Crime & Crime in Media
WHAT IS CRIME?
Crime exists within a social context; looks very different based on different places in the world
Laws may be based on a consensus perspective, or conflict perspective (may serve people better than others)
Legastic approach: focuses on violation of legal codes; fails to consider power dynamics (who it benefits and who doesn’t); people argue that it should be viewed in a more broad perspective and consider social crimes as well
No universal definition of crime; all definitions state it is a violation of criminal law
Generic term and refers to acts that have been defined as wrong or anti-social
Crime was previously dealt with as a private matter until the advent of the criminal justice system
Crime is considered against the state; when criminal law is violated
Crime vs Offence
Crime = any infraction of the law
Two types of offences: summary and indictable
Conventional Crime: illegal activity involving degree of direct/indirect contact (robbery, theft, etc.)
Non-Conventional Crime: illegal activity that may not be pursued by the criminal justice
system such as white collar crime or organized crime
To be found guilty:
must have done guilty act and guilty mind
Deviance
Deviance: wide range of behaviours that violate a social norm but aren’t necessarily prohibited by law
Decriminalization: the reduction/removal of criminal penalties attatched to an act without legalizing
Legalization: additional regulation and creates laws regarding the crime ontop of decriminalizing it
characteristics of crime can change over time
Conflict crimes: possesing drugs, partaking in acts with a sex worker
Consensus crimes: assault, homicide
What is Criminology
typically uses interdisciplinary approach
didn’t get established in canada until 19th century
criminoliogical thinking refers to how people understand crime using criminological thinking
influenced by biological, psychological, sociological and other theories
The Criminal Justice System in Canada
The Canadian Justice Syste consists of the police, courts, and the correctional/prison system
Main functions of the criminal justice system are
to investigate criminal offences under the criminal code,
to lay charges as defined under the criminal code,
to prosecute the accused in court,
to determine guilt or innocence,
to sentence those who are found guilty,
to administer that sentence
The Origins of Criminology
enlightenment period of the 18th century: believed people acted straight out of free will and people make their own decisions, harsh punishments
late 19th century: term criminology emerged as a scientific discourse, people started thinking about how we should reform criminal law, how we should punish people and why people do what they do
early 20th century: evolution of textbooks of criminology and sociology, alliance between criminology and sociology departments
Sub-Areas of Criminology
victimonology: the relationship between victims and criminals
criminal statistics:
sociology of law: origins of law, examines how economic and political forces have influenced on social control and order
theory construction: causes of crime; criminologocal theory
types of criminal behavior: use of criminal typeoplogies; explains how different criminals commit different crimes
law enforcement, judiciary, and corrections
Interdisciplinary Criminology
The roots of criminology lie in two schools: classical and positivist
Classical: crime is the result of free will
Positivist: crime is due to both free will and other external factors
most criminologists do believe in positivist
Putting Theory Into Practice
criminologists use data and theoretical persppectives to formulate workable solutions to existing problems
governments must rely on theoretical guidance of criminologists when making policy decisions
Summary
criminologists are dedicated to the systematic and … behaviour
no single academic system to understand crime
CRIME & MEDIA
media is shapes and is shaped by public understanding of crime and justice
the public’s main source of knowledge about crime
there will always be part of the story that is left out of the media cannot tell us everything about the story
Newsworthiness Criteria
things in media must fit under one or more of these criterias
stereotypes, simple, out of the ordinary, human appeal, dramatic, proximity, spectable, recurrent theme, violence, elite people, negative consequences, ideal victim
Theoretical Perspectives
market model - views media as a business that delivers a product for product demand; media as a business
public sphere - media plays a major role in our democracy; for social responsibility not just for profot
propaganda - media intentionally manipulates stories to fit the interest of the media owners of powerful people of power
agenda setting- chooses what shows in the media and what’s not getting shown
organization - whats happening in daily events, makes stories more simplified …. (more in textbook reading notes
cultural studies - more in textbook notes, add moral panic -
Framing
fitting a story in a ready made social construct so it is easy for the audience to read and understand
sets the limits of what you can see and ont necessarily know the context outside of what appears on the image in the frame
promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation or recommendation
Media Reflection Assignment - due in 3 weeks
objective - examine canadian crime related news article report, reflect on the media framing
news article in the last 5 years that focuses on a specific crim; reputable news sources (doesn’t have to be in canada) , look at sfu library for articles and news
around 3 pages (around 800 words)
more in canvas
must include textbook source and news article, include pdf copy if news article is payed for
apa format for reference
rubric in assignment guidelines on canvas
submit through canvas