1.5-explain the impact of media representation on the public perception of crime
Moral panic -this is when an instance of public anxiety or alarm in response to a problem regarded
as threatening the moral standards of society.
It’s a term used to describe media presentation of something that has happened that the public will
react to in a panicky manner. Moral panic has an 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
Stanley Cohen believes the media play an important role in enforcing moral panic, even by
just reporting the news.
In Cohen’s view the media overreact or sensationalise aspects of behaviour which challenge
social norms. The media’s representation therefore then helps to define it, which can then
lead to outsiders adopting and observing the behaviour based on the model they see in the
media. The moral panic depicted by the media fuels further unacceptable behaviour.
In extreme cases moral panic creates mass hysteria within society. The general public start to
believe whatever is being reported on is occurring everywhere in society.
Cohen defined his five stages of moral panic as:
1. Something or someone is defined as a threat to values or interests
2. This threat is depicted in an easily recognisable form by the media
3. There is a rapid build-up of public concern
4. There is a response from authorities or opinion makers
5. The panic recedes or results in social changes
Deviancy amplification
This is the idea that attempts to control devidence only increase it; more and more control
produces more and more deviance.its is a media hype phenomenon defined by media critics
as a cycle of increasing numbers of reports on a category of antisocial behaviour or some
other 'undesirable' event, leading to a moral panic.
Perceptions of crime trends
The rise in crime in England and Wales is accelerating, according to police figures, which
show a 14% year-on-year increase in offences recorded by forces across England and Wales.
However, crime has fallen to new record low levels in England and wales, despite some
increases as a result of changes in how police record incidents. However, the police could just
not be recording crimes so on paper it looks better for them as it could be seen as there
stopping crime before its happening.
Stereotypes and young people-
Moral panic -this is when an instance of public anxiety or alarm in response to a problem regarded
as threatening the moral standards of society.
It’s a term used to describe media presentation of something that has happened that the public will
react to in a panicky manner. Moral panic has an 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
Stanley Cohen believes the media play an important role in enforcing moral panic, even by
just reporting the news.
In Cohen’s view the media overreact or sensationalise aspects of behaviour which challenge
social norms. The media’s representation therefore then helps to define it, which can then
lead to outsiders adopting and observing the behaviour based on the model they see in the
media. The moral panic depicted by the media fuels further unacceptable behaviour.
In extreme cases moral panic creates mass hysteria within society. The general public start to
believe whatever is being reported on is occurring everywhere in society.
Cohen defined his five stages of moral panic as:
1. Something or someone is defined as a threat to values or interests
2. This threat is depicted in an easily recognisable form by the media
3. There is a rapid build-up of public concern
4. There is a response from authorities or opinion makers
5. The panic recedes or results in social changes
Deviancy amplification
This is the idea that attempts to control devidence only increase it; more and more control
produces more and more deviance.its is a media hype phenomenon defined by media critics
as a cycle of increasing numbers of reports on a category of antisocial behaviour or some
other 'undesirable' event, leading to a moral panic.
Perceptions of crime trends
The rise in crime in England and Wales is accelerating, according to police figures, which
show a 14% year-on-year increase in offences recorded by forces across England and Wales.
However, crime has fallen to new record low levels in England and wales, despite some
increases as a result of changes in how police record incidents. However, the police could just
not be recording crimes so on paper it looks better for them as it could be seen as there
stopping crime before its happening.
Stereotypes and young people-
