Everyone has the right to a fair trial, but how sure can people be that, if it came to it, they would get one? Panorama reporter Katie Razzall investigates cases where crucial evidence had not been investigated by the police or where evidence had been withheld from defendants. One man was wrongly jailed for four years, another had the case against him thrown out just before his trial was due to start and a man was put on trial for rape despite the alleged victim saying he should not have been charged. All rape prosecutions are now being reviewed after the collapse of some high-profile trials. Former High Court judge Richard Henriques tells the programme there have been too many cases recently where only at the last moment the truth comes to light and the system must do better.

With a surge of violent crime in London and recorded crime rising across the country, Panorama films with four police forces to ask if Britain's police can cope. The film reveals forces stretched to crisis point by eight years of austerity and a national shortage of detectives. An exclusive analysis of police data for Panorama shows how fewer crimes are ending up with any suspect charged. Chief constables speak about the strains on their forces and how changes have had to be made not only in the way they prioritise crime, but how they investigate it too. But do the public accept these changes? Panorama hears from victims of crime and communities who fear Britain's streets are no longer being properly policed.