NCJ Number
163006
Date Published
1995
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines some of the problems faced by police officials in releasing crime data and dealing with reporters and with the public, and the effect of crime stories on the public's perception of crime.
Abstract
The chapter includes remarks by a former media relations officer for the Halifax city police, who describes dealing with reporters who are sometimes unfamiliar with police procedures and making sure the public gets the correct impression of crime so there isn't a social panic. There are examples of how crime is reported in the news and how it is sensationalized and exaggerated. The main topic of the chapter is fear of crime, but the underlying theme is that fear of crime is constructed socially, through the media. A social panic unfounded in reality may not simply be a media exaggeration, but can serve a real purpose in society: to present a picture of crime out of control and the need for new laws to do something about it. The more stories people read about crime, especially of events they cannot control, the more likely they are to think crime is out of control, which will produce more stories and generate interest in legal reform, a condition promoting the production of crime news in the first place. Tables, notes