Contemporary Issues In Criminology: Media and Crime - Assignment Example

Question 1 Media and crime. The media has a great influence on the lives of billions and billions of people in the world. At least 70% percent of the world gain access to some form of media and information the most prevalent being the radio and television (DeLisi, 2013). The above statistic compounds the media as a very instrumental tool that can either make or break the crime rates experienced the world over. It can either be an instrument to fight crime and reduce the crime rates, or they can deter the efforts being made to fight crime and derail them by the content they propagate on their streams. Over the recent past studies have been conducted to determine the role of the media in fighting crime and preventing crime in the world and the results have been damning to say the least. It has been established that the media not only distorts the reality of crime, but is also capable of causing crime indirectly. This is very disturbing as it creates an even bigger obstacle in the fight against the prevalence of crime in the world. The media has been seen to derail the efforts of war on crimes in the following ways: First of all the media has a biased interest when it comes to reporting the crime. The bias is that the story has to attract viewers to the station, broadcaster or news agency. This can lead distortion of facts to sensationalize the story thus propagate lies so as to increase readership, viewership and the number of listeners. The media have three main elements that either directly or indirectly interact with a crime first there is entertainment; secondly there are the news and the online spheres. A story in the media can be affected by the area of entertainment therefore rendering the story to be treated with less seriousness than it deserves.The media have a responsibility to provide the news to the general public, but it may select articles that as noted above will increase its coverage (DeLisi, 2013). For this reason it may fail to present the story in a way and the gravity it deserves. In other instances, it may fail entirely to show a particular crime article because it does not fit in the demographic of their intended audiences. The online sphere is also relevant in that most news outlets have an online channel that the general public can access information. This includes websites dedicated to the channels, social media accounts, and such sites as YouTube, where images and articles can be uploaded for the consumption of the public. Competition among the various media houses has led to the need to ‘dress up’ a story so as to make it sensational thus easier consumed by the general public. This is all geared in a bid to make the media outlet money at the expense of responsible journalism. This simple bias can also in fact affect the objectivity of those working the crime and also provide misleading and inaccurate information to the general public thus making them easy to manipulate with falsehood. The media in itself has been seen to propagate crime and promote it in the following ways. First the media has been seen to help crime by providing very intricate details about a crime to the general public (DeLisi, 2013). The media have three different elements, including entertainment the news and the online portals. The media can use these three elements to either knowingly or unknowingly divulge too much information that can I one way or the other present too much detail of the crime being reported to the general public. In fact, this problem can lead to the increase of the said crime since the media had a hand in the divulging of information about, how the crime was committed, what the assailants used, how they planned their attack, and how they got away (Crewe & Lippens, 2015). All this information is being fed to the general public, including persons who are susceptible to engage in criminal activities. Thus equipping them with the know-how on how to commit a certain crime. The media also has propagated crime by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. For instance, during the Gulf war the enemy was able to pinpoint the progress being made by the American army by only watching the news this had the effect of betraying the army's location thus making them vulnerable to attacks. In turn, this led to allot of casualties that were unwarranted. The example shows the extent to which the media need to act and be responsible for the type of content they put out into circulation. The media can also create a barrier between the public and the law enforcing agencies through the types of information divulged to the public. If the media solely focusses on the shortcomings and the inadequacies of the law enforcement agencies first the general public will stop supporting them in the fight against crime (DeLisi, 2013). Secondly the morale of the law enforcers would be decreased and. Thirdly the criminals will feel like they have the freedom to terrorize the general public with confidence that the enforcers of the law cannot limit their reign of terror. All these information underlines the grave importance of the media in our modern day set up in relation to the fight and prevention of crime and criminal activities (Crewe & Lippens, 2015). The media can be instrumental in the reduction of crime through responsible reporting of cases of crime. The media can play this role through providing support to the law enforcers by reporting and complementing the efforts being made to reduce the amount of criminal activities in the country and the world at large. Question 2 Killers are born not made The question of whether the killers are born or made has eluded researchers for crimes for many years. The ability to do a crime or inflict murderous harm to another is very much the subject of debate. Some argue it is nature that is responsible for a person's ability to kill, that all men have the capacity to take another person’s life (Crewe & Lippens, 2015). This is seen as a naturally occurring phenomenon while some argue that its nurture and that anyone can be programmed to be a killer by teaching them there are various types of killers. Psychologists have been able to distinguish the different types of killers depending on their motivations for the killings. The types of killers are: Assassins. This is the same as the contract killers and they commit a killing for the sole purpose of money. That has been placed on the head of the person to be assassinated. Euthanasia. This is the same as consensual killing and majorly involves the killing of a person with their knowledge and consent (Crewe & Lippens, 2015). In most cases it involves the taking of a life of a person in a comma or a person whose medical condition is terminal and irreversible. Euthanasia can also be categorized as a non-homicide linking with others such as assisted suicide. Another form of killing is capital punishment. This is primarily done after a court of law has convicted a person after being found guilty. This form of killing is not considered a criminal homicide as the law mandates it. We also have honor killing. This is one of the traditional forms of killings for instance by the Yoruba in which after the Chiefs death the kings horseman would also kill himself or be killed so as to serve the chief in the afterlife. Also among the Japanese customs if one committed an act that was deemed dishonorable to the family or the clan or the society the only way they would redeem themselves is by committing suicide. Another form of killing is the negligent homicide, and this type of homicide is when a person in averted commits murder, although it was not premeditated or planned thus can be categorized as manslaughter. This is also closely associated with vehicular homicide in that they are not premeditated or planned. We also have a human sacrifice. This is the type of killing that is based on traditional beliefs and belief systems this type of killing involves the taking of a person’s life because of some stipulation of tradition or belief. This is done by the adherents so as to appease or gain favor from their supreme being. This puts it as murder homicide as most traditions that do not hold or conform to the rules of the sanctity of life as prescribed by the law are scrapped and unrecognized by the law. We also have a murder-suicide and this involves the committing of a killing and then committing suicide by the perpetrato (Crewe & Lippens, 2015) r. The perpetrator may commit suicide for various reasons most of which include the fact that they would wish not to face the consequences of their actions. Moreover, we have lust murder, and a sexual motive usually promotes this and this mostly encompasses objectification of another person and the fetishizing of the person. Another form of killing involves self-defense. This type of murder is typically not categorized as criminal homicide. It majorly involves self-defense commonly from an assailant or an antagonist. That results in the murder or killing of the assailant. This type of murder is based on, the defense of a person’s life or property from a person who was threatening either the life or the property or in some cases both the life and the property of the person in question. We also have terrorists. Terrorists are the type of killers who take lives indiscriminately for a particular agenda or to propagate a certain ideology an example of whom are the al-Shabaab and the al Qaeda. These people use various methods to affect their mission they may incorporate the element of murder-suicide through the use of suicide bombers. The terrorist can also be synonymous with mass killings and thus propagate the same agenda (Newburn, 2007). A mass murderer on the other hand may not necessarily be a terrorist. The difference can be analyzed in the form of the intent, of these two people, whereas terrorists have an agenda or an ideology some mass murderers may lack the agenda or the ideology to propagate thus may kill for its sake. We also have serial killers and this are persons who murder more than four people and they do so because of some abnormal psychological gratification (Crewe & Lippens, 2015). This usually takes place at certain times and with breaks called cooling off periods after which the serial killer strikes again. Most of the serial killings and cases usually reported to also possess some sort sexual contact with the victim, hence can be said to be sexually motivated. Lastly, we have a killing spree and this may involve the killing of more than one person, but, may happen in a particular period of the antagonist usually getting court it also requires some psychological disorder to the enemy that leads them to snap and go on a killing spree. Serial killers have been subject to much debate and study among scholars. One such is the University of Chicago study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, said: 'The neural response to distress of others, such as pain is thought to reflect an aversive response in the observer that may act as a trigger to inhibit aggression or prompt motivation to help’. This was in response to a study they conducted to assess the level of empathy among inmates by studying their neurological reactions to various emotional stimuli. This has led to the establishment of the belief that nature may affect the ability of a person to end up a psychopath and a serial killer. A terrorist, on the other hand, is influenced by their environment to do what they do. This is a result of extensive brainwashing by their leadership. This leads them to believe in the cause they are fighting for a moral and justified from their religious standpoint their motive is vengeance and ideological supremacy. Question 3 3 a) Factors affecting victimization. The key factors that influence the seriousness of the effect of victimization include Gender, this is critical in that over the recent past, there have been more crimes against women as compared to men in the United States of America. (Crewe & Lippens, 2015) The cases include sexually motivated crimes. The main reason for this is the fact that women are considered the weaker of the two genders. Another factor is the physical location and region. This also plays a role in victimization as suburbs experience lower crime rates compared to the project slums. 3 b) Victimization in men and women. The experience of victimization is very different from men and women. Women are the most affected in this case as even a study showed that women are victimized even by the police themselves as they report the crime. The most affected age demographic is women between the ages of 15 to 24 who were most at risk of police-reported violence I general. Men are perceived to be stronger and hence they are relatively less susceptible to elements of victimization 3 c) Factors aiding the recovery from victimization. There are various factors that can help a victim to recover more from the experience of victimization and the trauma associated with it (Newburn, 2007) thus the victim can move past the ordeal. These include psychological counseling that helps the victim to open up about their experience, we also have support structures such as self-help groups were victims share their experiences and coping mechanisms with each other (Newburn, 2007). There can also be the use of medicine to help move past an ordeal that involved the victimization of a person. References Crewe, D., & Lippens, R. (2015). What is Criminology About?. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Goldberg, V. (2015). Rethinking Contract Law and Contract Design. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Newburn, T. (2007). Criminology. Cullompton: Willan Pub. DeLisi, M. (2013). The Moffittization of Criminology. International Journal Of Offender Therapy And Comparative Criminology, 57(8), 911-912. doi:10.1177/0306624x13493391 Read More