Is crime increasing? Is the world less safe? Do we need more police on the streets?

And who is Bible John?

In this epsiode, Professor David Wilson and Emilia Fox talk about popular crime myths and the mysterious circumstances around some of the most notorious unsolved crimes.

Why do we label seriel killers with nicknames? And how can we hope to solve crimes distorted by widely held beliefs of inaccurate information.

David and Emilia start by looking at the infamous scottish seriel killer Bible John. Does he exist? Or is he a media tool used to sell papers? To find out they talk to Journalist Jane Hamilton who has spend a career researching and reporting on serious crime and Bible John. David thinks he knows Bible John's real identity, but Jane isn't so sure. So is this another urban myth?

And to explore crime myth even further David and Emilia talk to Mark Bonnar, star of Line of Duty, Taggart, Silent Witness, Unforgotten and many more.

They discover how Mark became obsessed with True Crime, his theories on popular crime myths and how he puts himself into the minds of the roles he plays in the criminal world.

Subscribe and listen now, to If It Bleeds It Leads, with Professor David Wilson and Emilia Fox, on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts.