5 Live Investigates

Indeterminate sentences were abolished three years ago but thousands of prisoners remain locked up, unsure when - or if - they will ever be released. Although designed to protect the public from serious violent or sexual offenders, 5 Live Investigates finds they were also applied to some much lower risk prisoners, who have served up to five times their original tariff. Some wonder whether they will ever be released.

And the geographical gaps which mean some new mothers with psychiatric problems are having to travel hundreds of miles to access the specialist healthcare they need. The Government has promised a cash injection of £15 million a year over the next five years - but is it enough?

The programme hears concerns from residents on different housing estates where the developer has not finished the work on local facilities they were meant to. How much help can they expect from the local authority? And following the abuse scandal in Rotherham a former residential care worker tells the programme that there are continuing failures at senior management level to deal with sexual exploitation for children in care.

5 Live Investigates reveals the growing crisis in police high tech crime units responsible for the forensic analysis of mobile phones and computers in cases of child sexual abuse.

Some forces are failing to even allocate new cases for more than six months, others have delays of more than a year. Concerns are growing that children continue to be abused during the delay.

And, chaos in the business rates system has allowed unscrupulous agents to charge companies for bogus advice about how to reduce their bills - at an estimated cost of hundreds of millions of pounds.

Every year hundreds of thousands of NHS patients take up the option of having their treatment carried out at a private hospital. This may seem to be the best of both worlds, but what happens if things go wrong?

Some private providers don't have the same emergency back-up that is available at NHS hospitals. When complications arise following an operation without the necessary expertise and facilities to deal with them, the consequences can be tragic.

And when patients want to know the track record of a private hospital, is the information available to help them make an informed choice?

And, 5 Live Investigates hears about the risks of handing over the management of your financial affairs to a member of your family. As applications for powers of attorney shoot up there is growing concern they can be used to steal from vulnerable relatives.

Is the system put in place to manage dangerous offenders when they're released from prison keeping people safe? 5 live Investigates asks why more murderers and rapists are committing further offences when freed from jail.

Also, the homeowners living without streetlights and proper pavements because their housebuilder has left the work unfinished. Could more be done to protect them when developments go wrong?

With some families fighting for access to their children unable to get legal aid, or afford a lawyer, an increasing number have to represent themselves in court. They reveal what its like to navigate the court system without assistance.

Despite the cuts, legal aid remains in place for victims of domestic abuse, so why are one in four applications for funding in these cases being turned down?

And legal advisers known as 'McKenzie Friends' are increasingly appearing in family court cases. Unlike solicitors they aren't regulated, meaning clients have no redress when things go wrong.

And, 5 Live Investigates hears about bookies turning down bets from a certain type of punter - the one who looks like they might win. Are they playing fair?

In London, the Metropolitan Police's dedicated faith based abuse team, Project Violent has seen a significant increase in reports of crimes related to abuse. But other areas don't have such specialist expertise and half of police forces are failing to record cases.

Campaigners say children remain at risk in the absence of a coordinated national response to the problem.

Also is there crisis in NHS transgender services? Some patients are waiting months, sometimes years for an appointment to access these specialist services.

Three quarters of clinics are breaching the referral to treatment time of 18 weeks. Some patients will have to wait over three years to be seen.

More than half of the athletes currently banned by anti-doping authorities in the UK are rugby players. There are 15 from rugby union and 13 from rugby league - the majority from the lower leagues of the game's two codes. 5Live investigates how serious doping is in the sport and speaks exclusively to one player currently serving a four year ban for taking steroids. He says the problem is widespread, but claims it is often more about body image than improving performance. We look at the sport's drug testing regime and ask whether it is comprehensive enough to catch the cheats.

The programme has also been given access to a new report which reveals the rising cost of funerals and how some people are suffering real hardship as a result. The average funeral now costs £3,700 - a rise of nearly four per cent on the previous year. While overall funeral debt has gone down, the report reveals one in ten people struggle to pay and owe on average more than £1,300. 5Live also looks at some of the hidden costs, and why if you want to be buried outside your local authority area it could cost you a small fortune.

A medicine made from human blood, which claims to treat cancer and autism, is still being sold despite warnings from the health regulator.

The product GcMAF manufactured by Guernsey based Immuno Biotech Ltd, could pose “a significant risk” to health, The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says.

However, 5 live investigates found that Immuno Biotech Ltd, trading as First Immune, was willing to sell GcMAF to an undercover reporter posing as a parent of a child with autism.

The company says their product is safe.

But why is it still on sale?

Most police pursuits end safely with the suspect arrested. But sometimes they end tragically, leaving people dead or seriously injured. The victim isn't always the driver or a passenger in the car being chased. In 2014-15, the Independent Police Complaints Commission say there were 55 pursuit related incidents where people were seriously injured. A third of those involved innocent bystanders. Presenter Adrian Goldberg speaks to one man seriously injured by a fleeing motorist. The programme also looks at concerns about inconsistent pursuit policies between different forces and examines why some forces appear reluctant to pursue criminals on motorbikes.

The programme also looks at the beauty therapists flouting the law by providing illegal teeth whitening. Under the Dentists Act, only registered dentists and dental professionals such as hygienists can provide the service. But 5 Live Investigates has discovered dozens of beauty salons illegally offering the treatment. Presenter Adrian Goldberg goes undercover to expose one beautician who has been offering teeth whitening despite being prosecuted and fined.