Media as a Cause of Crime

How does the media cause crime?

Nature of capitalism:

Promotes false needs by utilising traditional advertising
Targeted advertising towards individuals on low incomes promoting means to achieve these goods through credit- the cycle of poverty
This leads to the development of counterfeit goods
Smaller financial crimes (TV license evasion) impact on low-income families

Relative deprivation:

The focus of media on middle-class consumption and lifestyles leads to relative deprivation
Access to media is largely universal and therefore those on lower incomes will have access to messages promoting the consumption of goods
Inability to afford goods and services others have can lead to strain to anomie

Feminist approaches:

Over-sexualisation of women in media makes them targets for sexual harassment
Representations of women as being submissive to males challenge issues of consent
Reporting of the behaviour of female victims in the media questions women’s behaviours rather than males

Promoting moral panics:

The role of moral entrepreneurs in creating moral panics leads to deviancy amplification
Broadcast of counter-cultural activities increases membership in counter-cultures
Critics suggest that these eventually become part of mainstream culture

Imitation and desensitisation:

Imitation of crimes, particularly those that are glamourised by the media
Transmission of criminal techniques through mainstream media and online
Desensitisation to the effects of violence through the media
Often based upon small studies or are inconclusive in their findings
Growth of online criminal activity related to the expansion of online media- particularly social media
Depersonalisation of cyberspace leads to increased trolling and cyber harassment
Cyber-enabled crimes- such as identity fraud- have grown with the expansion of the internet
Cyber-dependant crimes would not exist without the media