Fact Sheet: Crime In The Media

Hollywood scripts and television programming are filled with storylines of crime and criminal justice. The viewing public consumes crime

Crime is a difficult concept to define as everyone is different in the way they think and because it varies so greatly. It also depends on what stage of time we are in and how we perceive things. This is because the idea of crime also draws upon how an individual, or a set of individuals are linked with the society. For some people crime is an act that breaks a law which is made to keep the society safe. However, some

A crime is conduct (or an act of omission) which, when it results in certain consequences, may lead to prosecution and punishment in the criminal court. Newburn (2012:8). Crime is usually defined as breaking the law. The government and authorities usually set out laws for its general public to follow and those who break the law will be faced with the consequences of being punished. The behavior codes introduced by the state are examples of codes that influence society. The criminal justice system forces the law and those that break it will be faced with its consequences. Crime is often set aside for the offences that cause harm or injury to the community, individuals or state, The institute of alcohol studies stated that according to the 2011/12 CSEW, there were 917,000 violent incidents where the victim believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol, accounting for 47% of violent offences committed that year, this represents a rise of 3 percentage points on the previous year [2010/11].

Pop culture media, like Law and Order, has a way of showing people how crime is portrayed. Case (2013), mentions that past studies about the representation of crime in the media has increasingly shown fear to the public and portraying unrealistic standards of how crime is in the real world. Media likes to exaggerate how things truly are in the real world, which is why people believe what the media portrays. People will believe that everything they see in a television show can truly happen in the real world, which certain things can happen but not everything. If people end up believing in how the media portrays crime then people will be living in fear of their society being more violent than it actually is (Case, 2013).

It is true that criminal justice is a major part of the entertainment world. In most shows on TV today, I was really surprised when I sat down to think about what shows I watched that would actually fit in to the three components. I didn’t realize at first how many shows I watched that actually depicted the law enforcement, court systems, and the corrections aspects of Criminal Justice.

Most people use second hand information as their core source of information about crime, this source of information usually being the media. When carrying out sample research in Birmingham, Susan Smith (1984) discovered that 52% of people obtained most of their information about crime from the media, 36% obtained it from hearsay or alleged experiences of friends and neighbours, 3% from their own experiences, and 1% from the police service themselves (cited in Jones, 2001; 8). However the media tend to exaggerate upon areas of criminal activity causing a moral panic. ‘A moral panic is a semi- spontaneous or media generated mass movement based on the perception that some individual or group,

In recent years, the subject of crime has become an increasingly important theme of political, academic, and public debate. In particular, the media today is more focused on victims than it has ever been before. Through media representations of the ‘ideal victim’, this essay will subsequently show how the media are able to construct and re-affirm pre-existing traditional ideologies within the public realm. In effect, this assignment will critically assess the concept of an ‘ideal victim’ and show how the media have used this when describing crime.

For the past of couple of years the country has experienced tragic events in which society can see the disparity between races. When it comes to criminal acts, society distinguishes white and black offenders because of how they have been portrayed by the media. The media is in charge of informing the community of daily news. However, the media is also the cause of why black people are perceived as “bad people” due to their race and how the media describes their criminal acts. Blacks are linked with criminality more than whites (Dixon, 2008). The media is the prime contributor of why crimes committed by black people are seen more dangerous than those committed by white people, even if the crime by both race is of a same scale. During these four

Different forms of media, such as television, films, books, and newspapers, have similar ways of portraying the criminal justice system. The media constructs representations of crime and justice and in doing this, it presents an often dramatized representation of the criminal justice system; and this does not just influence on the public’s lay view of crime but also for criminal justice experts (Marsh, 2014). In the media it is commonly known that they are a business, and businesses need to make a profit. Because of this, the media’s portrayal of the criminal justice system has been very negative. With the news, their main purpose is to produce what sells. So many of them would edit the information they have gathered and make a story that will sell. Also the media does not show the full process of the criminal justice as a quick process, while in fact it is not. For example, last year, Netflix released a short series called “Making A Murderer”. Most people claimed that they feel like they can solve a crime when they finished watching a series. While that series is very factual, it does not hit every single step of the criminal justice process.

Television has become a vital aspect of daily life, within modern society; every aspect of television exhibits, to a certain extent, a reliance on genre (Mittell, 2001). Industries rely on genre to produce programs, and audiences use genres as a means of organizing fan practices (Mittell, 2001). According to a 2006 Nelson Media Research study, ratings confirm that aside from prime time shows such as American Idol and Survivor, part-time crime drama’s have been classified as one of the most favoured genre (DeTardo-Bora, pg. 154, 2009). The relationship between the media and criminal justice system is delicate, where more often than not, crimes are portrayed in a false light (Graveline, pg. 1, 2015). These misconceptions lead to

The public depends on the news media for its understanding of crime. Reportedly three quarters (76%) of the public say, they form their opinions about crime from what they see or read in the news (Dorfman & Schiraldi, 2001). After reviewing five hours of reality crime television shows, one is left with a very dismal look on society and a prejudice towards minorities as they are largely depicted as the perpetrators of crime. This new genre commonly referred to as reality television appears to be sweeping the nation by storm. Opinions vary, depending on whom you ask, to what extent reality plays a role versus the selling of a product. Sensationalism, advertising, ratings hype, profiling and fear all comprise the mass

Crimes and criminal law have always been a sensitive subject with the people; criminal law concerns itself with issues such as morality, authority, equity and integrity – all of which are aspects on which the public may have strong beliefs; strong but suggestible. It is well known that finances, media, education and law are fundamental to a society – two of them are also inherently linked through society: media and law. The media affects society’s perspective and values which, in turn, shape the law. What is little known, perhaps, is the depth of control that the media possesses over society: it influences through language, the staging of criminal cases in popular media and through subtle, indirect means like presentation. Of course, this

Prior to this semester, I had never given much thought to crime. It was always in the back of my mind because of the seemingly increasing chances of becoming a victim of crime. Over the semester I have explored a range of topics relating to crime. The purpose of this essay is to reflect upon certain topics explored over the semester. I have chosen to focus on topics that had the profound effect on my learning. I have since been able to form an opinion that is back by theory on these topics. The topics chosen are: crime and the media, women and crime, and theories of crime, specifically realism.

Crime is an act against the law where the consequence of conviction by a court is punishment is a serious one such as imprisonment. The Oxford English Dictionary states that crime is: - “An act punishable by law, as being forbidden by statute or injurious to the public welfare…An evil or injurious act; an offence, a sin”. The government usually set laws that the people must follow, punishment is given for those who lighten those laws. The legal or criminal justice system applies the law and punishes those who break it. Crime is described by Blackburn (1993; p.5) ‘acts attracting legal punishment […] offences against the community’. There is a social shame associate with crime. It is important to note that all breaches of the law are not criminal such as civil offenses and breach of contract. The word ‘crime’ is reserved for the offences that cause harm or injury to the public, individuals or the state. Social, political, financial and emotional conditions influence the definition of crime and how the law is useful. These changes may ban or allow behaviour. The data on crime will have to take this reason into account.

     In general the definition of a crime is an act punishable by law, usually considered an evil act. Crime refers to many types of misconduct forbidden by law. Crimes include such things as murder, stealing a car, resisting arrest, possession or dealing of illegal drugs, being nude in public , drunk driving, and bank robbery. Crime is an act that has been timeless and has been committed practically since the start of time. For example, ever since Cain killed his brother Abel (B.C.), people being charged with witchcraft in the 1600’s, prostitution, to the current crimes of modern day(A.D.). Even though crime has existed throughout time it has progressed and branched out taking many types forms.