MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS AND CRIME
EXAMINATION 2026
CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND ETHICS IN JOURNALISM AND
CRIMINAL JUSTICE DISCOURSE
DESIGNED FOR CRIMINOLOGY, MEDIA STUDIES,
SOCIOLOGY, AND COMMUNICATION STUDIES ASSESSMENT
SPRING SEMESTER EXAM 2026
Different impacts of media representations on public perceptions of crime
- Moral panic.
- Changing public concerns and attitudes.
- Perceptions of crime trends.
- Stereotyping of criminals.
- Levels of response to crime and types of punishment.
- Changing priorities and emphasis.
Moral panic
Moral panic is a term used to describe media representation of something that has happened
that the public will react to in a panicky manner. It has a tendency to exaggerate statistics. In
recent years moral panic and media presentation have covered a wide-ranging number of topics
from HIV/ AIDS in the 1980's to asylum seekers into the UK in the 2000's and more recently the
incidence of knife crime in our cities or terrorism and the subsequent result of islamophobia.
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, Examples of moral panic
- Knife crime: People who carry knives to protect themselves are more at risk of being a victim
of knife crime as they're typically used against them.
Changing public concerns and attitudes
Over time the public have been concerned about different types of crime:
- In the 1970s the public were concerned about violence between Mods and Rockers.
- Recently the threat of terrorism caused high level of concerns fuelled by attacks such as
London, Manchester, and Barcelona in 2017.
- In addition, the media have reported a rise in knife-attack crimes and this causes alarm
amongst the public.
Examples of changing public concerns and attitudes
- In response to terrorist acts the government may raise the threat level, e.g. raised from severe
to critical following concerns after the Manchester attack in 2017.
- Islamophobia also had an impact on the public's attitudes towards terrorism after 9/11 in
2001.
Perceptions of crime trends
Generally, the public's perception is that crime is on the increase. When the media report a high
volume of crime stories, it impacts on the public, giving them a false belief about the amount of
crime. This is because research suggests that crime is decreasing.
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EXAMINATION 2026
CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND ETHICS IN JOURNALISM AND
CRIMINAL JUSTICE DISCOURSE
DESIGNED FOR CRIMINOLOGY, MEDIA STUDIES,
SOCIOLOGY, AND COMMUNICATION STUDIES ASSESSMENT
SPRING SEMESTER EXAM 2026
Different impacts of media representations on public perceptions of crime
- Moral panic.
- Changing public concerns and attitudes.
- Perceptions of crime trends.
- Stereotyping of criminals.
- Levels of response to crime and types of punishment.
- Changing priorities and emphasis.
Moral panic
Moral panic is a term used to describe media representation of something that has happened
that the public will react to in a panicky manner. It has a tendency to exaggerate statistics. In
recent years moral panic and media presentation have covered a wide-ranging number of topics
from HIV/ AIDS in the 1980's to asylum seekers into the UK in the 2000's and more recently the
incidence of knife crime in our cities or terrorism and the subsequent result of islamophobia.
1|Page
, Examples of moral panic
- Knife crime: People who carry knives to protect themselves are more at risk of being a victim
of knife crime as they're typically used against them.
Changing public concerns and attitudes
Over time the public have been concerned about different types of crime:
- In the 1970s the public were concerned about violence between Mods and Rockers.
- Recently the threat of terrorism caused high level of concerns fuelled by attacks such as
London, Manchester, and Barcelona in 2017.
- In addition, the media have reported a rise in knife-attack crimes and this causes alarm
amongst the public.
Examples of changing public concerns and attitudes
- In response to terrorist acts the government may raise the threat level, e.g. raised from severe
to critical following concerns after the Manchester attack in 2017.
- Islamophobia also had an impact on the public's attitudes towards terrorism after 9/11 in
2001.
Perceptions of crime trends
Generally, the public's perception is that crime is on the increase. When the media report a high
volume of crime stories, it impacts on the public, giving them a false belief about the amount of
crime. This is because research suggests that crime is decreasing.
2|Page
