Is the Nature of Crime in Our Society Accurately Presented in the Media - Essay Example

Media and Crime Is the nature of crime in our society accurately presented in the media? If our media is anything to go by, crime in todays society is highly-organised, violent, and extremely common, and the police are our only line of defence. This portrayal is clear in popular television shows, which are more interested in telling compelling stories than showing accurate criminal activity. Perhaps unsurprisingly, studies show that those who regularly view crime-related media have inaccurate understandings of crime and criminal justice. While criminal news reporting might seem as though it should steer clear of crime dramas tendencies, in fact it too is suspect due to the increasing presence of Police media units. Ultimately, it seems that media distorts the nature of crime in our society, due to the place of privilege that entertainment and ratings hold over realism and accuracy. As Kenneth Dowler, a professor of criminal justice in California points out, society these days is “fascinated with crime and justice” (Dowler, 2003, p. 109). It may be no surprise, then, that a lot of people get their ideas of crime in society largely from crime drama shows. Indeed, the nature of violent crime in particular carries a lot of emotional impact that drama writers can draw on in telling compelling stories (Levi, Maguire, & Brookman, 2007, p. 687). Additionally, many of these supposedly realistic programs "[blur] the lines between fiction and reality" through their advertising and marketing materials (Dowler, Fleming, & Muzzatti, p. 838). But although the shows are sometimes based on real cases, they are far from realistic, and often “condense the investigation timeline and the certainty and celerity of case resolution” (Guastaferro, 2013, p. 264). It is precisely because of the fact that they present a “neatly wrapped package [in which] there is little ambiguity, … justice prevails, and resolutions are … expedient” (Guastaferro, 2013, p. 264) that they are so popular. The crime in these shows, is often not realistic, with a tendency to violence and success that is not particularly well matched with reality. This is because of the “sensational” nature of television, which aims to produce emotions like fear in the viewer, and as a result crime shows present “a distorted image of the typical crime or criminal” (Dowler, 2003, p. 117). Perhaps due to the positive messages that crime drama gives us about the certainty of justice being served, the way they portray crime and the criminal justice system have a big effect on peoples perceptions of crime in reality. This fascination drives them to consume more and more media based around or detailing criminal acts. And because, as mentioned above, media often portray police as fail-proof vindicators of the victims, those who watch a lot of media can have a positive “influence on public ratings of police effectiveness” (Dowler, 2003, p. 111). It is also worth noting that since crime in media is often widespread and violent, those who watch a lot of crime shows “are more likely to be fearful of crime” (Dowler, 2003, p. 117). Of course, it is useful to be fearful of crime, but it is the “routine” portrayal of violence and “consistent” misinformation given to viewers about the average criminal act which really drive this fear (Dowler, 2003, p. 119). The portrayal of crime in entertainment media, at least, is far from accurate. It may be hoped that news reporting is less sensational than dramas. But although news headlines seem “innocuous” at first glance, police press releases can frame the narrative surrounding criminal activity in subtle but far-reaching ways (McGovern & Lee, 2010, p. 445). Especially given the popularity of television programs which portray crime and policing as violent and effective, there has been a clear drive by police units to establish their own media units in order to “[carry] forward preferred messages to the public” (McGovern & Lee, 2010, p. 448). What is particularly noteworthy here is the fact that media units must “portray the police always in a good light” (McGovern & Lee, 449), which, coupled with the fact that the police put out “novel or new stories” and “its privileged position as an institute of structured access,” (McGovern & Lee, 2010, p. 452) suggests that reporting stemming from police news reports are likely to be uncritical of the police and to portray crime in a way the police want it portrayed. Media representation of crime is distorted at best and purposely false at worst. Entertainment-based television programs tend to portray crime as well-organised and violent, and also have a tendency to suggest that the criminal justice system is incompetent, apathetic, or amoral. Even news media, which are intended to provide accurate and insightful reporting, tend to distort the facts in their endless attempts to increase viewers. Clearly, media portrayals of crime and the criminal justice system are far from accurate. References Dowler, K. (2003). Media consumption and public attitudes toward crime and justice: The relationship between fear of crime, punitive attitudes, and perceived police effectiveness. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 10(2), 109-126. Dowler, K., Fleming, T., & Muzzatti, S. (2006). Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice 45(6), 837-850. Guastaferro, W. (2013). Crime, the media, and constructions of reality: Using HBOs The Wire as a frame of reference. College Student Journal, 47(2), 264-270. Levi, M., Maguire, M., & Brookman, F. (2007). Violent crime. In Robert Reiner, Ed. The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (687-732). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. McGovern, A., & Lee, M. (2010). Cop[ying] it sweet: Police media units and the making of news. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 43(3), 444-464. Is the majority of crime in our society violent in nature? Despite the way crime rates are occasionally treated as an absolute measure, a number of variables, including local and regional culture and personal views on violence, political considerations, and the age of statistics, make them more complicated than they seem. However, by narrowing the focus of a statistical analysis to a particular country, it is still possible to determine In Australia in particular, crime rates are compiled and reported most regularly by Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which also place statistics online for easy access. These bureaus also have concise definitions for the types of crime that they report, making it relatively straightforward to determine how much of Australias crime is violent and how much is non-violent. According to the statistics of the AIC and ABS, the majority of crime in our society is non-violent in nature. As the Oxford Handbook of Criminology points out, violent crime is "deeply emotive" and often extremely popular in being presented on television dramas and news reports (Levi, Maguire, & Brookman, 2007, p. 687). It is perhaps because of the "sensational" nature of such crime that it gets more attention in the media than other types of crime (Dowler, 2003, p. 117). Nonetheless, classifying crime as violent and determining the rate of violent crime compared to non-violent crime can be tricky. For example, one must determine whether things like corporate injury really count as "violent crime," given that employers "hardly ever intend harm," and whether terrorism or government-sponsored violence count as "crime" or something else altogether (Levi, Maguire, & Brookman, 2007, p. 688). To make matters more complicated still, these and other related choices are not a global certainty, but are "shaped by a wide variety of of individual, social, and cultural influences, which may change significantly over time" (Levi, Maguire, & Brookman, 2007, p. 691). It is important to note that these differences may also include "legal definitions and understandings," as well as mere cultural choice (Levi, Maguire, & Brookman, 2007, p. 694). In Australia in particular, the two most accessible agencies which report crime are Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). These two agencies define violent crime in slightly different ways, with AIC including homicide, assault, sexual assault, robbery, and kidnapping in their chart of violent crime (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2015), while ABS splits its reported crime types into "personal" and "household," with physical assault, robbery, and sexual assault being the only violent crime types on the list (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015a). While comparing such different statistics is not the most rigorous of measures, for the purposes of determining whether most of the crime in Australian society is violent in nature, the statistical snapshots provided by these two agencies serve as a useful measuring stick. AIC reports that in 2007, there were 282 homicide victims, over 176,000 assault victims, 19,781 sexual assault victims, 17,988 robbery victims, and 730 robbery victims (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2015). ABS, reporting on 2013-2014, reports higher numbers, with 418,000 assault victims, 65,600 robberies, and 48,300 sexual assaults. While these numbers may seem large, they can quickly be put into perspective by comparison to reported numbers of other types of crime. For example, an AIC report puts the number of households which experienced identity theft alone in 2007 at 7,928,500 (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2010). This is roughly 40 times the number of all types of violent crime AIC reported for that year put together. Clearly, even without looking up statistics for any of the many other types of crime (such as embezzlement, theft, alcohol and drug abuse, etcetera), such a massive difference in scale shows that the vast majority of crime in society is non-violent in nature . Indeed, a press release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics explicitly states that the top types of reported crime reported are "threatened assault," followed by "property damage," neither of which count as violent crimes (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015b). It is undeniable that violent crime is a problem in society today. Despite the difficulties of defining what exactly counts as violent and what counts as crime, analysing violent crime is at least possible on a regional basis. While the numbers of violent crimes in Australia are somewhat high, they are small besides the total number of other, non-violent types of crime. Even a cursory glance at some basic statistics makes it clear that the majority of crime in society is non-violent in nature. References Australian Bureau of Statistics (2015a). Introduction. Crime Victimisation, Australia, 2013-2014. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4530.0~2013-14~Main%20Features~Introduction~10002 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2015b). Threats of assault, property damage still top the crime list. Crime Victimisation, Australia, 2013-2014. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4530.0~2013-14~Media%20Release~Threats%20of%20assault,%20property%20damage%20still%20top%20the%20crime%20list%20%28Media%20Release%29~29 Australian Institute of Criminology (2010). Identity Theft Reportd by Households, 2007 - Statistical Tables. Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/itrh07st.pdf Australian Institute of Criminology (2015). Victims of violent crime statistics. Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.aic.gov.au/statistics/violent%20crime/victims.html Dowler, K. (2003). Media consumption and public attitudes toward crime and justice: The relationship between fear of crime, punitive attitudes, and perceived police effectiveness. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 10(2), 109-126. Levi, M., Maguire, M., & Brookman, F. (2007). Violent crime. In Robert Reiner, Ed. The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (687-732). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. Read More