Media And Victimization

Victimology in its most simple form is the study of the victim or victims of a particular offender (Roberson. & Wallace, 2011). I feel that the Victims’ Movement has not yet reached its full potential because just like every form of law, legislature or even government there is always ways to improve and to become stronger. Much like when we started to form our government it had so many flaws and it still today has the ability to improve. The problem is that as society changes and crime changes the laws and the system have to change with it in order for things to improve. When it comes to crimes it isn’t just the victim that is

To say the media and elected officials are a mixed blessing for the rediscovery of crime victims is an understatement. While being a victim of a crime in the 24 hour news grind cycle it remains inconceivable there will be attention being given to victims do not desire it. They might prefer to keep their private lives private. However, there also exists another view that the public may need understand, according to the website Justice Solutions “Other victims and survivors who learn about victims’ experiences through the media may be inspired to report crimes and seek supportive services” (Seymour, 2009) However, news gives elected officials a platform for generating public interest, in turn leads to generating finance to pass laws and implement

In response to this movement, more support services were established for victims and measures were provided allowing victims greater involvement in the criminal justice process through a variety of means. This increased the need for research into the effects of crime on victims and how best their needs can be met.

Criminology is continuously changing and developing. Advances of technology have made media our primary news source for crime. We believe the stories told by our local news media, not doubting a word because these sources are supposedly reliable. Nevertheless, they sometimes do spread false information. It may be intentional or unintentional. According to Cohen, media presence amplifies a problem which did not previously exist (Steeves and Milford, 2015) thus creating a moral panic. As media influence increases, it is necessary for criminologists to study moral panics, such as the Columbine School shootings or the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.

Accordingly, the area of interest being explored here is the media's coverage of the decrease of violent crime in comparison to the decrease in non-violent crime. Does the media accurately show that there is a decrease in both? Or is the focus only on the decrease of violent crime? The medium being used for this content analysis are online Canadian news outlets. The purpose of this study analysis will be to assess what the media deems important, and what it decides to cover in relation to a decrease in crime in

Robert Elias' book, 'Victims Still';, presents a very controversial stance that the victims' movement is, perhaps, not at all. Elias suggests that all the programs, laws, and institutions that have been created in the 1980s and 1990s have done absolutely nothing to help the victim. Elias also offers explanations as to how the victims' movement doesn't help victims, what the real causes of crime are, and how crime should be controlled.

The three key goals victims can pursue through the criminal justice system is to punish the offender, compel law breakers to undergo rehabilitate treatment and restitution. Punishment is usually justified on utilitarian grounds as evil. Although it is argued that making transgressors suffer curbs future criminality in a number of ways. It is said if an offender gets punished by unpleasant and unwanted consequences it will most likely discouraged him/her from breaking the law again. Also it satisfies victims thirst for revenge and prevents future vigilantism and incapacitates dangerous predators so they can be off the streets; a safer community. Rehabilitation, some victims want professionals to help offenders become decent,

The media can affect criminal justice policies. I believe that the media is very influential which can cause political leaders to begin asking questions. The media can influence public opinion. When the media relentless emphasis increases public concern about something, it makes the issue more important. For examples, some of these issues can be about gun control due to the many recent shooting that have occurred all over the United States. All these case have even caused the President of the United States to ask for stricter gun laws. Sometimes, the media can give make things that are not the problem look bad. The media may show that guns are the big problem when in fact, in my opinion is not the guns but the people. As many have stated, is

victim services and law enforcement that was attended by law enforcement leaders, line officers, detectives, victim advocates, and victims themselves. The outcome of this meeting was the identification of critical and emerging issues in the investigation of violent crimes, the barriers and challenges with these highly traumatic investigations, and strategies to resolve these pressing issues. One such strategy was the employment of victim service professionals in law enforcement agencies.

Question 1. In what ways does the media misinterpret the nature of crime? Media misrepresents the nature of crime in various ways. The main misrepresentation is the provocation of violent crime, in turn misinterpreting the number of violent crimes to the general public. The majority of the population watch the news, read the newspaper, have access to social media such as Facebook and watch fictional crime programs on television, all being very powerful media outlets.

The news media has a way of making the story more dramatic by adding information that is not true. I do not feel that they have the people's best interest at heart, the news media is about ratings. The criminal justice system has cases that are presented to the public by way of social media and it tends to have a cause and effect type situation."These sensational crime news stories do not provide a very accurate image of the types of crime by which the average citizen is victimized. Nor do such stories accurately depict the kinds of crimes the police respond to on a daily basis" ((Bohm & Haley, 2012 p.6). Opinions and thoughts are formed without all the facts, I do believe high profile cases that are placed on the news causes controversy and

When it comes to the violent victimization of children, children should have the right to be protected from victimization. Although the media focus on the victimization of children, children are increasingly becoming victims of violent crimes and neglect. Humphrey & Schmalleger stated, "About 1 in 10 homicide victims in the United States is 18 years of age or younger, about one third are females, and 47% are black" (Humphrey and Schmalleger, 2012, p. 89). One sociocultural change that would reduce the violent victimization of children is preventing any physical, sexual, and any other abuse of children that would require an extremely wide range approach to cease any level of sociocultural. I truly believe that any family structure could prevent

Now they do not want their officers to be spending so much time on the minor crimes when time can be spent on the more dangerous ones. In New Jersey officers will not respond to theft or property damage unless the crime is in progress. If the crime is not in progress, the victim must fill out a form online about the crime or come into the station to report the crime their self. A station in San Jose, California, does not want their officers to run on alarms being pulled if they do not have a confirmation that the alarm was meant to be pulled. From the police not responding to the minor calls, leaves more time for them to answer more violent crimes like shootings and, or domestic

The study conducted by both Chermak (1995) and Greer (2012) argues that newsworthiness of crimes can also be determined by the victim. The type of victim, usually “those persons or category of individuals who – when hit by crime – most readily are given the complete and legitimate status of being a victim, including those who are perceived as vulnerable, defenceless, innocent and worthy of sympathy and compassion” (Greer, 2012), appeals to the media more due to the human interest element (Chermak, 1995). Following this theory, victims who generally receive extensive media representation are the elderly, women and children as opposed to men, again contributing to notion of selective reporting (Greer,

The best method of informing the public is using television. Thus, the news is televised. Many believe that it is the news media's job to report to the public what is happening in our society. Some, on the other hand, claim the news media are only interested in increasing their ratings and do so by reporting events that are violent in nature. Those who believe this also think that violence in the news has a direct effect on our society. Its precise effect would be dictating a society's behavior. Because the news is an informative service and the crime rates are decreasing one can claim that the news media is just a reflection of society.