Mass Media and Crime

Agenda Setting

• Set the topics which we talk about.
• choose the information that is important for the audience to see.
  
• What the audience deems is important is shaped, to a large extent, by what they are fed by the media.
  

News Values

• Values and assumptions held by editors and journalists which guide them in choosing stories that are important.

Newsworthy

• Items selected by editors and journalist as being of importance and this which should be broadcast .

Crime and Deviance

Define situational and societal deviance. (Plummer)

Deviance as a social construction.

1. Happens at a certain stage of life for many people.

• A non-deviant crime? There are mnay illegal acts that people don't regard as particularly deviant, such as speeding, underage drinking, pinching office stationary. These are all extremely common, but because everyone does at one point, it is difficult to see it as deviant.
  

2. Time

• Definitions of deviance can change over time in the same society. For example, smoking used to be popular and was socially acceptable, but is now becoming increasingly deviant. Since July 2007, when it was made illegal to smoke in public places, it is seen as a deviant and socially unacceptable thing to do.
• Homosexuality was illegal in the UK before 1967, but since then it is legal and widely accepted

3. The Society or Culture

• Deviance is culturally relative. For example, what is regarded as deviant in one society of culture may not be in another. E.g. consumption of alcohol is often seen as deviant and illegal in many Islamic countries, but is seen as normal in Britain.
  

4. The Social Group

• As like above, what may be accepted in one social group, may be seen as deviant in another. For example, smoking cannabis is acceptable among Rastafarians in Britain and among many young people who are not Rastafarian, although it is regarded as deviant by many adults and it is illegal.
  

5. The Place

• It is seen as deviant if people have sex in public, but not among couples in the bedroom.
  
• Killing someone can be seen as heroic, manslaughter, self-defence, murder, a 'crime of passion,' justifiable homicide or euthenasia (mercy killing).
  

Crime and Deviance

• Crime is socially constructed - society defines what a crime is - members of society create the idea of a 'crime.'
• A crime depends on the time period and area/country/place.
  
• Criminal acts most often reflect the norms and values of our society at the time.
• 'Crime' is agreed by most members of society.
  

Values

RESPECT FOR HUMAN LIFE - Murder, Euthenasia, Domestic Violence.
RESPECT FOR INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY - Burglary, Arson, Criminal Damage
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN & VULNERABLE - Child Sexual Abuse, Physical/Mental abuse - Must have a CRB Check to work with those types of people.
PRIVACY - Trespass, stalking/harrassment, Data Protection, Identity Theft
EMOTIONAL WELL BEING - Recognise mental abuse.

Agencies of Social Control

FORMAL - Criminal Justice System
INFORMAL - Media, Family, Education

Criminal justice system enforces and safeguards norms and values through law-making and law-enforcement. The criminal justice system enforces sanctions on behaviour, these include formal punishments e.g. fine.

Crime and Deviance

Crime

• an action that is against the law in the country you are in.
• depends on the place and time.
• is defined by the society.
• tend to reflect the values and norms of the society.

Deviance

• An action that is against the norms and values of society.