NCJ Number
95774
Date Published
1984
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Except for newspaper coverage of homicide, media crime reporting does not accurately reflect police crime statistics.
Abstract
In addition, television and newspapers are not as similar in their crime coverage as might be expected. Furthermore, the public's view of crime over time shows little agreement with either police or media statistics. Nevertheless, the public image regarding the relative frequency with which various crimes occur is similar to the image portrayed by newspapers, although different from that provided by television. Public, media, and police images of the characteristics of offenders' sex and race are highly correlated, and images of offender ages are moderately related, although the media do not provide extensive coverage in this area. Study data came from the New Orleans police, media, and public concerning crime in New Orleans from August 15 through November 15, 1978. Crimes studied included the FBI Index offenses. Footnotes, data tables, and 20 references are supplied.