+ effects of media on crime

Question 1

1

Answer 1

• Media coverage of crime could help to solve crimes or locate suspects, through programmes such as Crimewatch, or through encouraging awareness of risks from serious crimes such as terrorism.
• It can alert the public to the dangers of different types of crime, such as various types of fraud or identity theft, allowing them to take precautions to prevent themselves becoming victims.
• Media campaigns & public awareness of crime derived from the campaigns could also put pressure on the government or police to take action, e.g. over domestic violence & tax evasion by corporations.
• In Durkheim’s terms, the media can help to define moral boundaries & identify what is acceptable & unacceptable behaviour in a particular society. E.g. the media have helped to establish what is & is not acceptable in terms of cyber-bullying.
• In a general sense, the media can deter crime by highlighting the punishment of criminals. Most crime fictions ends with offenders being punished for their crimes.