“The intelligent way Becky Southworth handled this film marked her out as a significant talent”
Can Sex Offenders Change, BBC3
“Guiding the programme with skill and as much empathy as she could muster was the young presenter, Becky Southworth. It is common for programmes aimed at a younger demographic to feature the presenter heavily on screen (think Stacey Dooley). But Southworth had a strong personal connection and story to tell here: her father spent 10 years in jail for sex offences against children, including her. She spoke bravely about this on camera, and the intelligent, fair-minded way she handled this film marked her out as a significant talent.”
“Can Sex Offenders Change? was far too important to have been buried in the dank 10.45pm graveyard. It asked vital questions, but by “sex offenders” it meant paedophiles, so I don’t know why it didn’t say that.”
“Southworth is inquisitive and measured, and exposing herself to trauma in the making of the film was brave. She was open, but resisted divulging details about her past or displaying any emotion of her own, which made her study, by its nature relentlessly frustrating, all the more resonant.”
“The programme did not, of course, answer the question it posed, although it interspersed its interviews with offenders with contributions from the experienced and courageous people from the few organisations set up to try to prevent reoffending. The underlying message from them seemed to be that pragmatism is the only way forward.”
Criminal Kids: Crime & Punishment, Channel 4
“According to Ministry of Justice figures released four years ago, the price of keeping one young offender in custody is up to £76,000 a year. This documentary failed to address that. Nor did it focus on the psychological damage to elderly victims of crime, many of whom might never feel safe in their own homes again.”
Christopher Stevens, The Daily Mail
“Sometimes programmes like these try to elicit sympathy for the criminals - tough lives, difficult upbringings, the odds stacked against them. Not here. No one is going to feel sorry for scumbags who rob the elderly.”
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