Images of Crime & Crime Control_Ch2

Perception of Crime

  • Influences shaping our perception of crime include:

    • Personal Experience (victimization/engagement in)

    • Media (journalism & popular media)

    • Official State Knowledge (police, court, corrections data)

    • Theoretical Narratives/Knowledge

    • Activist Organizations/Lobby Groups

Distorting Effects

  • Public perception of crime is distorted by:

    • Mass Media:

      • Exaggerates certain types of crimes over others (e.g., interpersonal violence over corporate or institutional corruption).

    • Activist Groups:

      • Exaggerate threats or criticize policies for political gain (e.g., highlights roles of organizations like Black Lives Matter while ignoring data on rising homicide rates).

    • Personal Experiences:

      • Emotions can distort personal perceptions of crime.

Knowledge in Criminology

  • Criminology aims to produce knowledge about criminal behavior.

  • Knowledge is defined as justified true belief, tied to provisional truths.

  • Not all truths can be known or proven; truth exists independently.

  • Justification for knowledge requires necessary conditions.

Inadequate Justification

  • Naïve methods insufficient for knowledge:

    • Logical reasoning can stem from false premises.

    • Authority/Experts can be misleading.

    • Consensus does not guarantee correct conclusions.

    • Observation methods (eyewitness testimony) are often low-quality.

    • Personal experiences can lead to biased interpretations.

Scientific Objectivity

  • Science is a key method for discovering truth and correcting human biases.

  • It helps to understand reality better but is fragile and susceptible to various influences (e.g., market forces, advocacy funding).

  • Fear, greed, power, and ego can corrupt scientific integrity.

Criminological Research Funding

  • In Canada, government funding impacts research direction, focusing on politically desirable questions.

  • Researchers face pressure to conform to acceptable viewpoints, limiting inquiry into certain topics (Overton Window).

  • The Overton Window model shows how ideas evolve, which can restrict academic freedom.

    • Herd thinking may mislead reliance on consensus from numerous experts.

Corrections of Factual Errors

  • Misconceptions:

    • No proven causal link between violent video games and aggression/criminal behavior.

    • The figure of 460,000 sexual assaults in Canada annually is inaccurate.

Violent Video Games & Crime

  • Social science has not reliably correlated multimedia violence with anti-social behavior.

  • Research (Ferguson et al., 2008) shows no link between violent video game play and real-life aggression.

  • In 2011, the US Supreme Court ruled that psychological studies did not establish a direct impact of violent video games on aggression.

    • Despite findings, the American Psychological Association maintained a disputed link until 2017.

  • Christopher J. Ferguson and Sven Smith replicated findings showing no predictive validity for violent gaming on criminal behavior (see: Stetson University study).

Sexual Assault Trends

  • Sexual assault rates are declining, with 98% categorized as level 1 (sexual integrity offences).

  • Ontario courts prosecute sexual assault vigorously, second only to murder and attempted murder.

  • Statistics from 2016 indicate:

    • 21,014 sexual assault charges across three categories.

    • Level 1 assault rate is significantly higher than level 1 sexual assault rate.

Declining Rates and Public Perception

  • Between 2006-2016, notable declines observed:

    • Level 3 (aggravated) assault by -45%

    • Level 2 (with weapon/body harm) by -13%

    • Level 1 (integrity offence) by -15%

  • Public perception often misconstrues the seriousness with which the justice system treats sexual assault, leading to feelings of unsafety among women.

  • Emotional manipulation, distorted data representation, and extreme case reporting drive flawed perceptions.

  • Common reasons for not reporting assaults included:

    • Incident deemed not serious enough (65%)

    • Perception of crime as minor (63%)

    • Belief that no harm was caused (48%).