It is undeniable that the press and mass media as a whole have a crucial role In influencing the publics perception of crime both locally and internationally. In many people's cases the press is their only source of information in relation to criminal activity and statistics. It can be said that the media today are becoming more and more obsessed with crime in order to attract viewers. The way in which crime is reported in the media can heavily influence public perceptions with the use of statistics, gory imagery and exaggerated headlines. Misleading or exaggerated headlines are a way for the press to grab a readers attention it strikes fear into them therefore their opinions on the story are already altered without being aware of all the details.
Tabloid newspapers are the most common types of newspapers that rely on big headlines to attract readers. An example of exaggerated headlines was the headline of the Daily News following the events of 9/11. The headline used was "ITS WAR". This is a clear example of the press using headline to exaggerate a story. This influence the publics perception on terrorism as many reporters had put the blame on the Muslim community therefore a lot of the public agreed. This also lead to many 'revenge' crimes on Muslims. The media therefore altered society's perceptions on crime and a section of society. An example of this was September 15th 2001 in Arizona. Just four days after the attack Balbir Singh Sodhi, a 49 year old Sikh, is shot and killed outside the gas station he owned by Frank Silva Roque. When asked by the police he said "I'm a patriot and an American. I'm American. I'm a damn American." This is one example of many attacks showing how the media changed the views of the public and in some cases people breaking the law. In this essay I will now discuss how the press influence public perceptions on crime and how they negatively and positively affect public opinions.
The media play a crucial role in influencing the public on crime that is occurring in their local area and abroad. It can be said that the press act as a liaison between the authorities and the public as they provide the information for the people. Journalists and reporters get the information from interviews with the police etc. in order to report this information to the viewers. The media getting statistics and reporting them is another way to keep the public aware of the level of crime and the types of crime going on in their areas. When the public then see these reports it may encourage them to take action in order to prevent the crimes from reoccurring e.g a burglary happens those in the area may invest in security cameras for their homes. This shows the media change the publics perception on crime but positively as they're encouraged to take precautions.
Another benefit of media involvement and altering the publics perception is that they could force changes in government legislation. The way in which a story is reported may spark a reaction in the viewers to do something about the criminal justice policy by bringing it up with their local representative. This allows the public to be more informed and educated on crime and also take action in preventing it happening again. It also puts pressure on the government to hurry in enforcing policy and putting sentences for criminals in place. The public will unite over a case and possibly create a movement if they believe someone does or does not deserve the death penalty for example meaning the government have to give to the protesters.
The press can also help shine a light on cases that would usually remain low profile due to things such as celebrity involvement or members of the police or government who would rather keep their name out of the headlines. However, the increasing involvement of journalists coupled with their persistence in order to find a story that will sell it makes it more difficult for the 'higher ups' of society to keep their criminal activity from the public. This aids the publics perception of crime because they know that there is no one above the law.
The media also help the publics perception of crime through warrants and warnings that are reported on the news as the reports inform the public who will take action by giving any relevant information they have the authorities. This will mean the public have a sense of involvement and will encourage them to take further action in the future towards stopping crime.
However, the press and the media don't always help with the publics perception on crime and can even manipulate the publics views. In some cases the media can be over involved. For instance, if too much information is leaked about a case it can make it difficult to find an impartial jury who aren't already aware of the details surrounding the case. This can lead to the people's opinion already being made up before the case begins and all the other substantial evidence is collected. This shows how the press can negatively influence the people's perception on crime as the defendant mightn't get proper justice due to a jury that's biased. The media’s need to sell a story also contributes to altering the public’s opinions. For example, Robert Murat, he was a property consultant in Portugal. A British journalist convinced the Portuguese police that he was connected to Madeline McCann’s disappearance by claiming he was outside the house she was in at the time of her disappearance. Even though theses claims were proven false and he was acquitted, his reputations as damaged and was seen as a criminal in a case that had the attention of the UK. The media’s desperate need to sell stories leads to false accusations and the public believing these tabloid newspapers that innocent people are criminals.
Moreover, the media is often criticised due to it being too biased when reporting certain crime stories. An example of types of biased crime reporting would be race. There are many crime reports in America were a black citizen is the criminal but it the report in a more negative way like not naming the perpetrator, displaying their photo in the police station rather than a normal photo etc. There are also multiple cases of police officers shooting innocent, black citizens and claiming that it was self defence despite the victim showing no signs of aggression in the majority of cases. One case in particular was Botham Shem Jean who was shot in his own home by an off duty police officer. She claimed that it was accidental because she entered his home mistaking it for her own. With headlines after the incident being things such as " deadly mistake" it shows that the majority of reporters portray the police officer as the victim of a mistake or poor judgement rather than what it is which is racial profiling. It's reporting like this which makes the public think it wasn't a crime that was committed altering their perception on these types of issues as acceptable. There's also the stereotype of young people reported by the media as 'hoodies' or 'vandals' in the news which has resulted in many people viewing all young people as thugs or criminals. This highlights how the media can alter the publics perception on both crime and sections of society.
Sometimes the media will choose not to report some stories because they they don't deem the story newsworthy. Journalists often won't report a story if they don't think it will sell. Therefore, the public are unaware of the actual levels of crime in their area and may believe they are safer than they really are. This is a way of the media inadvertently altering the publics opinions on crime because they aren't fully informed of crime levels.
Media often report video games as a leading cause to violence amongst young people. The media try to blame the use of video games by the young people of society to violent criminal behaviour performed by young people. There are many reports by the news surrounding this issue which has lead to the public, mainly parents, believing this and taking actions such as banning them from their children. An instance of this was an article by The Sun about a man who was stabbed and had a copy of grand theft auto stolen from him after queuing for it. The article was headlined “Stab theft auto†and claimed that it was because he was mimicking the game and put the blame on the video game rather than the perpetrator. The man wasn’t necessarily mimicking anything but was simply stabbed a random civilian who he knew had something he wanted. But because of the way it gets reported in these tabloid newspapers the readers believe that the game is not safe and is responsible for criminal behaviour when in reality it was not the case. This shows the impact of the media on the parents of society as they are believing the reports as fact.
The media is also heavily criticised because of government involvement/censorship. The government have in the past told news broadcasters what to and what not to report. This is due to them wanting to hide stories that may embarrass them but also concealing certain crime stories that they don't want the public to know about. For example, in the New Zealand city of Gisborne the police in 2010 stoped telling the local newspapers about incidents claiming it would make the public feel safe. Not acknowledging the problems and censoring information from the public results in the public feeling safe and protected in their city not fearing crime as they don’t believe its high.
Press and the media help to inform the public on crime and can help voice their concerns to the government when they want change in how things are done. It also provides an outlet for the victims of crimes to share their experiences and warn others out there. Although the media has been used to manipulate the public opinion due to stereotypes and bias.
So to conclude, I believe that the media play an essential role in shaping the public's perception on crime. This is because the media, for many people, is their only source on crime and statistics therefore helping educate the public and help develop their views on crime and justice. It also aids in encouraging the, to stay safe and how to do so. Although, this can also be a negative because if this is their only source of information they might just accept it as fact and not challenge what they are being told. A severe example of this would be North Korea. Everything in the news there is censored and monitored so any crime committed over there is only reported if it doesn't involve Kim Jung-un. For example those who attempt to flee the country are executed but this is kept from the public. Therefore the media can be a deadly influence on the publics perception of crime due to biased reporting causing opinions such as "all Muslims are terrorists" and "young hoodies are thugs" to form. The media gives the people a source for information but it's important to realise it has the capability to manipulate and distort the opinions of the people.