garrotting 233 00:18:57,650 --> 00:19:02,570 Speaker 2: had reached fever pitch. There was also increasing confusion about 234 00:19:02,610 --> 00:19:07,930 Speaker 2: who was and who wasn't a garrotta. The satirical magazine 235 00:19:08,050 --> 00:19:13,530 Speaker 2: punchuly printed cartoons of men spooked by their own shadows 236 00:19:14,090 --> 00:19:18,930 Speaker 2: or attacking trees in the dense London fog. Newspapers reported 237 00:19:18,970 --> 00:19:24,450 Speaker 2: on instances of confusion. Two The Times described a timid 238 00:19:24,570 --> 00:19:28,610 Speaker 2: gentleman who lived in the London suburbs and constantly on 239 00:19:28,650 --> 00:19:32,210 Speaker 2: the lookout for danger, had taken to carrying a cudgel 240 00:19:32,610 --> 00:19:36,890 Speaker 2: with a heavy lead filling. One night, as he neared 241 00:19:36,930 --> 00:19:41,850 Speaker 2: his home, another fellow pushed rudely against him. Naturally, the 242 00:19:41,890 --> 00:19:45,490 Speaker 2: timid man swung at the rude fellow with his cudgel, and, 243 00:19:45,570 --> 00:19:49,930 Speaker 2: with great presence of mind, struck him a severe blow. 244 00:19:50,810 --> 00:19:54,970 Speaker 2: The rude fellow fled, but he left his hat behind him, 245 00:19:55,010 --> 00:19:58,250 Speaker 2: and the timid man was shocked to read in its 246 00:19:58,330 --> 00:20:03,210 Speaker 2: lining the name of a dear friend, Edward. He hastened 247 00:20:03,210 --> 00:20:08,130 Speaker 2: at once to his house to explain himself. Edward's distraught 248 00:20:08,290 --> 00:20:10,730 Speaker 2: wife opened the door I'm. 249 00:20:10,530 --> 00:20:13,690 Speaker 4: Glad to see you, poor Edward. 250 00:20:15,170 --> 00:20:16,250 Speaker 3: He's been garrotted. 251 00:20:18,570 --> 00:20:24,010 Speaker 2: Another paper, the shaw Ditch Advertiser, systematically investigated a number 252 00:20:24,090 --> 00:20:29,090 Speaker 2: of reported garrottings. They all turned out to be utterly 253 00:20:29,130 --> 00:20:36,330 Speaker 2: fictitious or mere drunken squabbles. And what of James Pilkington's 254 00:20:36,490 --> 00:20:41,850 Speaker 2: pal Mall attackers. Two men, both ex convicts and former 255 00:20:42,170 --> 00:20:47,090 Speaker 2: Ticket of leaveholders, were arrested. The police magistrate had no 256 00:20:47,370 --> 00:20:51,370 Speaker 2: firm evidence that they were the guilty parties, so he 257 00:20:51,490 --> 00:20:56,090 Speaker 2: sentenced them to three months in prison for being suspicious 258 00:20:56,250 --> 00:21:10,730 Speaker 2: characters better safe than sorry. In October ninethe teen seventy two, 259 00:21:11,130 --> 00:21:16,690 Speaker 2: Winston True Stirling, Christie Omar Bouchet and George Griffiths went 260 00:21:16,770 --> 00:21:20,570 Speaker 2: on trial at the Old Bailey, the central Criminal Court 261 00:21:20,650 --> 00:21:24,850 Speaker 2: of England and Wales. There was grassroots support for the 262 00:21:24,890 --> 00:21:29,770 Speaker 2: accused men that for Simbas and various other organizations had 263 00:21:29,810 --> 00:21:34,170 Speaker 2: started an Oval four defense campaign. A picture of the 264 00:21:34,210 --> 00:21:39,130 Speaker 2: men outside the magistrate's court, their faces grossly swollen from 265 00:21:39,130 --> 00:21:43,290 Speaker 2: their beating by police, had been printed on posters and 266 00:21:43,370 --> 00:21:48,370 Speaker 2: circulated in community papers. At the same time, the mainstream 267 00:21:48,450 --> 00:21:53,970 Speaker 2: press continued to warn people about muggings. According to the Times, 268 00:21:54,250 --> 00:21:56,930 Speaker 2: the police were going to petition the Home Office to 269 00:21:57,010 --> 00:22:00,490 Speaker 2: increase their powers, so alarmed were they by the mugging 270 00:22:00,570 --> 00:22:05,930 Speaker 2: trend among young people. One figure, which featured in newspapers 271 00:22:06,050 --> 00:22:09,690 Speaker 2: up and down the country, suggested that muggings were up 272 00:22:09,890 --> 00:22:14,770 Speaker 2: one hundred and twenty nine percent in four years. But 273 00:22:15,330 --> 00:22:19,730 Speaker 2: what was that figure based on? As author Tom Gash 274 00:22:19,850 --> 00:22:23,210 Speaker 2: has noted, violent crime was on the rise in the 275 00:22:23,250 --> 00:22:26,370 Speaker 2: second half of the twentieth century, so it seems there 276 00:22:26,490 --> 00:22:31,290 Speaker 2: was some basis for concern about mugging. But mugging wasn't 277 00:22:31,370 --> 00:22:35,970 Speaker 2: formally a crime, So we're all robberies up by one 278 00:22:36,090 --> 00:22:39,610 Speaker 2: hundred and twenty nine percent in four years, or perhaps 279 00:22:39,930 --> 00:22:44,370 Speaker 2: assault with intent to rob or was something else being 280 00:22:44,410 --> 00:22:51,730 Speaker 2: measured altogether. As murky statistics and sensational headlines proliferated, the 281 00:22:51,810 --> 00:22:56,850 Speaker 2: panic about mugging appears to have outstripped the concrete facts, 282 00:22:57,210 --> 00:23:08,650 Speaker 2: and that panic had very real consequences. Decent citizens are 283 00:23:08,690 --> 00:23:12,090 Speaker 2: afraid to use the underground late at night, said the 284 00:23:12,170 --> 00:23:19,250 Speaker 2: Daily Mirror, forebodingly the solution harsh deterrant sentences. At the 285 00:23:19,290 --> 00:23:23,850 Speaker 2: same time, community leaders expressed concern that black youth were 286 00:23:23,890 --> 00:23:29,490 Speaker 2: being explicitly targeted in police clean up operations. Was even 287 00:23:29,530 --> 00:23:33,370 Speaker 2: said that if you listened closely while walking past the 288 00:23:33,370 --> 00:23:37,370 Speaker 2: pubs in South London, you might hear a sinister Calypso 289 00:23:37,530 --> 00:23:42,730 Speaker 2: song drifting through the air. If the muggers don't get you, 290 00:23:42,850 --> 00:23:48,490 Speaker 2: Ridgewell will. At trial, Winston explained how, on the night 291 00:23:48,530 --> 00:23:54,130 Speaker 2: of his arrest, Derrek Ridgewell's squad hadn't properly identified themselves 292 00:23:54,130 --> 00:23:58,730 Speaker 2: as police officers. A woman named Diana O'Connor had seen 293 00:23:58,810 --> 00:24:02,010 Speaker 2: the fight at Oval station. She told the court that 294 00:24:02,170 --> 00:24:05,010 Speaker 2: on that terrible night in March, should thought she was 295 00:24:05,050 --> 00:24:09,090 Speaker 2: witnessing a group of white men attacking some black kids, 296 00:24:09,290 --> 00:24:13,130 Speaker 2: not police officers subduing criminals, and she had even tried 297 00:24:13,170 --> 00:24:13,570 Speaker 2: to help. 298 00:24:14,410 --> 00:24:16,410 Speaker 5: The boy's eyes seemed to be coming out of his 299 00:24:16,490 --> 00:24:18,530 Speaker 5: head and his mouth was open, as if he was 300 00:24:18,610 --> 00:24:21,730 Speaker 5: choking to death. It frightened me when I saw his face. 301 00:24:23,170 --> 00:24:24,650 Speaker 5: That's when I intervened to stop it. 302 00:24:26,770 --> 00:24:30,490 Speaker 2: Winston also described how he had been forced to sign 303 00:24:30,530 --> 00:24:35,130 Speaker 2: a false confession in custody, had been punched by one 304 00:24:35,170 --> 00:24:38,530 Speaker 2: officer and had his head slammed into a cell wall 305 00:24:38,570 --> 00:24:39,090 Speaker 2: by another. 306 00:24:39,450 --> 00:24:42,850 Speaker 3: I was on edge, expecting to be hit at any 307 00:24:42,930 --> 00:24:45,450 Speaker 3: moment by anyone from any direction. 308 00:24:45,570 --> 00:24:50,170 Speaker 2: He said later had been interrogated and threatened repeatedly throughout 309 00:24:50,210 --> 00:24:56,130 Speaker 2: the night, eventually worn down. He had signed the confession 310 00:24:58,410 --> 00:25:01,570 Speaker 2: even though there were no victims named in any of 311 00:25:01,610 --> 00:25:07,530 Speaker 2: the seventeen charges of robbing, persons undetermined, and no witnesses 312 00:25:07,530 --> 00:25:13,130 Speaker 2: for the prosecution aside from the arresting officers themselves. The 313 00:25:13,210 --> 00:25:19,170 Speaker 2: Oval four were found guilty. Winston was sentenced to two 314 00:25:19,410 --> 00:25:20,370 Speaker 2: years in prison. 315 00:25:20,970 --> 00:25:23,530 Speaker 3: I was in a state of shock. I couldn't believe 316 00:25:23,530 --> 00:25:26,690 Speaker 3: what was happening to me. I was actually going to 317 00:25:26,770 --> 00:25:28,730 Speaker 3: prison for something I didn't do. 318 00:25:29,890 --> 00:25:36,210 Speaker 2: He felt hopeless, all was lost. Detective Sergeant Ridgewell, meanwhile, 319 00:25:37,050 --> 00:25:55,610 Speaker 2: had already struck again. Portionary Tales will be back. It's 320 00:25:55,770 --> 00:26:01,570 Speaker 2: late nineteen seventy two. Alphonse Chicouri and Lawrence Swayler are 321 00:26:01,730 --> 00:26:07,690 Speaker 2: deep underground in Tottenham Court Road station on London's Northern Line. 322 00:26:07,930 --> 00:26:12,730 Speaker 2: They're lost. The trainee Jesuit priests are visiting Britain from 323 00:26:12,770 --> 00:26:16,890 Speaker 2: Rhodesia today Zimbabwe. They want to get back to Oxford, 324 00:26:17,050 --> 00:26:20,530 Speaker 2: where they're studying social work, but they can't find the 325 00:26:20,610 --> 00:26:25,290 Speaker 2: right platform. Alphonse is standing with his hands in his 326 00:26:25,370 --> 00:26:29,490 Speaker 2: pockets when quite suddenly two men appear in front of 327 00:26:29,530 --> 00:26:32,450 Speaker 2: him and grab him by the arms. They drag him 328 00:26:32,530 --> 00:26:39,370 Speaker 2: wordlessly upstairs. Alphonse is terrified. Then more men appear. They're aggressive. 329 00:26:39,850 --> 00:26:43,210 Speaker 2: They're going to rob me, he thinks. Alphonse fights the 330 00:26:43,250 --> 00:26:46,650 Speaker 2: men off as best he can. It's only after they've 331 00:26:46,650 --> 00:26:50,570 Speaker 2: managed to restrain him that they reveal their police officers. 332 00:26:51,770 --> 00:26:55,690 Speaker 2: Alphonse and Lawrence are taken to police headquarters, where they're 333 00:26:55,690 --> 00:26:59,730 Speaker 2: both charged with trying to steal from two women, as 334 00:26:59,850 --> 00:27:04,730 Speaker 2: well as with assaulting officers. They deny the accusations fervently, 335 00:27:05,170 --> 00:27:09,690 Speaker 2: but a trial date is set. Winston True was still 336 00:27:09,730 --> 00:27:12,450 Speaker 2: in prison at this point, and for a while it 337 00:27:12,530 --> 00:27:16,010 Speaker 2: seemed that Alphonse and Lawrence were bound for the same fate, 338 00:27:17,370 --> 00:27:21,330 Speaker 2: only this time. The presiding judge took a different view. 339 00:27:22,850 --> 00:27:26,090 Speaker 2: When Ridgewell gave evidence, the defense asked him if he 340 00:27:26,290 --> 00:27:30,530 Speaker 2: was particularly on the lookout for colored young men. 341 00:27:31,690 --> 00:27:32,650 Speaker 1: On the Northern Line. 342 00:27:33,090 --> 00:27:33,970 Speaker 4: I would agree with. 343 00:27:33,850 --> 00:27:40,250 Speaker 2: That, admitted Ridgewell. The judge was horrified, citing inconsistencies in 344 00:27:40,330 --> 00:27:41,210 Speaker 2: police evidence. 345 00:27:41,490 --> 00:27:45,570 Speaker 4: He said, I find it terrifying that here in London 346 00:27:45,730 --> 00:27:49,250 Speaker 4: people using public transport should be pounced upon without a 347 00:27:49,290 --> 00:27:52,490 Speaker 4: word by anyone that they are police officers. 348 00:27:53,530 --> 00:27:56,730 Speaker 2: The case was thrown out, and the judge told the 349 00:27:56,770 --> 00:27:59,810 Speaker 2: two young men that they left the court with no 350 00:28:00,010 --> 00:28:01,410 Speaker 2: stain on their characters. 351 00:28:02,250 --> 00:28:04,730 Speaker 4: This case was brought without justification. 352 00:28:06,690 --> 00:28:11,570 Speaker 2: As for Derrek Ridgwell, the British Transport Police quietly transferred 353 00:28:11,650 --> 00:28:17,890 Speaker 2: him to another post. For Winston, true prison was a 354 00:28:17,930 --> 00:28:22,250 Speaker 2: place of limbo, where the passage of time seemed not 355 00:28:22,410 --> 00:28:27,690 Speaker 2: to exist. His prison reality was one of permanent uncertainty. 356 00:28:28,690 --> 00:28:33,730 Speaker 2: While in prison, Winston appealed. His conviction was upheld, but 357 00:28:33,850 --> 00:28:39,530 Speaker 2: his sentence was reduced to eight months. Back in civilian life, 358 00:28:39,970 --> 00:28:43,210 Speaker 2: that dread and sense of limbo remained. 359 00:28:44,050 --> 00:28:45,210 Speaker 1: He was in turmoil. 360 00:28:45,890 --> 00:28:48,930 Speaker 3: I was a very angry man. I had night miss 361 00:28:49,370 --> 00:28:53,010 Speaker 3: I had a stomach ulcer. I hated the world and 362 00:28:53,170 --> 00:28:54,130 Speaker 3: felt helpless. 363 00:28:55,090 --> 00:28:58,130 Speaker 2: Winston told a local paper that he would not give 364 00:28:58,250 --> 00:28:59,610 Speaker 2: up the fight for justice. 365 00:29:00,090 --> 00:29:04,170 Speaker 3: The wounds are too painful to leave it at that, But. 366 00:29:04,170 --> 00:29:08,210 Speaker 2: He was also depressed. His marriage was over, he was 367 00:29:08,250 --> 00:29:11,570 Speaker 2: a single pair, and his sense of self had been 368 00:29:11,610 --> 00:29:14,370 Speaker 2: destroyed by the lies that had been told about him. 369 00:29:15,090 --> 00:29:22,770 Speaker 2: For now, he also faced the task of rebuilding. Eventually, 370 00:29:22,890 --> 00:29:26,490 Speaker 2: Winston got a job as a mailroom clerk and messenger 371 00:29:26,650 --> 00:29:29,730 Speaker 2: at an office and in nineteen eighty two. He went 372 00:29:29,770 --> 00:29:34,210 Speaker 2: on to obtain his bachelor's degree in social science. A 373 00:29:34,370 --> 00:29:37,610 Speaker 2: master's in policy studies followed in the early nineteen nineties, 374 00:29:38,130 --> 00:29:43,130 Speaker 2: and he became a lecturer. He also remarried. The stigma 375 00:29:43,250 --> 00:29:47,530 Speaker 2: of a criminal conviction followed Winston, but he was gradually 376 00:29:47,690 --> 00:29:50,530 Speaker 2: able to put the pieces of his life back together. 377 00:29:56,450 --> 00:30:00,330 Speaker 2: In two thousand and three, Winston was conducting research on 378 00:30:00,530 --> 00:30:01,610 Speaker 2: teenage fathers. 379 00:30:02,290 --> 00:30:05,850 Speaker 3: I was part way through a literature review when I 380 00:30:05,930 --> 00:30:08,450 Speaker 3: collapsed from a brain hemorrhage. 381 00:30:09,570 --> 00:30:13,770 Speaker 2: He was left partially paralyzed, walking with a limp, and 382 00:30:13,810 --> 00:30:17,850 Speaker 2: he lost some of his memory, but the stroke also 383 00:30:18,090 --> 00:30:19,970 Speaker 2: shook other memories loose. 384 00:30:20,730 --> 00:30:23,450 Speaker 3: My wife told me that during my time in hospital, 385 00:30:24,050 --> 00:30:27,610 Speaker 3: I kept referring to it as a prison and kept 386 00:30:27,610 --> 00:30:31,610 Speaker 3: telling her I didn't want to stay there. I wanted 387 00:30:31,650 --> 00:30:32,330 Speaker 3: to go home. 388 00:30:32,970 --> 00:30:39,050 Speaker 2: The pain of his wrongful conviction had embedded itself within him. 389 00:30:39,250 --> 00:30:42,810 Speaker 2: When he returned home from hospital, he decided he'd write 390 00:30:42,810 --> 00:30:47,490 Speaker 2: a book about his case and hopefully expel the bitterness 391 00:30:47,530 --> 00:30:48,130 Speaker 2: and anger. 392 00:30:48,210 --> 00:30:48,690 Speaker 1: He felt. 393 00:30:49,570 --> 00:30:51,770 Speaker 3: It was an act of defiance. 394 00:30:53,530 --> 00:30:57,330 Speaker 2: He began to make freedom of information requests about Derrick 395 00:30:57,450 --> 00:31:12,330 Speaker 2: Ridgewell's career. What he found out amazed him. In Victorian England, 396 00:31:12,610 --> 00:31:17,570 Speaker 2: the garrotting panic vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared. 397 00:31:18,090 --> 00:31:21,130 Speaker 2: The press moved on. There were other matters to worry 398 00:31:21,130 --> 00:31:25,370 Speaker 2: about now, like the revolution in Greece, depression in Britain's 399 00:31:25,370 --> 00:31:30,370 Speaker 2: textiles industry, and the war in America. But the panic 400 00:31:30,530 --> 00:31:32,570 Speaker 2: had lasting consequences. 401 00:31:33,170 --> 00:31:33,890 Speaker 1: It left in. 402 00:31:33,810 --> 00:31:39,170 Speaker 2: Its wake a raft of hasty and punitive legislation designed 403 00:31:39,850 --> 00:31:44,490 Speaker 2: to crush garrotters. Minimum terms were made longer. Prisons in 404 00:31:44,530 --> 00:31:48,810 Speaker 2: Britain had previously been undergoing reform, but now there was 405 00:31:48,850 --> 00:31:54,050 Speaker 2: a crackdown on conditions. Prisoners were locked in separate cells 406 00:31:54,090 --> 00:31:55,850 Speaker 2: and prevented from speaking. 407 00:31:55,450 --> 00:31:56,010 Speaker 1: With each other. 408 00:31:56,650 --> 00:32:01,690 Speaker 2: Hard labour on the treadwheel was also permitted. Inmates would 409 00:32:01,690 --> 00:32:07,530 Speaker 2: spend hours climbing stairs attached to a giant wheel, a useless, 410 00:32:07,930 --> 00:32:13,450 Speaker 2: exhausting task designed to break the spirit. And whipping was 411 00:32:13,490 --> 00:32:17,090 Speaker 2: also brought back. For people convicted of robbery with violence, 412 00:32:18,290 --> 00:32:21,770 Speaker 2: prison guards could issue a convict with up to fifty 413 00:32:22,290 --> 00:32:27,930 Speaker 2: flesh splitting lashes at a time. In Parliament, the Home 414 00:32:28,050 --> 00:32:29,850 Speaker 2: Secretary recognized. 415 00:32:29,330 --> 00:32:35,170 Speaker 4: That this was Pellic legislation. After that Pellic had subsided. 416 00:32:35,370 --> 00:32:45,450 Speaker 2: All the same, it remained in place for decades. Roughly 417 00:32:45,650 --> 00:32:49,570 Speaker 2: one hundred years later, the press would once again, in 418 00:32:49,730 --> 00:32:55,210 Speaker 2: Winston Tru's words, whip up a mirage. This time it 419 00:32:55,290 --> 00:32:59,450 Speaker 2: was about young black men involved in crime. As the 420 00:32:59,490 --> 00:33:05,690 Speaker 2: fear escalated, figures of authority like Derrek Ridgwell gained more power, 421 00:33:06,370 --> 00:33:08,610 Speaker 2: Innocent people were punished, and. 422 00:33:08,610 --> 00:33:10,490 Speaker 1: Lives forever altered. 423 00:33:11,370 --> 00:33:16,050 Speaker 2: Perhaps if we'd learned more from the Garrotting panic, winston 424 00:33:16,170 --> 00:33:26,770 Speaker 2: true story would have been different. In twenty ten, Winston 425 00:33:26,930 --> 00:33:32,210 Speaker 2: published his book Black for a Cause. Determined to right 426 00:33:32,290 --> 00:33:35,370 Speaker 2: the wrongs he had suffered, he had set about collecting 427 00:33:35,530 --> 00:33:40,410 Speaker 2: all the information he could on Detective Sergeant Ridgewell, and 428 00:33:41,050 --> 00:33:44,850 Speaker 2: he'd learned that the Oval four case wasn't the first 429 00:33:44,890 --> 00:33:49,770 Speaker 2: time that the police officer had lied. Ridgewell hadn't served 430 00:33:49,770 --> 00:33:52,650 Speaker 2: in Rhodesia for several years. He had been in the 431 00:33:52,690 --> 00:33:56,130 Speaker 2: military police force there for just three weeks when the 432 00:33:56,170 --> 00:34:00,410 Speaker 2: country declared unilateral independence from Britain, and in the chaos 433 00:34:01,050 --> 00:34:04,570 Speaker 2: he had deserted. When he first returned home, there'd been 434 00:34:04,610 --> 00:34:08,970 Speaker 2: a warrant out for his arrest. Eventually, though, it was dropped, 435 00:34:09,410 --> 00:34:11,210 Speaker 2: and he had been able to take up a post 436 00:34:11,290 --> 00:34:16,490 Speaker 2: with the British Transport Police there was more. He'd fitted 437 00:34:16,570 --> 00:34:19,330 Speaker 2: up another group of young black men for mugging on 438 00:34:19,370 --> 00:34:23,090 Speaker 2: the Northern Line just weeks before framing the Oval four. 439 00:34:24,050 --> 00:34:28,530 Speaker 2: They had become known as the Stockwell Six. Ridgwell claimed 440 00:34:28,530 --> 00:34:30,650 Speaker 2: that the men had attempted to rob him and that 441 00:34:30,730 --> 00:34:35,130 Speaker 2: had fought back. The Stockwell Six testified that the robbery 442 00:34:35,210 --> 00:34:38,530 Speaker 2: was a fabrication and that the officers had been violent, 443 00:34:38,810 --> 00:34:41,730 Speaker 2: beating them, kicking them and stamping on their bare toes. 444 00:34:42,610 --> 00:34:45,330 Speaker 2: One of the group believed that Ridgwell had planted a 445 00:34:45,370 --> 00:34:50,370 Speaker 2: knife on him. Was he well practiced then fabricating evidence. 446 00:34:52,090 --> 00:34:56,450 Speaker 2: After his failed attempt to frame Alphonse Chicouri and Lawrence 447 00:34:56,490 --> 00:35:00,530 Speaker 2: Sweler for mugging, Ridgewell was asked to head up another 448 00:35:00,690 --> 00:35:06,090 Speaker 2: special squad. Vast quantities of goods had been going missing 449 00:35:06,130 --> 00:35:09,690 Speaker 2: from a London railway depot. The British transp Thought police 450 00:35:09,850 --> 00:35:13,930 Speaker 2: must have hoped that the disappearances would decrease under Ridgewell's 451 00:35:14,010 --> 00:35:20,290 Speaker 2: watchful eye, but strangely, they multiplied. He continued in the 452 00:35:20,370 --> 00:35:25,530 Speaker 2: role until nineteen seventy eight, when he was arrested and 453 00:35:25,650 --> 00:35:31,650 Speaker 2: charged with conspiracy to steal from British rail It turned 454 00:35:31,650 --> 00:35:35,050 Speaker 2: out that over eleven or so months, Ridgewell and his 455 00:35:35,250 --> 00:35:40,210 Speaker 2: colleagues had stolen sixty vanloads of goods. Those goods were 456 00:35:40,210 --> 00:35:44,610 Speaker 2: worth more than one million pounds in nineteen eighty relative 457 00:35:44,610 --> 00:35:47,170 Speaker 2: to the wages of the time, they'd be worth more 458 00:35:47,210 --> 00:35:53,370 Speaker 2: than seven million pounds today about ten million dollars. It 459 00:35:53,530 --> 00:35:58,330 Speaker 2: fenced them via a notorious London crime family and squirreled 460 00:35:58,370 --> 00:36:03,370 Speaker 2: the proceeds away in properties, businesses, and a Swiss bank account. 461 00:36:04,810 --> 00:36:09,570 Speaker 2: In nineteen eighty two, Ridgewell, still in prison, died of 462 00:36:09,570 --> 00:36:13,490 Speaker 2: a heart attack, but rumors persist that he was murdered 463 00:36:13,770 --> 00:36:17,090 Speaker 2: because he knew too much about corruption in the police force. 464 00:36:18,610 --> 00:36:23,010 Speaker 2: Another Ridgewell victim, a man Ridgewell had framed for stealing 465 00:36:23,010 --> 00:36:27,530 Speaker 2: from British Rael, read Winston's book. It helped him piece 466 00:36:27,610 --> 00:36:30,570 Speaker 2: together the truth about the police officer who'd sent him 467 00:36:30,570 --> 00:36:34,610 Speaker 2: to prison, and in twenty eighteen he managed to get 468 00:36:34,650 --> 00:36:38,770 Speaker 2: his conviction heard and overturned by the Court of Appeal. 469 00:36:39,970 --> 00:36:45,210 Speaker 2: One year later, armed with this precedent, Winston True finally 470 00:36:45,250 --> 00:36:46,650 Speaker 2: won the same victory. 471 00:36:47,170 --> 00:36:49,490 Speaker 1: His conviction was quashed. 472 00:36:49,530 --> 00:36:54,130 Speaker 2: Along with those of Sterling Christie and George Griffith. Eventually, 473 00:36:54,490 --> 00:37:00,010 Speaker 2: Omar Bouchet's conviction was overturned too. The Lord Chief Justice 474 00:37:00,530 --> 00:37:01,530 Speaker 2: was remorseful. 475 00:37:02,290 --> 00:37:05,450 Speaker 4: Our regret is that it has taken so long for 476 00:37:05,530 --> 00:37:07,330 Speaker 4: this injustice to be remedied. 477 00:37:11,290 --> 00:37:15,450 Speaker 2: Winston no longer felt he was suspended in limbo. He 478 00:37:15,570 --> 00:37:19,530 Speaker 2: was in charge of his own destiny outside. 479 00:37:19,010 --> 00:37:19,930 Speaker 1: The Court of Appeal. 480 00:37:20,250 --> 00:37:24,010 Speaker 2: He urged others whose lives had been blighted by Ridgwell 481 00:37:24,410 --> 00:37:25,250 Speaker 2: to come forward. 482 00:37:26,170 --> 00:37:30,290 Speaker 3: If you are innocent, don't give up. 483 00:37:33,530 --> 00:37:38,050 Speaker 2: Derrek Ridgwell had lied from the earliest days of his career. 484 00:37:38,930 --> 00:37:42,530 Speaker 2: There had long been reason to mistrust him. A climate 485 00:37:42,570 --> 00:37:47,890 Speaker 2: of fear about mugging, heightened by media reports, gave him power, 486 00:37:48,530 --> 00:37:53,210 Speaker 2: and the people around him reinforced that power. By the 487 00:37:53,370 --> 00:37:56,810 Speaker 2: end of twenty twenty four, the Court of Appeal had 488 00:37:56,890 --> 00:38:02,730 Speaker 2: quashed eleven convictions based on evidence from Derrek Ridgewell, but 489 00:38:02,810 --> 00:38:03,450 Speaker 2: there may be. 490 00:38:03,410 --> 00:38:04,050 Speaker 1: More out there. 491 00:38:05,770 --> 00:38:10,530 Speaker 2: As for Winston, life is good. Still lives in South London, 492 00:38:10,650 --> 00:38:14,530 Speaker 2: where he's celebrated by his local community for his activism. 493 00:38:14,810 --> 00:38:18,130 Speaker 2: He's often recognized as he walks down the street. He's 494 00:38:18,170 --> 00:38:21,570 Speaker 2: also working with a production company to develop a documentary 495 00:38:21,570 --> 00:38:25,250 Speaker 2: and a drama series about his story. But while that 496 00:38:25,490 --> 00:38:29,570 Speaker 2: story has a happy ending, the scars remain. 497 00:38:30,330 --> 00:38:34,930 Speaker 3: Ridgewell was convicted and imprisoned for stealing mail bags. But 498 00:38:35,050 --> 00:38:40,250 Speaker 3: in my case, he wilfully and maliciously stole nearly fifty 499 00:38:40,410 --> 00:38:44,450 Speaker 3: years of my life and I'll never get them back. 500 00:38:56,050 --> 00:39:00,490 Speaker 2: Key sources for this episode include Winston True himself, who 501 00:39:00,530 --> 00:39:04,250 Speaker 2: spoke to Cautionary Tales in twenty twenty four, and Rot 502 00:39:04,450 --> 00:39:08,450 Speaker 2: at the Core The Serious Crimes of a Detective Sergeant 503 00:39:08,730 --> 00:39:13,770 Speaker 2: by True and Graham Satchwell. This episode was inspired by 504 00:39:14,170 --> 00:39:19,210 Speaker 2: policing the crisis, Mugging the State, and law and Order by. 505 00:39:19,090 --> 00:39:20,650 Speaker 1: Stuart Hall and others. 506 00:39:21,250 --> 00:39:23,970 Speaker 2: For a full list of sources, see the show notes 507 00:39:24,210 --> 00:39:31,210 Speaker 2: at Timharford dot com. The Cautionary Tales as written by 508 00:39:31,210 --> 00:39:35,130 Speaker 2: me Tim Harford with Andrew Wright, Alice Fines, and Ryan Dilly. 509 00:39:35,570 --> 00:39:39,010 Speaker 2: It's produced by Alice Fines and Marilyn Rust. The sound 510 00:39:39,010 --> 00:39:42,370 Speaker 2: design and original music are the work of Pascal Wise. 511 00:39:42,770 --> 00:39:46,850 Speaker 2: Additional sound design is by Carlos San Juan at Brain Audio. 512 00:39:47,570 --> 00:39:51,930 Speaker 2: Bend Dafhaffrey edited the scripts. The show features the voice 513 00:39:51,930 --> 00:39:56,490 Speaker 2: talents of Melanie Guttridge, Stella Harford, Oliver Hembrough, Sarah Jupp, 514 00:39:56,730 --> 00:40:00,810 Speaker 2: messaam and Roe, Jamal Westman, and Rufus Wright. The show 515 00:40:01,090 --> 00:40:04,370 Speaker 2: also wouldn't have been possible without the work of Jacob Weisberg, 516 00:40:04,490 --> 00:40:09,010 Speaker 2: Greta Cohne, Sarah Nix, Eric Sandler, Carrie Brody, Christina Sulli, 517 00:40:09,650 --> 00:40:14,250 Speaker 2: Kira Posey, and Owen Miller. Cautionary Tales is a production 518 00:40:14,410 --> 00:40:18,770 Speaker 2: of Pushkin Industries. It's recorded at Wardoor Studios in London 519 00:40:19,050 --> 00:40:22,610 Speaker 2: by Tom Berry. If you like the show, please remember 520 00:40:22,650 --> 00:40:25,490 Speaker 2: to share, rate and review. It really makes a difference 521 00:40:25,530 --> 00:40:27,090 Speaker 2: to us and if you want to hear the show, 522 00:40:27,290 --> 00:40:30,450 Speaker 2: add free sign up to Pushkin Plus on the show 523 00:40:30,490 --> 00:40:35,050 Speaker 2: page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin dot fm slash plus. 524 00:40:40,290 --> 00:40:43,850 Speaker 2: Trust is at the center of so many cautionary tales. 525 00:40:44,210 --> 00:40:46,570 Speaker 2: I've told you about the people who trusted a man 526 00:40:46,610 --> 00:40:50,130 Speaker 2: in uniform and allowed him to steal from the city coffers, 527 00:40:50,810 --> 00:40:53,170 Speaker 2: and the woman who drove into the desert because she 528 00:40:53,330 --> 00:40:56,530 Speaker 2: trusted the sat now ahead of her instincts. Then there 529 00:40:56,570 --> 00:41:00,730 Speaker 2: was the celebrity author who trusted photographs of fairies as 530 00:41:00,850 --> 00:41:04,250 Speaker 2: proof of their existence. We've had people who trusted in 531 00:41:04,290 --> 00:41:07,570 Speaker 2: technology when they shouldn't and those who didn't trust it 532 00:41:07,970 --> 00:41:11,250 Speaker 2: when they should And that's before we get to the doctors, 533 00:41:11,410 --> 00:41:15,850 Speaker 2: business leaders and scammers who abuse the trust put in them. 534 00:41:16,490 --> 00:41:20,330 Speaker 2: I'm fascinated by questions of trust, and given that you're 535 00:41:20,410 --> 00:41:24,210 Speaker 2: a loyal listener to Cautionary Tales, I'm guessing you're quite 536 00:41:24,210 --> 00:41:28,090 Speaker 2: interested in them too, And that's why I've invited Rachel 537 00:41:28,210 --> 00:41:32,730 Speaker 2: Botsman to join me for a special edition of Cautionary Questions. 538 00:41:33,610 --> 00:41:37,290 Speaker 2: Rachel is the author of the new audiobook How to 539 00:41:37,410 --> 00:41:41,890 Speaker 2: Trust and Be Trusted? So do better to answer your 540 00:41:41,930 --> 00:41:46,170 Speaker 2: trust questions. Maybe you'd like to know why we naturally 541 00:41:46,210 --> 00:41:50,850 Speaker 2: trust some people but recoil from others. Maybe you're curious 542 00:41:50,890 --> 00:41:54,330 Speaker 2: about why so many people are taken in by particular 543 00:41:54,490 --> 00:41:58,610 Speaker 2: historical figures. There might be an episode of Cautionary Tales 544 00:41:58,650 --> 00:42:01,810 Speaker 2: that makes you tear your hair out at the gullibility 545 00:42:01,850 --> 00:42:05,610 Speaker 2: of those involved. Are we right to be suspicious whenever 546 00:42:05,610 --> 00:42:12,010 Speaker 2: a politician says trust me? Can being too distrustful be 547 00:42:12,050 --> 00:42:16,890 Speaker 2: as dangerous as being too trusting? Whatever your query, you 548 00:42:16,930 --> 00:42:20,010 Speaker 2: can trust Rachel to have the answers, So send them 549 00:42:20,010 --> 00:42:24,370 Speaker 2: two tales at Pushkin dot FM. That's t a L. E. 550 00:42:24,530 --> 00:42:27,650 Speaker 2: S At Pushkin dot f M.