Topic 5 Crime and the media Flashcards
Define age fallacy
The media portrays criminals and
victims as older and more middle class
than those typically found in the
criminal justice system
Define dramatic fallacy
The media overplays extraordinary
crimes and underplays ordinary crimes.
Media images lead us to believe that to
commit crime one needs to be daring
and clever
Define cause of crime
The media causes crime through
imitation, arousal, desensitisation, by
transmitting knowledge of criminal
techniques, stimulates desire for
unaffordable goods
Define fear of crime
The media exaggerates the amount of
violent and unusual crime, and they
exaggerate the risks of certain groups of
people becoming its victims, such as
young and old people
Define moral panic
An exaggerated over reaction to a
perceived problem by the media. The
media calls for a crackdown on the
problem, but this results in an increase
in the scale of the problem
Define folk devil
Those who have been publically labelled
by the media as causing the
problem/moral panic. They are a threat
to society’s values
Define folk devil
Cohen’s study Folk Devils and Moral
Panics examines the medias responses
to two groups of largely working class
teenagers in an English seaside resort in
the 1960s
Define cyber crime
New types of crime have emerged as a
response to global media. It is computer
mediated activities that are illegal and
are conducted through global electronic
networks
How is crime represented in the media?
The media over-represent and sexual crimes. They portray criminals and victims as older and more middle class. They exaggerate police success in clearing up cases. They exaggerate the risk of victimisation, which places a fear of crime and becoming a victim, on society. The media overplay extra-ordinary crimes and underplay ordinary crimes.
What are news values?
News values are the criteria by journalists decide if a story is newsworthy. For example, scale, drama, human interest, higher status, simple, novelty, risk and violence.
How does the media cause of crime?
The media has a negative effect on people’s attitudes, values and behaviour. It corrupts young people by many aspects. For example, it desensitises them to crime and makes it appear appealing. By watching pornography, they are given unrealistic standards, leading to crimes like sexual assault. The media transmits knowledge of criminal techniques and gives them a stimulating desire for unaffordable goods, leading to them being forced into crimes life theft.
Why do people who watch more TV have a greater fear of crime?
They are more exposed to the crimes that the share. It gives them the idea that crime is more serious and frequent than it is, leading to them fearing that they’re going to become a victim of these crimes.
What does relative deprivation mean?
Relative deprivation refers to the subjective feeling of being deprived in relation to the material unaffordable goods that others have.
What is a moral panic?
A moral panic is an exaggerated overreaction by society to a perceived problem. The reaction of the public enlarges the problem out of proportion.
What happened to the Mods and Rockers?
Because of the media’s response to disturbances of these two groups, it produced a deviance amplification spiral by making it seem as if the problem was spreading and getting out of hand. This produced marginalisation and stigmatisation of these two groups, as deviants. This led to youths adopting these deviant styles and drew in more participation for future clashes.
