1.5

• Media portrayal


  How the media can affect us
• How media portrayal can affect us

  • Fear
  • Deception of crime rates
  • Desensitises us
  • Changes our perception of crime
  • Distorts our idea of which crimes are common
  • Thinks that petty crimes are not worth reporting
  • Changes our views of who the perpetrators are
  • Changes our perception of the police
  • Copycat crimes
  • Increase protection
  • Increase/decrease reporting
• Moral panic


  Widespread alarm, lots of people believed something is threatening society, lots of media coverage, exaggeration of the scale of the problem, more media coverage amplifies the panic
• Folk devil


  An individual or group in society held responsible for perceived threat involved in a moral panic
• Moral panic


  1. Labelling of groups as 'folk devils'

  2. Moral entrepreneurs condemn the group

  3. Media exaggerate problem exaggeration/distortion/prediction/symbolisation

  4. The media put pressure on the authorities to do something about this group

  5. Change in the law or more heavy policing could result= self fulfilling prophecy

  6. Deviance amplification
• Case Study: Mods and rockers

  • Stanley Cohen: .Folk Devils and Moral Panics- Mods and Rockers
  • Labelling of groups as 'folk devils'
  • Moral entrepreneurs condemn the group
  • Media exaggerate problem
  • The media put pressure on the authorities to do something about this group
  • Change in the law or more heavy policing could results
  • Self fulfilling prophecy
  • DEVIANCE AMPLIFICATION- The way levels of deviance or crime can be increased by the societal reaction to deviance itself. For example, if there is a moral panic about something this effectively advertises it.
  • Media created moral panic
  • Distortion- 'gangs', 'terror', 'battle'
  • Symbolisation- style
  • Prediction- 'when will it happen again'
  • Reaction= moral panic
  • Amplification
• Disproportionate public fears about something which might threaten the moral values of society
• The media reporting an increase of knife crime

  Can cause deviance amplification
• Media representation can change public attitudes

  Triggering moral panic
• Mods and rockers portrayed as folk devils

  Leading to anxiety among public- youths out of control and a threat to society
• We have local knowledge but rely on the media for national news- lots of crime coverage reported dramatically. Giving the impression crime is a growing problem.
• Perception that crime is rising

  May lead to fear among groups of becoming victims (women and parents)
• Tabloid readers and heavy TV users have greater fear due to greater exposure
• People can be fearful from their own personal experiences, eg) links to deprivation class and media consumption
• Stereotype


  Oversimplified label applied to whole group of people
• Criminal justice system- police stereotype the 'typical delinquent'
• Stereotypes are used to make policing decisions
• Media can affect levels of response to crime and punishment by courts

  Mods and rockers- calls for police to crack down. Cohen documents premature arrests, police provoking people to commit crimes. Courts gave out harsh sentences to 'teach them a lesson' and set examples/deter.
• 2011 riots- started with protest demonstrations following the death of Mark Duggan by MET police officers. Rioting spread across the country.


  Over the top sentences handed down by courts.
• Media set tone for this- reporting negatively and failing to mention underlying causes and uncritical of Met Police role in Mark's death + handling of protest demonstration.
• Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

  1. Preventing the ownership of dogs specifically bred to fight

  2. Calls to blame the owners and not the actual dogs- 4 breeds banned for being dangerous in the UK

  3. Caused a 'moral panic' due to multiple dog attacks

  4. Knee-jerk legislation- places more responsibility on dog owners to control their dogs

  5. Banned dogs are Pit Bull Terriers, Japanese Tosas, Dogo Argentinas and Fila Brazilieros

  6. No robust evidence for these bannings

  7. Many pet dogs were killed just because of their breed, not because they attacked

  8. 21 out 30 dog attacks were from unbanned breeds
• Illegal raves


  1. In the UK Law, an illegal rave is when 20 people or more gather on,land in the open air with music at a level where it is loud enough to cause serious distress to the inhabitants nearby

  2. In the 1980s when Raves became more popular, concerns of anti behaviour and drug use followed leading to heavy policing and new laws

  3. In 1990, the Uk passed the entertainment (increased penalties) act allowing fines up to £20000 illegal raves and parties