Crime And Media Analysis

743 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The relationship between media and crime

It is common place for the public to think that the largest portion of crime in society today is violent in nature. This essay will provide a definition of crime, identify the types of crimes associated with both violent and non-violent crime, discuss the origin of the public’s knowledge of the crime problem and examine the historical and more recent data for both violent and non-violent crimes in society. The findings of the essay will conclude that the principal portion of crime in society today is not violent in nature. What is crime? And what is considered a violent crime? Hayes, (2014) defines crime as an act of omission that is forbidden by law, causes public harm and that is punishable by law. Crimes can be committed against communities, …show more content…

The research indicates that the public obtains its knowledge of the crime problem and the justice system primarily from the media (Roberts & Dobb, 1990, Surette, 1998), and the media tends to overemphasise crimes of violence, such as murder and robbery, and property crimes are rarely reported to the public (Surette, 1998). The crimes presented by the media are portrayed to the public as being more typical and more of a threat to society, when in fact, some crimes have decreased and others have remained stable (Indermaur & Roberts, 2005). The misrepresentation of information by the media influences the public’s perception of the crime problem in society, and by overemphasising violent crimes, the media perpetuates the myth that most crime in society is violent in …show more content…

Crime varies over time and place and crime fluctuates (Hayes, 2014). One approach to gain perspective of the problem of crime is to look at how it has changed over time. Historical data tells us that crime was at marathon proportions in the 18th and 19th centuries (Hayes, 2014), and Australia was considered a country with a high rate of crime (Mukherjee, Walker & Jacobsen 1986). More recent data shows property crime, serious assault and robbery rose markedly between the 1970’s and the 1990’s where homicide remained stable with no increase (Hayes, 2014). From the late 1990’s to 2011 both recorded violent crime and recorded property crime declined, though property crime made up a much larger proportion of overall crime than violent crime (Hayes, 2014), An analysis by Graycar and Grabosky (2002) concluded that the rate of property crime is significantly higher in Australia today than it was in the 18 and 19th centuries and that Australia is a considerably less violent place to live today. Since the 18th-century crime has fluctuated; however, recent data reveals a decline in both recorded violent crime and non-violent crimes also revealing that the larger portion of overall crime was that of property

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Prison

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through the first chapter of this book the focus was primarily on the notion of controlling crime. The best way to describe crime policy used in this chapter is comparing it to a game of ‘heads I win, tails you lose’. This chapter also addresses the causes for decline in America’s

    Read More

  • Evaluating the Effectiveness of Gun Buyback Programs

    2320 Words  | 5 Pages

    Levitt, S. D. (2004). Understanding why crime fell in the 1990s: Four factors that explain the

    Read More

  • Criminal Justice Myths and Facts

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    The media plays a huge role in forming people's perceptions of crime. Without the media we would remain ignorant to occurrences outside our direct social groups. The media and especially news coverage therefore provides us with an important point of contact with the rest of society. In evaluating its effect on popular perceptions of crime it becomes important to consider where most of the information comes from and how representative it is on actual criminality. If it takes "facts" (the truth, the actual event, a real thing) or if it is heightened to a crime myth. With a myth being based upon "exaggeration" or heightening of "ordinary" events in life. Crime myths become a convenient mortar to fill gaps in knowledge and to provide answers to question social science either cannot answer or has failed to address. Myths tend to provide the necessary information for the construction of a "social reality of crime (Quinney, 1970)." As crime related issues are debated and re debated, shaped and reshaped in public forms, they become distorted into myth, as largely seen in the mass media.

    Read More

  • A Critical Analysis of Crime and Social Harm

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although we have a general definitions of crime, some criminologists argue that crimes is better placed within the concept of social harm, Stuart Henry and Mark Lanier (1998) as quoted in Muncie, Talbot and Walters (2010). pp 16-17 were leading authors who done just that. Criminologists such as “Tifft, 1995 an...

    Read More

  • Career: District Attorney

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 21st century, crimes have been and remains as one of the post-major threats towards

    Read More

  • Crime And Media Analysis

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    The general public of Australia has a common aspect when associated with their sources of knowledge of crime. Many would agree the media, especially newspapers and television, are their most frequent and well known source of crime activity. The media updates society with data about the extent, frequency and types of crimes committed (Moston and Coventry, 2011, p.53). Studies highlight our grasp of crime is majorly derived from the media, with a lack of exposure to police statistics or victimisation surveys. There is a concern in correlation to this fact since the media has inconsistency and inaccuracy in reporting crime. Due to this, the media can misrepresent victims and perpetrators, downsizing them to recognisable stereotypes (Moston and

    Read More

  • Abortion Did NOT Reduce the Crime Rate

    1952 Words  | 4 Pages

    Travis, J., & Waul, M. (2002). Reflections on the crime decline: Lessons for the future. Proceedings from the Urban Institute Crime Decline Forum (pp. 1-38). Washington, D. C.: Urban Institute Justice Policy Center.

    Read More

  • Crime In The Media Analysis

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    “There is a widespread concern that the level and type of crime reported in the media present a distorted view of the real level of crime in the community” (Media portrayals of crime, 2000). If a crime is portrayed as ‘out of control’ or perceived as ‘dangerous’ to a community through the media, it could create social repercussions, such as isolation of consumers who believe that their community is in a high-crime or high-violence area. Statistics recorded from the Australian Institute of Criminology confirms property crime, such as break and enter, burglary, vehicle theft and shoplifting are continually being reported at a higher rate than violent crime (Media portrayals of crime, 2000). In 2013 alone, there were approximately 739,317 property offences in total (homicide incidents, 2017). Therefore, the increase in property offences in society was the highest recorded in 2013, compared to violent crimes that are decreasing in a total of 151,714 in the same reviewed period. In addition, this evidence shows that the majority of crime in our society is not of a violent nature.

    Read More

  • Crime is a contested and complex concept. Discuss

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    Morrison, W. (2009) 'What is crime? Contrasting definitions and perspectives', in C. Hale, K. Hayward, A. Wahadin and E. Wincup, (eds), Criminology. Oxford: Oxford University Press

    Read More

  • Media and Fear of Crime

    2029 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...it is the advent of television media that have sparked debate over the integrity of reliable news making. Print media was factual, although sometimes sensational, while electronic media made use of the technologies, such as videotapes and live footage to enhance and exaggerate the drama of the event even further. Many research studies have been conducted to show the effects of the media coverage on crime and how it influences the publics of fear of crime. Mass media has perpetuated a notion that crime is on the increase by portraying events and tragedies in the headlines that are sensational. The public buys into that idea, despite statistical accounts that reflect stable or low crime rates. The more stories people read and watch about crime, the more likely they are to think that crime is out of control. Politicians may then enact legal reforms to sooth the public’s outcry for crime control and prevention. As easy as it may be to hold the media accountable for barraging us with images and ideas that affect our views and beliefs, it important that the public take responsibility for the information that we consume. After all, there is always the “off” button on the remote control.

    Read More

  • Media Distortion of Crime Reports

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout society there are both individuals and groups of people with a wide range of perceptions about crime and justice. These perceptions are influenced by the media and what the media presents. Media presents crime stories in ways that selectively distort and manipulate public perception, thus creating a false picture of crime. Therefore the media provides us with perceptions and social constructions about our world. Firstly I will be discussing the role of the media in constructing knowledge about crime. I will begin by explaining why the media is important, and go further to explain that media representations construct knowledge of crime and since knowledge about crime is constructed it does not necessarily capture reality in fact crime stories are often sensationalised. I will then link this to my central argument that the media shapes people’s perceptions of crime and how this is important as it can lead to changes in the law. I will then explain what it is that the public or society needs to be aware of when reading and watching media reports about crime. We need to be aware of bias and moral panics that are created by the media and how the media shapes or influence’s public perception through this, it is important for us to be aware of misleading or false crime stories so that we are not swayed by the media in believing what they want us to believe.

    Read More

  • Crime In The 1990s

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the 1990s, the U.S. had crime rates that were on a steady increase and showed no signs of stopping by any means. As the cocaine epidemic swept through the 1980’s onward, it only furthered the increasing amount of crime present, not only that, but there were also numerous homicide cases, most of which involved some kind of violent crime and most notably, gun violence. This information only doubled the number of violent or criminal crimes committed from 1985 forward into the 1990s. As the years went on, several experts began to estimate that the amount of crime would do nothing but increase as the years went on, but, it was the opposite that occurred, and instead of rising, the amount of criminal occurrences had actually went down, and

    Read More

  • Social Disorganization Theory Of Property Crime

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Question 2. Studies have revealed that property crimes decreased between the years of 1990 and 2000, within Australia, New Zealand, The United States and Britain. There are many factors that were introduced to society within this time period that had a huge influence on crime, specifically property crime. These factors include many actions that fall under situational crime prevention and defensible space.

    Read More

  • Uneven Distribution Of Crime Essay

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    Violent crimes are crimes where the offender uses or threatens to use force on a victim, these crimes can include murder, sexual assault and robbery. It will be argued that the risk of being a victim of violent crime is not evenly distributed throughout society. Some of the causes to the uneven distribution are age, gender and location and these topics will be discussed in further detail with particular focus on robbery, sexual assault, physical assault and abduction throughout this essay. One cause of uneven distribution of violent crime in society is the gender of victims.

    Read More

  • The Relationship between Unemployment and Crime

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    The U.S. Department of Labor (2011) reported the national average of unemployment for 2008 was 5.8 percent. The rate dramatically increased in 2009 with an average of 9.3 percent and 9.6 percent for 2010. While unemployment rates have increased, the FBI’s preliminary reports for 2010 show that law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have reported a decrease of 6.2 percent in the number of violent crimes for the first 6 months of 2010 when compared to figures reported for the same time in 2009. The violent crime category includes rape, murder, robbery, and aggravated result. The number of property crimes also decreased 2.8 percent when compared to the same time last year. Property crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Arson decreased 14.6 percent when compared to the same time periods of 2009 (FBI, 2011).

    Read More

More about Crime And Media Analysis

Open Document