media and crime

• Williams and Dickenson


  found that British newspapers devote up to 30% of space to crime
• Harper and Hogue


  found that coverage of sexual offenses = 20% of news stories but only 2% of actual crime
• the media and relative deprivation

  Lea and Young - the media presents everyone with a good life of leisure and consumer goods leading to relative deprivation and social exclusion of the poor, resulting in illegitimate ways to achieve
• commodification of crime


  Companies use media image of crime to sell products, especially in youth market. E.g. 'gangster' rap. Crime and deviance become a style to 'consume
• Stanley Cohen's study of mods and rockers


  disturbance between modes and rockers at English seaside led to a moral panic around the groups
• Cohen identifies 3 elements of a moral panic


  1 - exaggeration or distortion

  2- predictions

  3- symbolisation 9clothes, music, styles associated with deviance)
• McRobbie and Thornton's evaluation of moral panics


  they have become more common so have less impact
• Wall's 4 categories of cyber crime

  1- cyber-trespass

  2- cyber-deception and theft

  3-cyber-violence

  4-global cyber-crime