Crime and Deviance: Crime and the Media Globalisation and Crime

The Media Gives a Distorted - Key Idea 1 - Media Reps of Crime (Topic 1 - Crime & the Media)

• Surrette: Law of opposites – media coverage often contradicts official stats. Knife crime is falling (down 1.2% since March 2025) and represents only 0.8% of all offences

• Felson: Media exaggerates extraordinary crimes (dramatic fallacy), overstates victimisation risk and police success, and ignores underlying causes

• Ditton & Duffy: Violent and sexual crimes are over-represented, though they account for just 3% of recorded crime

Analysis:

• Soothill & Walby: Rape coverage focuses on rare stranger attacks, while most offenders are known to victims

Evaluation:

• Reality-style infotainment highlights young, non-white, ‘underclass’ offenders

• Increasing portrayal of police as corrupt/brutal

• Victims are more central, with audiences encouraged to empathise

Certain Crimes, Criminals and Victims are more Newsworthy - Key Idea 1 - Media Reps of Crime (Topic 1 - Crime & The Media)

• Cohen & Young: News is socially constructed, shaped by “news values”: immediacy, dramatisation, personalisation, high-status individuals, simplification, novelty, risk, and violence

• E.g.: First gov flight for UK nationals leaving the Middle East

Analysis:

• Jewkes: Crime is newsworthy because it is negative, dramatic, human-interest, and rare

Evaluation:

• Audiences now access wider perspectives, making traditional “news values” less dominant

The media can cause an increased fear of crime Key Idea 1 - Media Reps of Crime (Topic 1 - Crime & the Media)

• Media exaggerates crime levels and victimisation risk, distorting public perception

• Gerbner: Heavy TV viewers (4+ hours/day) show higher fear of crime

• Schlesinger & Tumber: Tabloid readers fear crime more, especially assaults and mugging

Analysis:

• Cohen: Media links negative symbols (e.g., mods and rockers) to deviance, connecting unrelated events into a broader narrative of youth disorder

Evaluation:

• Correlation doesn’t prove causation; fearful individuals may simply consume more media

Hypodermic Syringe Model - Key Idea 2 - Media as a cause of crime (Topic 1 - Crime & The Media)

• Media sends messages that can influence behaviour; audiences may accept or reject them

• Newsome: Media is a powerful agent of socialisation that directly influences passive audiences

• Effects include imitation, arousal, desensitisation, learning criminal techniques, and glamorising crime

Examples:

• Bandura (1961): Children copied aggressive behaviour in the Bobo Doll experiment

• Jamie Bulger case: Media suggested violent film influence

Evaluation:

• Greer & Reiner: Effects research ignores how audiences interpret media

• Too simplistic—audiences are not passive and respond differently

• Overstates media influence and ignores other social factors

‘American Dream’ - Key Idea 2 - Media as a cause of crime (Topic 1 - Crime & The Media)

• Media promotes meritocracy and success (wealth, home, family)

• Merton (Strain Theory): Not everyone has equal opportunity to achieve this, creating strain between goals and means

• This pressure can lead some to crime

Examples (adaptations):

• Conformist: accepts goals and means

• Ritualist: abandons goals but follows rules

• Retreatist: rejects both (e.g. drugs/alcohol)

• Innovator: uses illegal means

• Rebel: replaces goals and means

Evaluation:

• Mainly explains economic crime, not violent crime

• Most deprived people do not turn to crime

• Ignores power of ruling class; meritocracy may be a myth

Media = agent of Capitalism - Key Idea 2 - Media as a cause of crime (Topic 1 - Crime & The Media)

• Media creates a “culture of envy” and consumerism (“keeping up with the Joneses”)

• In a postmodern society, identity is shaped by consumption

• Gordon: Media encourages desire for unattainable goods, leading the poor to crime and the rich to white-collar crime (e.g. fraud, tax evasion)

Examples:

• WING$ – WING$

• One Man and His Shoes – One Man and His Shoes

Evaluation:

• Crime has fallen despite rising inequality

• No clear link between consumption and crime

• Crime exists in non-capitalist societies

Media increases relative deprivation - Key Idea 2 - Media as a cause of crime (Topic 1 - Crime & The Media)

• Lea & Young: Media exposes everyone to a materialistic “good life,” increasing feelings of relative deprivation

• Marginalised groups feel excluded, which may lead to crime

Examples:

• “Culturally included but economically excluded” (Nightingale)

• Resentment towards highly paid groups (e.g. footballers)

• Middle class may resent the underclass (“relative deprivation downwards”)

Evaluation:

• Most people experiencing relative deprivation do not turn to crime.

Hegemonic Masculinity - Key Idea 2 - Media as a cause of crime (Topic 1 - Crime & The Media)

• Katz: In a postmodern society, traditional masculinity declines, but the media still promotes toughness

• Young men in “drift” may use crime to assert identity and masculinity (“tough guise”)

Examples:

• Winlow: Bouncers use violence and bodily capital to express masculinity

Evaluation:

• Most men do not commit crime

• Arguably outdated—masculinity is changing (e.g. “New Man”)

Exaggeration & Moral Panics - Key Idea 2 - Media as a cause of crime (Topic 1 - Crime & The Media)

• Cohen: Media exaggerates crime, predicts further conflict, labels symbols negatively, and moral entrepreneurs call for control

• Police crackdowns can amplify deviance; folk devils may fulfill media-driven expectations

Examples:

• Punks & skins (1970s), Mods & Rockers, 1990s Satanic Panic, rave culture, Middle Eastern youth, social media and youth mental health (2010s)

Evaluation:

• Assumes societal reaction is overblown; fear of crime can be rational

• Doesn’t explain selective amplification

• Audiences today see more social issues, so moral panics may be outdated

Cyber-crime Definition (Topic 1 - Crime & The Media)

• The rise of new media and communication technologies has increased cybercrime. The UK government estimates cyber-attacks cost British companies £27 billion annually

• Jewkes (2003): The internet enables both conventional crimes (e.g., fraud) and new crimes using new tools (e.g., software piracy)

Four types of cyber crime (Topic 1 - Crime & The Media)

1. Cyber-trespass – hacking into systems

2. Cyber-deception/theft – online fraud, identity theft

3. Cyber-pornography – illegal content distribution

4. Cyber-violence – harassment, threats, or bullying online

Outline two ways the media distorts our view of crime (4 marks)

1. Exaggeration of violent and sexual crimes – The media often focuses on rare, dramatic crimes, making them seem more common than they really are

1. Stereotyping of criminals and victims – Media may portray criminals as w/c or ethnic minorities, and victims as m/c, which can give a misleading picture of who commits or suffers from crime.

Outline three media news values (6 marks)

(Galtung & Ruge 12 news values)

1. Dramatisation – Stories that are exciting, emotional, or sensational are more likely to be reported because they attract attention

1. Personalisation – News focuses on individuals rather than groups or abstract issues, making the story easier for audiences to relate to

1. Negativity – Bad news, like crime, disasters, or scandals, is more newsworthy because it shocks or worries the audience

Criminology Definition (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• Focuses on exploring why some people commit crime and others do not; by comparing attributes, behaviour, beliefs

•  The key question remaines: who makes the law and why are they made? 

Zemiology Definition (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• Went beyond the boundary of normal criminology to include a wider range of issues

• It breaks from focussing on the breaking the law and low level deviance

• Includes environmental crime and the globalisation of criminological concerns

• Unlike most criminology it is concerned about harm to animals and environment as much as harm to humans

Growing risk consciousness and intensification of social control (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• Beck (1992): Individuals are increasingly aware of global risks, often via media, which exaggerates them

Examples:

• Migration and asylum seekers spark anxieties about crime and disorder, leading to border control measures

Evaluation:

• Not all individuals share a global risk consciousness; media consumers vary

• Some “global risks” may reflect media-driven moral panic rather than genuine society-wide fear

Deregulation & Marketisation in Capitalism Increasing Crime (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• Globalisation spreads capitalism and marketisation

• Deregulation (reduced rules) limits government control and creates opportunities for crime across social classes

Examples (Taylor, 1997):

• The Poor: Deindustrialisation → unemployment and poverty; reduced welfare and rising inequality; increased individualism—all raising crime risk

• The Rich: Deregulated financial markets enable insider trading, tax avoidance, and exploitation of low-paid or illegal labour

Evaluation:

• Not all markets are deregulated (e.g. EU Single Market)

• Most poor people and businesses do not turn to crime

Cultural Globalisation & the ideology of consumerism increase crime (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• Young (1993): Globalisation spreads consumer culture via media, tourism, and migration

• Creates a “bulimic society” where excluded groups crave inclusion but lack means, encouraging crime

Examples:

• Links between reality TV culture (e.g. The Only Way Is Essex) and criminal activity behind the scenes

Evaluation:

• Most deprived individuals do not commit crime

• Some unequal societies (e.g. Japan, Switzerland) have low crime

• No clear proven link between media consumption and crime

Globalisation & De-industrialisation create new opportunities for crime (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• Hobbs & Dunningham (1998): Globalisation creates new crimes (e.g. cybercrime) and new methods for traditional crimes

• Leads to “glocal” crime—local groups with global networks

Examples:

• Containerisation: Global trade enables smuggling, trafficking, and concealment of illegal goods

• Dark Web: Facilitates illegal markets (drugs, trafficking, illegal content)

Evaluation:

• Many global crimes (e.g. smuggling, trafficking) existed before globalisation

• Criminal innovation is not new; only the methods have evolved

Globalisation has created a global criminal economy (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• Castells (1998): A global criminal economy (GCE) worth trillions operates through supply and demand

• Demand comes from wealthy nations; supply from poorer regions, encouraging organised crime

Examples:

• Glenny: Organised crime works like a global business with supply chains:

  • Production (e.g. drugs in Afghanistan, Colombia)

  • Distribution (e.g. Mexico, Balkans)

  • Consumption (e.g. EU, USA, Japan)

• Uses global transport, finance, and the internet to operate a “shadow economy.”

Evaluation:

• Difficult to measure the scale and impact of global crime

• Hard to compare with historical levels

What does Glenny identify as the commercial success story of the last 20 years and its 2009 GDP share? (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• Organised Crime

• 15% of the world’s GDP in 2009

What is McMafia? (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• Transnational, flexible organised crime networks that operate like legitimate franchised businesses

• Emerged post-communism with global capitalism

• Often from Russia/Eastern Europe, they let local criminals copy proven criminal "business models," mimicking multinational corporations

• Glenny also describes as the “Global Shadow Economy”

Why did Glenny study organised crime in the Balkans? (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• After Communism collapsed, state institutions in Eastern European countries stopped working effectively

• They turned to “privatised law enforcement agencies” which were essentially the mafa

• Crimes: heroin/cocaine trafficking, human trafficking, precious minerals smuggling

Glenny: : Where are the main zones of production, distribution, and consumption?

• Production: developing world "(Afghanistan, Colombia)

• Distribution: Mexico, Balkans

• Consumption: EU, USA, Japan (Western consumer demand drives international organised crime)

Glenny: How do smugglers make money on cigs? (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• Smuggled untaxed cigarattes; Britain lost $8 bill

• Smugglers evade police by fast speedboats and throwing trafficked women into the water

• Police are under-resourced

Glenny: Why is cyber-crime so easy to carry out? (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

Social engineering: manipulating human emotions to access accounts or computers

Glenny: How have the organised criminals changed their interests to adjust to the economic recession? (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• During the recession, organised criminals shifted towards:

• Financial and corporate crime

• Counterfeit goods

• Cybercrime

What to international criminals do with their money and how has globalisation made this easier? (Topic 2 - Globalisation & Crime)

• Criminals launder their money through global financial markets and banks

• Globalisation made this easier becase it liberalised international financial markets and expanded offshore banking networks, which help hide illegal money

Primary Green Crimes (Topic 3 - Green Crime)

• Crimes resulting directly from destruction/degradation of Earth’s resources

• Air pollution from factories/vehicles → climate change

• Deforestation in the Amazon for farming/logging

• Water pollution from dumping toxic chemicals

• Species decline from illegal wildlife trade

Evaluation:

• Many acts are legal but harmful, showing limits of traditional crime definitions

• Globalisation → higher demand for resources → more environmental exploitation

• Some govs argue economic development requires resource use

Secondary Green Crimes (Topic 3 - Green Crime)

• Crimes from breaking laws/regulations meant to protect the environment

• Often involve corporations or govs avoiding costs

• State violence against oppositional groups, illegal waste disposal, environmental discrimination

Examples:

• Illegal toxic waste dumping by corporations

• Oil companies ignoring safety rules → spills

• Exporting waste to poorer countries with weak environmental laws

Evaluation:

• Definitions unclear due to lack of international agreement

• Hard to measure/prove liability – challenges for criminology

Global Risk Society (Topic 3 - Green Crime)

• Beck (1992): Environmental threats largely human-made

• Increased productivity & technology → new global risks

• Risks are global, not local, creating a global risk society

Examples:

• Russia (2010): Heatwave → wildfires → grain shortage → export bans → bread price rise

• Mozambique (2010): Dependent on imports → 30% bread price rise → riots & looting

• Bhopal (1984): Cyanide leak in US-owned pesticide plant → 500,000 exposed, ~20,000 deaths; long-term mercury contamination

Evaluation:

• Debate: Is this truly new or rooted in Earth’s interconnectivity?

• Unequal risk exposure → links to environmental racism & social inequality

Capitalism, Greed & Corporate Crime (Topic 3 - Green Crime)

• White: Transnational corporations move operations to developing countries to avoid strict environmental laws in developed nations

Examples (Wolf – perpetrators of green crime):

• Individuals: Littering, fly-tipping, fast fashion

• Private businesses: Emissions, waste dumping, health & safety breaches

• States/governments: Environmental harm, often colluding with businesses

• Organised crime: Long-term involvement, sometimes colluding with governments/industry

Evaluation:

• If no law is broken, is it really a crime?

• Could be considered harm (zemiology) rather than crime (criminology) → subjective vs objective

Social Inequalities and the Victims of Green Crime (Topic 3 - Green Crime)

Wolf (2011):

• Harm from environmental destruction is unequal

• Marginalised groups most at risk

• Environmental racism: Those suffering harm often ethnically different from those causing it

Examples:

• Reggie Yates’ Burner Boys documentary

Evaluation:

• Focusing on environmental regulation can divert resources from poverty alleviation

• Legislation (e.g., ULEX) + welfare expansion shows attempts to balance protection & social justice

• Jeffried (1994): Risk perception can be misleading – some modern facilities may pose less risk than everyday activities

Aberfan Disaster 1996 (Topic 3 - Green Crime)

Background:

• 21 Oct 1966, Aberfan, South Wales

• Coal waste tip collapsed after heavy rain → landslide onto village and primary school

Who caused it?

• National Coal Board ignored warnings about unstable spoil tip over a water spring

Who was punished?

• No individuals criminally prosecuted

• NCB criticised but avoided legal punishment

• Compensation paid to victims

Type of Green Crime:

• State-corporate crime / environmental negligence

Aftermath & Today:

• 144 deaths (116 children)

• Led to stronger industrial waste safety regulations

• Site now a memorial garden; symbol of corporate negligence

Chernobyl 1986 (Topic 3 - Green Crime)

Background:

• 26 April 1986, nuclear power plant, Ukraine (then Soviet Union)

• Reactor exploded during a safety test → massive radiation released

Who caused it?

• Soviet authorities & plant operators

• Poor reactor design + human error + lack of safety culture

Who was punished?

• Several plant workers/officials prosecuted (e.g., Anatoly Dyatlov imprisoned)

Type of Green Crime:

• State crime / environmental disaster due to negligence

Aftermath & Today:

• Immediate deaths + long-term health concerns

• Large exclusion zone remains

• Area contaminated, some wildlife has returned

• Studied globally as a nuclear safety case

Deepwater Horizon 2010 (Topic 3 - Green Crime)

Background:

• April 2010, Gulf of Mexico offshore drilling rig explosion

• Oil leaked for 87 days

Who caused it?

• BP primarily, also contractors (Halliburton, Transocean)

• Causes: cost-cutting, poor safety decisions, equipment failure

Who was punished?

• BP fined billions (one of largest corporate fines ever)

• Some employees faced charges; few executives jailed

Type of Green Crime:

• Corporate environmental crime

Aftermath & Today:

• Massive marine ecosystem and wildlife damage

• Long-term environmental effects ongoing

• Led to stricter offshore drilling regulations

• Partial ecological recovery; full recovery uncertain

Domestic/international law to define State Crime(Topic 4 - State Crime)

Definition:

• Illegal/deviant acts by/with state agencies to further policies (Green & Ward: 262m killed 20th c.)

• Problem: states define their own crimes → social construction

Typology (McLaughlin):

• Political: imprison/execution, censorship, surveillance

• Security: war crimes, genocide, torture

• Economic: theft, corruption, bribery

• Social/cultural: fail to protect rights, institutional racism/sexism

Problems:

• Domestic law biased (Chambliss)

• Media & ruling-class ideology shape perception

Solution:

• Use global definitions (Rothe & Mullins) for objectivity

Example:

• Nazi Germany & Aryan racial policies

Evaluation:

• Global law also socially constructed; powerful nations dominate

• Media can justify crimes; states can bribe votes (e.g., Japan & whaling)

Using human rights to define state crime (Topic 4 - State Crime)

• State crime = violation of human rights (Schwendingers, 1975)

• Human rights:

  • Natural: life, liberty, free speech

  • Civil: voting, privacy, fair trial, education

Advantages:

• Rise et al. (1999): States care about human rights image → can be shamed

Examples:

• 1951: German Chancellor apologised & paid Holocaust reparations

• 2010: PM Cameron apologised for Bloody Sunday

Evaluation:

• Cohen: Some acts (e.g., economic exploitation) morally wrong but not clearly criminal

• Human rights are hard to define; debates over what counts

Psychological Explanations - authority & obedience (Topic 5 - Explanations for State Crime)

Theory:

• Adorno (1950): Capitalism → punitive socialisation → authoritarian personality → obey authority blindly

• Milgram (1961): People obey authority even when harming others

3 Features Producing Crimes of Obedience:

1. Authorisation: Acts approved by authority → moral duty replaces personal morals

2. Routinisation: Crimes become routine, detached

3. Dehumanisation: Victims seen as sub-human → moral rules ignored

Examples:

• The Holocaust: Ordinary Germans obeyed Nazi orders; Jews scapegoated; bureaucracy reduced personal responsibility

• My Lai Massacre (1968): US soldiers killed civilians; military hierarchy + dehumanisation encouraged obedience

Evaluation:

• Not all genocides rely on routine detachment (e.g., Rwanda)

• Ideology also key: Nazi ideology excluded minorities, justifying harm

Culture of Denial & state’s ability to re-label behaviours (Topic 5 - Explanations for State Crime)

Theory (Cohen, 1993):

• Perpetrators often don’t see themselves as criminals

• States justify harmful actions using techniques of neutralisation / relabelling

Techniques of Neutralisation:

1. Deny the act – “It didn’t happen”

2. Deny injury – “We are the real victims”

3. Deny responsibility – “I was following orders”

4. Condemn the condemners – “They are biased / racist”

5. Appeal to higher loyalty – “Serving nation / ideology / higher cause”

Examples:

• China & Uyghur Muslims

• Rwanda Genocide

• Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster

• Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

• Afghanistan/Iraq – War on Terror

Evaluation:

• Not all states deny crimes; some apologise / offer reparations (Germany 1951, UK 2010)

China and Uyghur Muslims (Topic 5 - Explanations for State Crime)

• China accused of crimes against humanity and genocide in Xinjiang

• Over 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim groups detained in “re-education camps”

• Hundreds of thousands sentenced to prison

Genocide in Rwanda 1994 (Topic 5 - Explanations for State Crime)

• 1994: 500,000–1 million Rwandans killed

• Hutu extremist government targeted Tutsi minority and opponents

The Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster 1986 (Topic 5 - Explanations for State Crime)

• Jan 28, 1986: Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch; all 7 crew died

• Cause: failure of O-ring seals in right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB)

• Led to 32-month Space Shuttle hiatus

• Rogers Commission criticized NASA’s culture and decision-making

• SRB O-ring flaw known since 1977 but ignored by NASA and Morton Thiokol

• Engineer warnings about low-temperature launch risks were disregarded

Deepwater Horizon 2010 (Topic 5 - Explanations for State Crime)

• 2010: Deepwater Horizon explosion, 11 deaths, massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill

• Companies involved: BP, Transocean, Halliburton

• Weak US regulation + close state-corporate ties → unsafe practices

• Punishment: BP fined $60bn; few individuals charged, no senior execs jailed

• Type: state-corporate, environmental crime, crime of omission

• Aftermath: long-term environmental damage; stricter rules, but drilling continues

Afghanistan and Iraq/’War on Terror’ 2001 (Topic 5 - Explanations for State Crime)

• Post-9/11: US-led wars under George W. Bush

• Afghanistan: target Al-Qaeda

• Iraq: WMD claims false

• Punishment: few held accountable; low-level soldiers punished, top leaders not prosecuted

• Type: state crime, war crimes, human rights abuses (torture, illegal invasion)

• Aftermath:

  • Afghanistan: Taliban back (2021), ongoing crisis

  • Iraq: instability, rise of extremist groups

  • Massive loss of life, long-term global tension

Outline two types of Green Crimes (4 marks)

1. Primary green crime = crimes that directly harm the environment. Examples include illegal dumping of toxic waste or poaching endangered species

2. Secondary green crimes = crimes that occur because of breaking environmental laws or state policies. Examples include government or corporate violations like Deepwater Horizon oil spill or ignoring pollution regulations

Outline three ways globalisation has had an impact on crime (6 marks)

1. Increased international crime = globalisation allows criminal networks to operate across borders. Drug trafficking by cartels or human trafficking networks.

2. Cyber crime = global communications and internet has increased opportunities for crime online. Hacking, identity theft, or online scams targeting multiple countries.

3. Spread of cultural norms and consumerism = global culture encourages materialism which can increase certain crimes. Rise in global financial crimes like tax evasion or online fraud driven by demand for luxury goods.