AC1.5 Explain the impact of media representations of crimes
Moral panic: Media representation of crime can lead to moral panic. Moral
panic is a widespread feeling of fear which is caused by the media
overexaggerating the intensity of crime. An example of moral panic involves
knife crime in London. Due to there being a rise in the reporting of knife
crime in London, members of the public who are part of the population of
London could go into a moral panic at the thought of being under threat at
any time. However, most of the knife crime committed in London is gang
related violence meaning that they shouldn’t need to panic, however
because of how much the media publishes knife crime, the public will see
this without considering the reasoning behind what happened.
Changing public concerns and attitudes: Media representation of crime can
sometimes be very manipulative which can change people’s view and
opinions on crime. The public may take sides in a story whether a negative
or positive portrayal is released. An example of changing public concern
involves the negative portrayal of Muslims and Islam. Guiltless Muslims are
typically seen as a threat to people due to all the regular hate made in the
media. Muslims are often linked with terrorism and Islam as a whole is seen
to be linked with violence and corruption which is not the case. This
highlights how people's concerns can be easily swayed over false allegations
spread across media.
Changing priorities and emphasis: Media representation of crime tends to
just focus on a specific incident or crime which may lead to a change with
police priority. This can also lead to the introduction of a new law. For
example, following the recent widespread news about the distressing XL
bully dog attacks, a new law is being put in place to ban people from being
able to own them as pets. However, a lot of owners are disagreeing with this
new law as they feel like the media has emphasised on the bad news
involving the XL bully breed.
Stereotyping criminals: Media representation of crime has resulted in a
stereotype being made that the public and police often relate to criminals.
This means that the public are typically very judging towards these groups of
people and tend to not trust them as much as other groups. The police may
also over police these people because they fit them into a specific
stereotype. For example, in places like London, people might look at young
men dressed in all black with hoods and balaclavas and be sceptic of their
behaviour because they fit into the stereotype. This can cause fear in the
public however it might also create insecurity in people who are getting
misunderstood because they are unmeaningly standing out to others in a
negative way.
Moral panic: Media representation of crime can lead to moral panic. Moral
panic is a widespread feeling of fear which is caused by the media
overexaggerating the intensity of crime. An example of moral panic involves
knife crime in London. Due to there being a rise in the reporting of knife
crime in London, members of the public who are part of the population of
London could go into a moral panic at the thought of being under threat at
any time. However, most of the knife crime committed in London is gang
related violence meaning that they shouldn’t need to panic, however
because of how much the media publishes knife crime, the public will see
this without considering the reasoning behind what happened.
Changing public concerns and attitudes: Media representation of crime can
sometimes be very manipulative which can change people’s view and
opinions on crime. The public may take sides in a story whether a negative
or positive portrayal is released. An example of changing public concern
involves the negative portrayal of Muslims and Islam. Guiltless Muslims are
typically seen as a threat to people due to all the regular hate made in the
media. Muslims are often linked with terrorism and Islam as a whole is seen
to be linked with violence and corruption which is not the case. This
highlights how people's concerns can be easily swayed over false allegations
spread across media.
Changing priorities and emphasis: Media representation of crime tends to
just focus on a specific incident or crime which may lead to a change with
police priority. This can also lead to the introduction of a new law. For
example, following the recent widespread news about the distressing XL
bully dog attacks, a new law is being put in place to ban people from being
able to own them as pets. However, a lot of owners are disagreeing with this
new law as they feel like the media has emphasised on the bad news
involving the XL bully breed.
Stereotyping criminals: Media representation of crime has resulted in a
stereotype being made that the public and police often relate to criminals.
This means that the public are typically very judging towards these groups of
people and tend to not trust them as much as other groups. The police may
also over police these people because they fit them into a specific
stereotype. For example, in places like London, people might look at young
men dressed in all black with hoods and balaclavas and be sceptic of their
behaviour because they fit into the stereotype. This can cause fear in the
public however it might also create insecurity in people who are getting
misunderstood because they are unmeaningly standing out to others in a
negative way.
