Moral Panics

• Moral entrepreneurs are people who disapprove of a particular behaviour so use media to put pressure on authorities to 'do something
• A moral panic as an exaggerated, over-rection by society to a perceived problem
• An example of a moral panic is Dangerous Dogs act
• Often the Crackdown on a group due to a moral panic can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy of crime
• Cohen studied Mods and Rockers, which is an example of a Moral Panic leading to a Deviancy Amplification Spiral
• However, Functionalists say that moral panics are a way of responding to the sense of anomie
• Neo-Marxists consider moral panics in the context of capitalism
• Hall et al argue that the moral panic around Black Muggers was created to divide working class people on the ground of race
• The 1950s Moral Panics were Teddy Boys, Drugs and psuedo-intellectualism
• the 1960s Moral Panic was Mods & Rockers
• The 1970s Moral Panic was political violence in Northern Ireland
• The 1980s Moral Panic was Dangerous Dogs
• The 1990s Moral Panic was Travellers
• The 2000s Moral Panic was Bogus Asylum Seekers
• The 2010s Moral Panic was Knife and Gun Crime
• However, those who propose Media creates Moral Panics do not state what the appropriate reaction to crime and deviance should be
• Beck says we live in a risk society that means Moral Panics are harder to create as society is filled with endless risks and uncertainties
• Folk Devils are the group that Moral Panics demonise