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A-Level Criminology Unit 1 AC1.5
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AC1.5 Impact of Media Representation on the Public Perception of CrimeMoral Panic
Moral panic is the result of the media sensationalising a certain situation, causing the public
to act in a panicky manner. Stanley Cohen stated that “moral panic occurs when a ‘condition,
episode, person, or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal
views.” For example, the media representation of Muslims has caused a surge in
Islamophobia in recent years. A 2014 study has shown that over three-quarters of people in
Western societies rely on mass media, such as television, as their primary source of
information. Consequently, when the media present crimes involving Muslims as “Islamic
terrorists” or “violent Muslims,” while not using the same terms relating to non-Muslims: it
creates an unnecessary moral panic, causing people to have negative stereotypes about
that group. Furthermore, Leslie Williams commented that the “media portrayal of crime can
sometimes lead to a deviant amplification spiral.” The panic caused by the media can often
function as a catalyst for further crimes happening. Another historical example of moral panic
was the mods and rockers. The mods and rockers were two non-conformist British
sub-culture groups in the fifties and sixties. Before the media were involved, there was no
serious tension between them. Following the seaside incident the media sensationalised the
situation, with one of the headlines being ‘Wild Ones Invade Seaside – 97 arrests’, when in
fact there were only twenty-four arrests. The effect of this over-exaggeration led to moral
panic being spread towards those two groups, which also led to further tension, and even
violence between them, causing a deviance amplification spiral. With the newfound violence,
the police cracked down on their tension, after receiving complaints from the public.
Furthermore, the mods and rockers began fulfilling their self-prophecy of becoming criminals
and went down deviant paths, despite the criminal tendencies not being there in the first
place.
Changing public concerns and attitudes
Public concern about types of crime changes over time, depending on what is most present
in the media. Media reporting leads to moral panic which then leads to public concern and
anxiety, which creates the perception of the reported issue being a social threat. In recent
years, public concern surrounding knife crime, terrorism, and aggressive dogs has been a
prominent issue. In 2017, following the Manchester Arena bombings, the way the media
ideologically portrayed the issue surrounding Muslims created a moral panic, which
consisted of Islamophobia. Paul Baker’s research found that out of 10,931 articles analysed,
59% of them associated Muslims with negative behaviour and terrorism is the most recurring
theme in the media relating to Muslims and Islam. Furthermore, one-third of all articles
misrepresented or generalised information about Muslims. This ideology that the media is
pushing of them being a homogonous, dangerous group means that numerous of them
experience racism due to their religion daily. On the other hand, you could argue that people
have the right to be concerned about the crimes the media have been reporting, whether it is
overly dramatised or not. Recently, the news has been reporting on knife crime, following the
incident of the schoolchild getting stabbed by her friend’s boyfriend. Headlines such as:
“Why knife crime should horrify us all – a rising evil which threatens everyone” and “Britain’s
knife crime epidemic spirals out of control” provoke a sense of fear within the public by
personifying the crime and using emotive language which presents it as something that is
dangerously spreading throughout the country and will soon affect people personally.
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