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WJEC Criminology unit 1 (LO1) controlled assessment notes AC 1.5 Explain the impact of media representations on the public perception of crime£3.49
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AC 1.5 - Explain the impact of media representations on the public perception of crime
Stanley Cohen came up with the theory of a moral panic and described it as the feeling of panic and
fear being rapidly spread throughout the public due to the reporting of the mass media. An example
of a moral panic due to media attention is the Mods and Rockers conflict in 1964. The media
exaggerated this conflict through headlines such as ‘Terror Beach’ and said there were around 97
arrests, however there were only around 24. This caused certain groups to be labelled as ‘folk devils’
meaning they are to blame as they started the initial criminal acts. Additionally, the media attention
around the conflict made it worse as more people started to turn up, creating chaos and made
policing a lot more difficult as the police were unable to control the large crowds of people. Moral
panic can also lead to deviancy amplification, developed by Wilkins, in which a small initial act of
deviance spirals significantly through processes of labelling and over-reacting.
Stereotyping criminals creates fear within the public of certain groups, especially youths. Over
simplified views lead to ‘labelling’ such as people who wear hoodies are all assumed to be drug
dealers. The media mostly focuses on young people all being involved in gangs, drugs and knife
crime. The words most commonly associated with young people in the newspapers are ‘binge
drinking’, ‘yobs’ and ‘crime’. Additionally, the portrayal of teenage boys as ‘yobs’ has made people
wary and scared of other teenagers and hoodie-wearers are labelled as thugs. These stereotypes
that all youths are bad created by the media affects job prospects of 14-17-year olds as employers
don’t want to employ them due to the fear/beliefs of stereotypes.
Levels of punishment/response can be increased and made harsher in response to a moral panic
about a crime. An example of this is the London riots which occurred in 2011 and included looting,
arson and destruction of houses, police vans, buses and businesses. There were roads closed due to
protests and a man was shot dead by the police. The media were constantly updating on the
situation on the TV and radio. This created a moral panic as people were constantly hearing and
seeing crimes going on around them. This led to fear and increased public concern which caused a
need for harsher sentencing. The moral panic created by the media caused levels of punishment to
rise by 25% for example, 4-year sentences were given to people encouraging violence on Facebook.
The usual crimes for a 4-year sentence are more serious such as GBH and sexual assault.
Additionally, it was also possible to face prison for doing something as simple as stealing two scoops
of ice cream. Overall, there were 277 people charged and denied bail. Andrew Nelson said
sentencing should reflect the seriousness of the crime. However, harsher sentencing prevented a
similar crime from happening in the future, also preventing another moral panic.
The media can also cause a change in government policies as in 2001 the Twin Towers, in New York
City, were blown up by a group of terrorists. This attack had very high levels of media coverage, also
gaining a lot of public concern as people were scared to be in public places in case another terrorist
attack happened. The large amount of public concern brought about legal change such as the
Terrorism Act 2000 which gave the police greater powers to stop and search and extended their
detention powers. The Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 allowed bank accounts and
assets of suspected to be frozen. Also, the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 gave police more power to
take fingerprints and DNA samples. Additionally, there was increased security in public transport
stations such as airports, train stations and tube stations etc. Furthermore, educational policies
about counter terrorism and prevention were introduced to inform students about what had
happened and how to stay safe. Therefore, this highlights how the media coverage and interest led
to a moral panic about terrorism but led to good/beneficial legal changes in order to prevent future
attacks.
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