NCJ Number
143732
Date Published
1991
Length
45 pages
Annotation
Presentations as well as questions and answers from a seminar focus on the relationship between media portrayal of violent crime and the public's fear of crime.
Abstract
The speakers agree that media reporting and portrayal of crime do influence the public's perception of the nature and frequency of crime, which in turn impacts the level of fear of crime. Various speakers indicate that the media do not attempt to present a realistic or balanced perspective of crime. The tendency is to use limited news space and air time to report on shocking stranger-to-stranger violence. One speaker notes that fear of crime is useful if it leads to rational action against realistic threats; media, however, generally fail to provide guidance for such action. The media, for example, do not give priority to reporting where the greatest threat to life and well-being lies, i.e., behind one's own closed door within the family. A number of the speakers suggest that the media should focus on more accurate and balanced portrayals of the nature and frequency of crime, so the public has a more realistic understanding of various threats and how they can be addressed. In this way, the media serves the end of providing knowledge to the public that facilitates informed personal and community action to prevent and control crime.