The Media are Responsible for Shaping People's Attitudes and Perceptions of Crime - Coursework Example

The Media are responsible for shaping Peoples Attitudes and Perceptions of Crime. Full November 18, 2008 The Media are responsible for shaping Peoples Attitudes and Perceptions of Crime. Introduction It is evident that mass media perform a big part in influencing people’s perception towards crime. Society is intrigued with crime and justice from movies, books, newspapers, magazines, television broadcasts, to daily conversations. As a result, the mass media take a significant function in the development of criminality in the mind of the public. The view of the public regarding victims, criminals, deviants, and law enforcement officials is hugely decided by their representation in the mass media. Furthermore, studies suggest that a huge part of public knowledge about crime and justice is derived from the media (Graber 1980). Media magnify Violence in Crime The media has a powerful impact on the general depiction of crime in society. The pictures that spread through public consciousness of crime are hugely generated by, and mirrored in, the electronic and print media. In this way the media have a strong influence with regard to how crime is commonly defined in society. Violent events obtain a wide area of coverage and the public is surrounded 24/7 by news accounts of specific details. It is nearly similar to the media communicating that the more violent, the better. Today, it is not sufficient anymore to report on a missing child. Media now report on what state they are in when they are found and what was done to them. In fact, research studies find that mass media was credited with supplying ninety-five percent of the information the public obtains regarding crime (Gunter 1987). A couple of questions emerge when the public thinks about these issues. What is the general influence of the media upon reality? Does the mass media imitate reality? These questions come up often when discussion turns to descriptions of crime and violence in the media. For instance, is media violence only an illustration of the actual violence that exists in our society or does it help to legalize and promote more violence? The media, specifically the news media, defends itself from the charge of encouraging violence by emphasizing that they are merely depicting what is actually happening (Surette 1998). Real people are murdered every day. On the other hand, establishments that produce fictionalized views of violence (such as movies or novels and comics) lean on the argument that what they are producing should not be taken literally. Nevertheless, we cannot discount the fact that media establishments are inclined to overemphasize violence when they find it because they believe violence sells. The twenty-four hour news channels confront a progressively competitive media market, which builds a demand to provide an insatiable desire for crime news. Competition among different channels also has become very tough after the conception of CNN and BBC news. Media establishments have since recognized a guaranteed formula to lure more viewers by covering violent occurrences and involving as many details as possible. As a consequence, the public tends to magnify the danger of infrequent crimes. People tend to think that murder is way more common than it is, and they underestimate usual crimes, such as burglary. In reality, however, the more severe a crime is, the less likely that it happens (Fan 1988). This correlation is very strong. But if people were to take a newspaper and count the number of crimes reported, people will find the complete reverse. There is a misrepresentation that flows into daily reporting of crime. Media Reportage stimulates Fear Perceptions of crime do not always reflect reality. For instance, fear of crime can be aroused by neighbors, friends, and messages depicted in the media. These factors can likewise affect people’s perceptions of levels of crime. Based on the depictions of media, in both fictitious and actual kinds of programs and coverage, crime is inclined to be defined mainly as crime on the streets. Such crime is thus associated with personal terror and fear, and violence is seen as central. Crime is overemphasized, with important assumptions for the fear of crime among certain sections of the population. This fear is exaggerated by the manner in which crime is seen to be random in nature, with anyone and everyone a possible target of crime. In fact, studies on the influence of media on the public revolve on a conclusion: The coverage of exaggerated and violent crime arouses fear among the general public (Hansen 1991). Because of potential misperceptions, regular television viewers of heinous crimes would be more inclined to fear for their own safety. They think that the best solution to preventing crime is to place more police officers on the streets, sow a greater distrust of their neighbors, and have more tendencies towards prejudice against minorities and new immigrants (Bonta and Hanson 1994). In media reports of crime, an important facet of the qualification of the news is the gravity of the crime. The graver a crime is, the better chance it will be reported. However, in using gravity as a news qualification, the media are more likely to report too many crimes that occur rarely, which presents an unrealistic view of the world. However, fear of crime can and do have actual positive consequences as well notwithstanding the realistic basis of the news. For example, wide media reports of child abuse could influence changes in the law, such as the introduction of required reporting of suspected occurrences. Also, the fear brought about by media coverage of attacks on elderly people may contribute to calls for more police, stringent sentences and extended police power. Nevertheless, every day, a wide number of criminal accounts are presented in both print and broadcast media. This huge exposure is significant, as the media are among the sources of information people depend on to shape their perceptions of the world around them. The media thus play an influential role in determining the amount of fear of crime that people have. However, the media cover crime stories widely and unequally. Consequently, this persuades the public to believe that there is more crime than there factually is, and expecting that a large number of crime exists in society causes people to fear. Media convey False Perception of Crime Some researchers assert that because the media spend considerable time publicizing a significant number of violent occurrences, the consuming public might interpret it with a distorted perception of their environment (Surrete 1998). After being barraged with story after story on heinous crimes, the consuming public could be misled to expect that heinous crime rates are increasing when they are in fact decreasing. For example, in fictitious stories of crime fighting in television, the police frequently possess extraordinary qualities (such as, sophisticated guns and martial arts skills), and violence is often necessary and substantiated due to the disposition of the offenders involved. The character of real policing is once again distorted, and the routine feature-interviewing, poring over file material, researching, and so on-are usually not present (Chiricos et al 2000). Another aspect of fictitious descriptions is that the police are not liable to anyone. The police are given permission to occasionally trespass the bounds of the law, because the public understands they are on the public’s side. Thus, the police are generally viewed as trustworthy and righteous, although evidence in real life indicates that corruption of the police is a continuous challenge (Zaller 1992). Hence, it is essential to distinguish the views and facts of crime in society. The media form the public’s view and impression of crime and in the process define crime in certain ways. One aspect of this process is that the media often depict crime in terms of sudden rise in crime rates. This concerns the way by which rising coverage of specific kinds of crime (usually crimes such as rape, drug offences, assault or homicide) heightens the public attention to the crime. It is not required that an actual increase in the crime for this to occur. The increase occurs only in public perception. Moreover, the character of race and violence in society is particularly complex. The public is often spoon fed violence from the cradle and becomes addicted to it in just about all types of media. The fact is, though, that there is a tremendous difference between the publics perception of white violence and black violence. Millions of law abiding, respectful black youths are usually misjudged as hoodlums or criminals and are forced to bear the degrading social stigma of that label in everything they do (Surette 1998). Concerning crime control and prevention, the usual conclusion given by media is that, authorities are informed of a crime, investigation will commonly lead to discovery and apprehension of the criminal. This is a different from the reality of general police work, and in particular cases of serious street crime a notable proportion of cases do not reach the prosecution stage (Graber 1980). Although it may be too elementary to state that media depictions of vio­lent crime create the public’s perception of reality, violent images may sup­port the mistaken fear that crime is getting out of control. An added con­sideration is that television viewers usually understand crime and their other fears by combining knowledge from the news with that from fictitious portrayals of crime. Conclusion Many researchers discover that the media have significant direct influence on public opinion and that the media not only strengthen and arouse existing perceptions of crime (Zaller 1992). Additionally, these opinions, based on studies made, do not appear to be congruent with the actual criminal reality of society. The media are not only influential in supplying the public with issues to think about, but also in telling people how to see and think regarding crime. In addition, the consuming public may even allow the media to influence or control their depictions and views regarding crime. Mass media reportage of violent crimes can influence and distort public opinion on these issues, and public opinion could mirror the messages sent. Furthermore, the media communicates and sends powerful and confusing depictions, images and ideas about stereotypical criminal offenders that can have a powerful influence on the mind of society In conclusion, a great part of the public’s awareness about crime and justice is shaped through media consumption. The public is inclined to understand particular issues and consider them as significant if these issues are made known and given importance by the mass media. This presents how the media reportage of crime can impact public perception. It brings up the importance on the selection made by the media with regard to the criminal occurrences on which they report. Similarly, it is essential for the consuming public to be aware of how the media influences their perceptions. References Bonta, J., & Hanson, K. R. 1994, Gauging the risk for violence: Measurement, impact, and strategies for change: User report, Solicitor General Canada, Ottawa. Chiricos, T., Padgett, K. and M. Gertz, 2000. “Fear, TV news, and the Reality of Crime”, Criminology 38 (3): 755-785. Fan, David P. 1988, Predictions of Public Opinion from the Mass Media, Greenwood Press, New York. Graber, D. 1980, Crime News and the Public, Praeger, New York. Gunter, B. 1987, Television and Fear of Crime, John Libbey, New York. Hansen, Anders. 1991, "The Media and the Social Construction of Environment", Media Culture and Society 13(4):443-58. Surette, R. 1998, Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice: Images and Realities, 2nd Edition, New York: Wadsworth Publishing. Zaller, John R. 1992, The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Read More