...The Impact of Media on Fear of Crime among University Students: A Cross-National Comparison Article Summary This article comparatively examines the impact of media on fear of crime among university students in United States and Canada. Survey Data based on samples of university students has been used to study the relationship between media and fear of crime. The fear of crime refers to the fear of being a victim of crime as opposed to the actual probability of being a victim of crime (Hale C., 1996).Behaviors induced by fear include avoidance , movement restrictions and constraints on socialization. Fear of crime has three dimensions: * Cognitive (Focuses on citizens ’estimation of their likelihood of victimization; * Behavioral (which focuses on how people respond to fear of perceived risk of victimization) * Emotional (which focuses on individuals’ feelings about crime) A different approach towards understanding fear of crime includes vulnerability (i.e. Ability of the individual to escape or defend himself/herself from an attacker). However, several researchers argue that fear of crime is a distinctly affective – thus emotional – and physiologic response to perceived danger (Ferraro 1995; Warr 2000). Studies suggest that fear levels have not changed among citizens of both the countries despite decreases in crime rates. It is assumed that increased levels of fear are the result of individuals’ perception about his/her vulnerability to crime which can...
Words: 2134 - Pages: 9
...potential of the young people to ‘estimate’ the political and socio-economic future of a nation. When there is what societies view as a deviance from the norm when in it comes to young people – often there is what is viewed as a ‘moral panic’. I will be looking at the ‘moral panic’ of youth crime or juvenile delinquency, the role of its ‘moral entrepreneurs’ and ‘folk devils’ and what it demonstrates about individuals and their socialization. Over the centuries there has been numerous Moral Panics. With moral Panics come moral entrepreneurs, and folk devils which entice and fuel the moral panic thus influencing society and creating exaggerated panic. Moral Panic A moral panic may be defined as an episode, often triggered by alarming media stories and reinforced by reactive laws and public policy, of exaggerated or misdirected public concern, anxiety, fear, or anger over a perceived threat to social order. A moral panic refers to the reaction of the public based on a belief that a group poses danger to the society; they discriminate this particular group as a huge threat to their social values and culture. Stanley Cohen created the term moral panic in 1972 for describing the media coverage of Mods and Rockers in the UK during the 1960s. Cohen describes moral panic as a “condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests” (Cohen 1973:9). Goode and Ben-Yehuda, voiced theories that moral panic consists...
Words: 1603 - Pages: 7
...#1 Take a look at this link regarding the DHS and social media. What are the arguments for DHS to monitor social media and what are the arguments against? What are the impacts upon civil liberties having a government agency monitor your actions? Are the monitoring activities providing security? If so, is it worth losing civil liberties? As students of criminal justice, these are questions you should ask when questioning such policies. This article provides a window into what the government may be paying attention to, versus what their real goals in monitoring the sites may be. I think that to monitor these sites is a necessity as this is usually the very first place that breaking news is released and in the case of a real emergency, the appropriate officials will be aware of what is going on and can mobilize the correct response. Arguments in support of the monitoring relay this same sentiment. Arguments against the monitoring highlight the impact this may have on our right to freedom of speech and to some extent our expected right to privacy. Are the monitoring activities providing security? Yes, I think so. After the events of 9/11, not single statement against the government or any of its agencies should be taken lightly. I think that we do have the right to free speech, but today is a much different day than it was even 20 years ago. Social media has become a terrorists’ recruiting tool and monitoring activity online is in the best interest of the Nation and our safety...
Words: 451 - Pages: 2
...Social media connection ties to crime. Cameras are everywhere now; social media is growing and will never stop. What are the potential effects of social media, presenting an unbalanced picture of crime? Why are law enforcement officers wearing body cameras to correct social media? Crime has become an increasing theme of social media in the platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, and Instagram have transformed the way we understand and experience crime and victimization. (McGovern & Milivojevic, 2016) The media changes the mindset of people to perceive the criminal offense is higher than the event. Where did the sense of privacy go? We should keep in mind; however, crime is presented by social media there is usually more sensational...
Words: 741 - Pages: 3
...people seem to be more worried by crime, the research evidence suggests crime rates are not increasing. How can we explain this apparent contradiction? Word Count: 1973 We have a strange situation in Australia. At a time when people seem to be more worried by crime, the research evidence suggests crime rates are not increasing. How can we explain this apparent contradiction? Current crime rates in Australia do not reflect the public’s perception, as criminal activity is steadily decreasing year after year. However, the public’s view is that crime is on the rise. Due to this unwavering perception of increased crime rates, some people have developed a fear of becoming a victim and apprehensive of crime and all of its components. Influences that can create or enhance these emotions can be born from a number of areas for each individual. Some of these can be due to personal experiences, the media, as well as a person’s geographical location. All of these factors can impact a person’s viewpoint of crime. This essay will examine the perception and how this fear has come to be, despite statistics proving that crime is in fact not increasing. The definition of ‘perception’ as per the Oxford dictionary is “the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses” - essentially what people see and hear will mould their opinions and emotions as to what is happening in the world around them. If a person has a fear of crime as well as that of becoming a victim...
Words: 2293 - Pages: 10
...The essay focuses on the social construction of crime, and the possible reasons for these social constructions. In the first section, the essay explains what crime is, and the constructionist perspective theory. In the Second section my essay focuses on the crime as socially constructed and why it is socially constructed. In the third section essay explains, three levels of explanation in the study of deviant and criminal behaviour. In the final section, it focuses on the historical theoretical periods, which plays an important role in revitalising past discoveries. Crime is a term that refers to many types of misconduct that is forbidden by law. There are a number of different reasons as to why crime can be viewed as a social construction. There cannot be 'social problems' that are not the product of social construction - naming, labelling, defining and mapping them into place - through which we can 'make sense' of them' (Clarke, 2001). In this essay I will explain what is social construction, also what crime is, and why we think, that crime is socially constructed. Furthermore, I will explain how media construct crime and the stigma of black crime. In the last paragraph I will explore the importance of Marxist and Durkheim's theories on the emergence of crime....
Words: 1816 - Pages: 8
...ROLE OF MEDIA IN CONDEMNING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Ankita Yadav LL.M.- 2nd Semester Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University Phone No. -9453014362 Email Address- ankita2189yadav@gmail.com INTRODUCTION The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses. - Malcolm X Media is considered fourth pillar of a country thus it has lots of responsibility towards society. Media in a democratic country is considered to be a pedagogue of freedom and making society aware about the realities by reporting. It has to reflect the realities of society and report the truth in order to protect the basic human rights especially of marginalised sections of society like women. In Indian society, woman occupies a vital position but unfortunately venerable place. The Vedas glorified women as the mother, the creator, one who gives life and worshipped her as a ‘Devi’ or Goddess. It can be inferred via a relatively high position occupied by the women in Rig Vedic era, where they were part of the governance institutes like Sabha and Samiti. India's major religion i.e Hinduism portrays women as a representation of power i.e. Shakti in the form of Durga and Kali. From Vedic period onwards to the mid of 19th century, the condition of women kept on deteriorating. They were excluded from education, property and cultural rituals, and their primary...
Words: 2536 - Pages: 11
...Topic: People’s Percption Of Crime Programs On Pakistani TV Channels Introduction Background In the wake of recently interest in crime programs, this study seeks to explore the effects of these crime programs on people and to explore “people’s ‘’ perception of crime programs on Pakistani tv channels. The study demonstrates the effects of these crime programs on general public of the society. The study seeks to know either these crime programs promote awareness in the people about these crimes in the society or people’s perception changed psychologically after watching these crime programs. The study was carried out to find out the actual findings regarding the research questions. The media today controls our society completely. Information from across the world can be obtained instantly through radio, TV, newspapers, the internet, and many other forms of communication. An easy access to such powerful means of communication may have positive as well as negative effects on the general public. There is strong association between perceptions of media messages and its observed behavior. Television is responsible for the increase in childhood violence, alter personality development, stereotyping, language improvement and also somewhat generate many problems. Once upon a time TV was considered to be great educator especially for those who were economically underprivileged, but today television is teaching us that violence is accepted, anything shown attractive( apart from...
Words: 2681 - Pages: 11
...last week. Language used: Words used in this article, such as “defenceless”, “shocking”, “helpless teenager”, and “cowers”, help to construct an emotionally engaging news story. These words play on the audience’s sense of sympathy for the innocent or vulnerable victim and her heroic friend against these unknown group (or ‘gang’) that disregarded a seemingly public area of a suburban train station. Deconstruct the article News values: Timeliness- this incident in the recent week. Impact- Occurred in Sydney, so affects Australians. In a train station, so impacts those who use public transport or those who know people who do. Also as it was a crime by high school students it insinuates that crime is prominent or possible near school districts or where young adolescences gather hence affecting those in most suburban areas across Australia. Proximity- geographically relevant as above. Novelty- it is likely more common to hear stories about adults or male groups being the perpetrators so a crime story of 6 females being physically violent is novel. Women are more known for verbal unkindness. Conflict- group dynamic, 6 girls aged 16 and one girl aged 13 involved. Contemporaneousness- the video stated that mobile cameras capturing violence like this is becoming more common and the extreme extent of bullying recently has become apparent. Human interest-...
Words: 483 - Pages: 2
...delinquency in the Suriname media. This thesis examines the perception of the coverage of juvenile delinquency and the possible impact thereof on a sustainable policy. Central in this study is how the coverage in the Suriname newspapers can contribute to a sustainable policy regarding juvenile delinquency. To answer the central question, subquestions were formulated: • How does literature define sustainable policy with respect to juvenile delinquency? • What manifestations of juvenile delinquency are present in the media coverage? • Is a univocal and defined policy regarding the coverage of juvenile delinquency perceptible with the editors of the newspapers? • Are there structural differences between the newspapers regarding the coverage of juvenile delinquency? • How could the coverage contribute to a sustainable policy? As a background in this respect, a number of explanations for criminal behaviour are taken into consideration. With the general criminological theories we used theories that start from the person of the offender, the interplay of individual and social environment, the situational circumstances and characteristics of society. As regards the theories that specifically deal with juvenile delinquency, we looked at theories that discuss the socially vulnerable youngsters and we also considered theories that discuss the risk factors at different levels: the individual level, family level, level of school and peers, and social and cultural risk factors. ...
Words: 590 - Pages: 3
...Impact of the Internet on Today’s Youth Jennifer L Benca Columbus State University Author Note CRJU 3155 – Summer 2014 Impact of the Internet on Today’s Youth The Internet is an amazing invention that is used by billions of people worldwide. It allows people from all walks of life all over the world to be connected. Use of the Internet is growing at an unbelievable rate. So fast parents are not always able to keep up with it. The Internet is a great resource to people of all ages, but with that it brings some negative. The Internet can have a huge impact on the youth of today. How it impacts this very vulnerable group of people will be explored in this paper. What Is The Internet? Before we can establish how, we must first explore what. Before the invention of the Internet, nothing had the same capabilities. Inventions such as the telegraph, the telephone, the radio and the computer, helped to prepare the world for what was to come. None of these can even begin to reach the number of people and amount of information as the Internet. The Internet Society says that the Internet allows people to communicate with no consideration to their physical location. The Internet allows us to transmit information and communicate with others throughout the world. (Leiner et al., n.d.). The first host computer was connected in September 1969. Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN) installed the first Interface Message Processor (IMP) at the University of California, Los Angeles...
Words: 2187 - Pages: 9
...sociologists understanding of crime and deviance in todays society. Some sociologists believe that we now live in a post-modern society that has a distinct set of characteristics in comparison to modern society; Postmodernists reject the views of the modernist theorists as they claim that they are metanarratives (big stories). They believe that sociology needs to develop new theories so we can fully understand postmodern society, as society is constantly changing it is marked with uncertainty and therefore society is split into a variety of groups. This essay will discuss the changes that have taken place in postmodern society and how this impacts upon our understanding of crime and deviance. Postmodernity has brought changes from modernity these changes include independence and choice. There is less focus on science, postmodernists reject scientific research methods in their research therefore postmodernists are criticised for being subjective. Lyotard argues that society is expanding due to the economic and scientific growth, knowledge is no longer a tool of the authorities, and we now have choice and freedom to believe what we want. Whereas Baudrillard argued that we are isolated and knowledge is filtered through businesses such as the media. We pursue the images attached to products; we now live in hyper-realities in which appearances are everything. This has lead to ‘death of the social’ which is a breakdown in social solidarity; people reflect the media portrayal of the individual...
Words: 1010 - Pages: 5
...Assessment Item 2: Critical Analysis Title Romer D, Jamieson K & Aday S 2003, Television News and the Cultivation of Fear of Crime, Journal of Communication Vol 53 no 1, pp 88-104. Topic The theme of this intriguing and thoroughly researched report examines the influence of media consumption on fear of crime, punitive attitudes and perceived police effectiveness. It widely observes the effect that wide reporting and viewing of violent crime has on public knowledge and questions whether the polling data is a reflection of violent crime in America or the television media accounts of it. Context Context refers to the set of surrounding circumstances for any text, piece of research, publication, event etc. Almost every piece of research will have multiple contexts (Study Guide Glossary COM15, 2013, p 94). This journal article portrays the growing insecurities and encroachment that mass media has on our everyday lives, especially its account of violent crime, and how such mediums can impact on the viewer’s account of such events. This journal article has been used and published in a variety of professional and scholarly journals dealing in a range of fields including media and communication, legal and justice studies and behavioural psychology. Structure The paper is in the format of a formal research paper. It is a format that is more objective and non-personal; it’s the methodical process that involves the collection and analysis of information. The paper endeavours to...
Words: 1719 - Pages: 7
... Social Learning Theory Name of Student Institution affiliation In the society, there are social happening that influence relationships among people as they interact and work together to achieve certain goals. Crime is an issue that affects a society in many ways and many attempts to deduce the root causes and ways to alleviate it have come up. Some theories have come up to try to explain how to deal with crimes in the society. In criminal justice, there are theories that explain crime and factors that influence its occurrence with a certain social context. The social learning theory explains that a person acquires knowledge through observation and interactions which models the behavior. The theory proposes that the behavior of an individual can be shaped through reciprocal interaction between the forces of cognitive, environmental and behavior systems. The understanding of the theory will help in determining its effectiveness in handling events of crimes in the society. Albert Bandura as a way to help in understanding the criminology and give the necessary information in relation to addressing the problems caused by crime advanced the social learning theory. The theory is a combination operant theory of Ronald Akers and Robert Burgess and the theory of differential association by Edwin Southerland. The theory has been discussed by various scholars who needed to test its accuracy in addressing the various causes of crime in the society. Bandura...
Words: 1168 - Pages: 5
...Assess sociological explanations of the role of the mass media in creating moral panics about crime and deviance: A moral panic is the process of arousing social concern over an issue, this is often an exaggerated over-reaction by society to a perceived problem, which is usually driven or inspired by the media. In this situation the reaction ends up amplifying the problem out of proportion to its real seriousness. This creates anxiety amongst the general population, and this therefore puts pressure on the agents of social control to deal with the problem, who then act accordingly to the group responsible for the panic. There is a strong relationship between mass media and crime. On average, around 30% of newspaper content is dedicated to crime, however it can be debated whether this news is true because the media exaggerate the truth in order to publish a newsworthy story. The mass media are heavily involved in creating moral panics about crime and deviance in society. According to Cohen, the mass media play a vital role in the societal reaction to crime and deviance. He suggests that moral panics have a number of stages, in which the media label certain groups, in order to maximise profit. Firstly, the media use exaggerated language and headlines when reporting on a particular event that has occurred and use follow-up articles, in which they identify this event as a social problem. Whereby ‘folk devils’ are created (Goode and Ben-Yehuda: 1994). Folk devils are over simplified...
Words: 1244 - Pages: 5
