Model Answer for WJEC Criminology Unit 1: Changing Awareness of Crime, AC1.4 and AC1.5. In my Unit 1 exam I got full marks. Please put into your own words to avoid being penalised/use to help you understand what the question requires or to plan your own answer. Any mention to the brief needs to be ...
One method of media that represents crime is newspapers. There are two types of newspapers: tabloids
are the more popular type of newspaper and are generally smaller with shorter articles and many
pictures; and broadsheets are the more serious type of newspaper that is less opinionated. Both types
of newspapers have space that is dedicated to crime stories and reports on crimes such as stabbings.
Murders and terrorist attacks. Most articles are focused on the reporting of current crimes and the
impact of them. While tabloid newspapers do not condone atrocious crimes, they do often
sensationalise their reports on an incident and over-exaggerate the event, with a focus on the more
negative aspects of it. This scaremongering spreads stories to the public that causes them unnecessary
fear. This significantly contrasts broadsheets, where articles tend to be more analytical of an incident
and also give wider context to the event.
A second method of media that represents crime is television, and it plays a major role in the portrayal
of crime by the media. It can portray both fictional and factual representations of crime. programmes
such as Crimewatch and Caught on Camera are examples of factual TV programmes, and they portray
accurate and true facts of the crimes they are depicting as well as contact information that can be used
to report similar crimes to those shown in the episodes. There are also many fictional programmes such
as Line of duty, NCIS and Death in Paradise and films such as Zodiac and The Wolf of Wall Street which,
like tabloids, dramatize the events they depict to gain viewers’ interest. This can give audiences of these
shows and films a false idea of what the crime actually is and what it can look like. It has been estimated
by Tim Newburn in 2007 that around 1/10 th of prime-time television was about crime and law
enforcement. Since then, it has been estimated that this has increased to ¼ of all output being devoted
to crime.
Additionally, electronic gaming is another method of media that represents the fictional side of crime.
this method trivialises crime, suggesting that crime and violence are acceptable or appropriate
reactions/things to do. An example of a game that is heavily based on crime is Grand Theft Auto. In this
game, players are encouraged to steal cars, kill people (either other players or NPCs) and meet with
prostitutes for game points. Their actions in the game have no consequences in real-life.
Social media platforms such as blogs and social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram also
represent crime, many members of the public use social media as a method of reporting a crime that
has been committed against them or a crime that they have been witness to by posting videos as
evidence of what happened. Many police forces have their own social media pages which allows the
public to be more aware of what particular crimes are occurring in their local area through the police’s
posting of crime reports and witness appeals. These pages are also used by the police to inform the
public of what types of crimes are being committed, how they can protect themselves, and how to
report anything.
The last method of media that represents crime is music. Music artists can glorify crimes in their songs.
For example, The Clash and Eminem have released several songs each that refer to crime, sex and drugs,
this applies to artists worldwide, and many artists base their whole discography on crime.
The way in which all types of media represent crime can have a huge influence on the public perception
of crime. one way in which they do this is by creating moral panic. This is a term coined by Stanley
Cohen to describe the consequence of the media presentation of an incident that has occurred where
the public react in an inflated, panicky manner. The impact of moral panic is to make the public think
that the issue is worse than it truly is, bringing about a more severe reaction to the issue and the people
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