NCJ Number
197294
Journal
American Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2002 Pages: 249-268
Date Published
2002
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the effect that media coverage has on police employment levels.
Abstract
Focusing on the influence that local newspaper coverage has on the size of municipal police agencies, this article addresses the connections between media influence and criminal justice policy making. Following an introduction to both police departments and media coverage of the criminal justice system, the author argues that the size of a city’s police force is shaped by the actual level of criminal threat, the perceived criminal threat, political factors specific to the urban environment, and bureaucratic dimensions of policing. Focusing on local newspapers’ coverage of policing, the author argues that media stories are often framed in a way that makes an audience more conscious and fearful of criminal threats. Drawing on data from newspapers from a sample of 63 United States cities with populations of 100,000 or greater, the author performed content analysis of newspaper coverage analyzing “what is said” in the media and “who is saying it". Regression results demonstrate that media coverage did affect police employment levels because of the often prominent featuring of crime-related stories that portrayed police officials effectively responding to criminal incidents. Tables, references