crime and media. globalization

Media as a Cause of Crime

Imitation: The media provides deviant role models, leading people to act out the crimes and violence they see in the media.

Arousal: The media creates excitement and adrenaline, which can encourage people to commit crimes.

Desensitisation: Watching violence in the media lowers people's shock levels, making them less horrified by it and more likely to commit crimes.

Schools of Crime: Watching shows and the news can help criminals learn how to become less detectable and also show them how to commit crimes.

Deprivation: Links to Left Realism and strain theory. The media creates unobtainable ideas of the lifestyles of the rich and famous, leading people to turn to crime to achieve that lifestyle.

Left realists say that the media bombards society with images of luxury products that most people can’t afford to buy. This increases the feeling of relative deprivation; as a result, people may turn to crime to be able to purchase luxurious goods.

The Media as a Possible Cause of Crime: There has long been concern that media content has a negative effect on the behaviour of young people, especially children. Television, films, comics, music lyrics (especially rap), the internet, and computer games have all been accused of causing violence and anti-social behaviour.

Thousands of sociological and psychological research studies have examined links between media content and crime. However, most sociologists note that this link is too simplistic, as it fails to see that audiences differ in terms of factors such as age, social class, intelligence, and education level, so they do not react in the same way to media content. The argument also fails to appreciate the complexity of violence—most experts argue it is caused by factors such as poor socialization, bad parenting, peer group influences, mental illness, drugs, or alcohol.

Key Study: David Morrison - The Effect of Violence on Audiences David Morrison showed violent film clips to groups of women, young men, and war veterans. When watching a violent scene from Pulp Fiction, all groups found it humorous because of the light-hearted dialogue. However, when shown a scene from Ladybird, Ladybird that depicted domestic violence, all groups found it distressing. This was because the setting felt realistic, the situation seemed unfair, and children were involved. Morrison concluded that the way violence is presented in media affects how audiences react to it.

Richard Sparks argues that many media studies fail to consider how viewers interpret violence differently. People may see violence in cartoons, horror films, and news reports in different ways, rather than simply being influenced to commit crime.

Guy Cumberbatch reviewed over 3,500 studies on the relationship between media and violence and found no clear proof that media causes crime. However, there was also no evidence to completely disprove it, leading him to conclude that "the jury is still out on this issue."

The Distorted Image of Crime: The media overrepresents sexual and violent crime, exaggerates police success, and misrepresents victimization.

Surrette’s Fictional Representation of Crime: The "Law of Opposites" suggests that the media portrays crime in direct contrast to official crime statistics. For example, the media focuses on murders and violent crimes, whereas most crimes committed in the UK are property-based crimes. The media also depicts victims as young women, whereas most crime victims are young men aged 19-24.

Cohen and Young - News Values: They argue that news is manufactured and therefore not a reliable source for shaping views on crime. They believe news is a social construct, as journalists select stories based on criteria such as:

– Immediacy: Breaking news is more attractive.

– Dramatisation: Stories must be dangerous and exciting.

– Personalisation: Easy-to-relate-to human interest stories.

– High-status victims or offenders: Celebrities make the news.

– Simplification: Stories must be easy to understand.

– Novelty: Unusual stories attract interest.

– Risk: Stories focus on vulnerability and fear.

– Violence: Spectacular and visually striking crimes.

Key Study: Felson - Media Fallacies About Crime Richard Felson argues that media reporting reinforces certain falsehoods about crime:

– Age fallacy: Media implies that all age groups commit crime equally.

– Class fallacy: Media suggests the middle class are the most likely victims, whereas in reality, the poor are more at risk.

– Ingenuity fallacy: Media presents criminals as intelligent masterminds, whereas most crime is opportunistic.

– Police fallacy: The media exaggerates police effectiveness.

– Dramatic fallacy: The media over-focuses on violent crimes, increasing public fear.

Moral Panics: Cohen argues that moral panics occur when the media creates an overreaction within society about a perceived problem. The media exaggerates the number of people involved, the extent of violence, and the damage caused. Cohen studied the conflict between two working-class youth subcultures, the Mods and Rockers, in the 1960s. The media exaggerated the extent of their violence and negatively labeled each group, creating public fear and moral panic.

Key Study: Stan Cohen - Folk Devils and Moral Panics Cohen identified stages of moral panic:

1 The media reports an event or group negatively using sensationalist, emotional, and exaggerated language.

2 Follow-up articles demonize the group, constructing them as folk devils.

3 The media highlights symbols associated with the group (e.g., clothing, music) to make them more visible.

4 The media invites influential figures (politicians, experts, religious leaders) to condemn the group.

5 The media predicts further trouble from the group.

6 Authorities (police, courts, politicians) respond with harsher measures.

7 A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs as the group resists control, leading to further negative reporting and arrests.

Why Moral Panics Occur: Three main explanations:

1 Moral panics arise during times of moral crisis, often linked to social change or modernization. For example, moral panics about youth in the 1950s and 1960s coincided with youth developing their own values and consumer culture, which older generations found threatening.

2 The ruling class may use moral panics to distract society from real social problems.

3 Moral panics serve as a form of social control, reinforcing existing power structures and legitimizing increased surveillance and policing.

Evaluation of Moral Panics Theory:

– Some critics argue that the concept of moral panics is outdated in today's society, where continuous media coverage means panic rarely fades before another issue emerges.

– McRobbie and Thornton (1995) suggest that moral panics are now less impactful because audiences are more media-savvy and skeptical of sensationalist reporting.

– Left realists argue that some moral panics are justified, as they reflect real concerns about crime rather than media exaggeration.

– The theory does not fully account for the diversity of media today, including social media, where audiences can challenge dominant narratives and create counter-discourses.

the incerasing integration of economic, cultural and social aspects between nations.

held suggests that globalisation of crime is the growing interconnectedness of crime across national borders.

castell claims that there is now a global criminal economy that is worth over 1 trillion a year.

forms of globalised crime

arms trafficking: weapons being sold to terrosrists and military groups

drug trade: drugs are mostly grown in countries such columbia and afghanistan and sold to foreing countries.

human traficking: traficking women adn children as well as illegal immigrants for prostitution or slavery. body organs can also be traficked.

terorrism: technological and communication advancements has made terrorism easier.

money laundering: has become much easier with relaxing international bank laws

globalization and new types of crime

drug trade: Drugs are often grown in poor countries like Colombia, Peru, and Afghanistan, where people see it as an easy way to make money. It requires little investment but sells for high prices, especially in Western countries.

human traficking: This includes trafficking of women, children, illegal immigrants, and even human organs. An estimated 2,000 organs are illegally sold each year, often taken from executed criminals.

held financial criminals: Crimes like money laundering have become easier due to looser international banking laws. Criminals can move money between offshore accounts or hide it in countries where law enforcement cannot access it.

wall: globalisation has led to cyber crime. he identifies 4 types of cyber crime. cyber trespass: spreading virus and hacking into systems without permission. cyber deception: identity theft or stealing bank acounts. cyber pornography, selling or watching child pornography. cyber violence: casuing emotional harm or physical violence online.

Transnational Organised Crime (Glenny ): Criminal groups operate across multiple countries, forming international crime networks.. Glenny (2008) called these groups "McMafia", which formed after the fall of the Soviet Union and global market deregulation. Old crime organizations like the Italian Mafia and Triads expanded to places like the USA.

Terrorism(Held et al.:The internet and modern technology have made global terrorism easier. Terrorist groups can communicate worldwide and radicalize people online.

impact of globalisation on crime:

Opportunities for Crime Castells :Technology and globalisation create new crimes and new ways to commit them. The Dark Web allows criminals to communicate secretly and commit crimes without being caught. Criminals can be in one country while committing crimes in another.

lash and urry: Less government control over businesses lets corporations move money, jobs, and factories globally. Taylor (1997) argues this leads to job insecurity, lower wages, and more inequality, increasing crime. globalisation benefits the rich and harms the poor.

hobbs and dunningham: glocal crime as a mix of local and global crime. Crime is no longer just small and local or big and international it is both at the same time. Local criminals now work with global networks, like drug dealers in one country selling drugs from international cartels or hackers stealing money from people in other countries. Technology and globalization have made it easier for small criminals to be part of big global crimes, connecting local crime to the wider world.