Media Representations of Crime (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

Media representations of crime

• The media is a key source of information about crime for the public

• Newspapers, TV, films, and online platforms often present a distorted picture of crime compared to official statistics

• These distortions shape public perceptions, fear of crime, and even government policy

• Media can also create opportunities for crime, such as cybercrime and online fraud

Crime in the media vs reality

• Crime dominates news coverage

  • Williams and Dickinson (1993) found that British newspapers devote 30% of their content to crime stories

• Types of crime are over-represented

  • The media emphasises violent and sexual offences, while everyday property crimes like theft or fraud are underreported

• Fallacies in media coverage (Felson, 2002)

  • Age fallacy: Offenders are shown as older and more middle-class than official statistics suggest

  • Dramatic fallacy: The media focuses on extraordinary crimes (murders, abductions), exaggerating the risk of victimisation

• Victimisation is exaggerated

  • The media often portrays women, the elderly, and higher-status groups as most at risk

  • In reality, the CSEW (Mar 2023) shows:

    • Mixed-ethnicity adults had the highest victimisation rate (24%), compared to 16% overall

    • Young, male, unemployed individuals face the highest actual risk of being victims

• Underlying causes ignored

  • Crime is usually presented as a series of isolated incidents, rather than linked to broader social factors (e.g., poverty, inequality)

• Coverage gives the impression of:

  • rising crime rates (even when statistics show declines)

  • a constant risk of random attacks

  • criminals as calculating masterminds or dangerous strangers (ignoring ordinary offenders)

News values & crime coverage

• Newsworthiness is socially constructed:

  • What becomes “news” depends on how journalists and editors apply news values to decide which stories will attract the largest audience

• Cohen & Young (1973) suggest that news is not 'discovered' but manufactured — some stories are selected while others are ignored

• News values that increase a story’s chances of being reported include:

  • immediacy – 'breaking news' stories

  • drama – clear heroes/victims/villains, action and excitement

  • personalisation – human interest stories focusing on individuals

  • high-status victims – e.g., celebrities, children, the elderly

  • risk – random crimes that could affect anyone, creating fear

  • novelty/unexpectedness – unusual or shocking events

• Jewkes (2010) observes that crime news is typically dramatic, violent, and risk-focused, because these attract attention

Fictional representations of crime

• TV, films, and novels are major sources of crime knowledge, but they often misrepresent reality

• Typical portrayals include:

  • police usually solve cases and catch offenders

  • criminals are depicted as clever, violent masterminds

  • victims are often high-status (middle-class, white women)

  • offenders are usually male, white, and middle-aged

  • sex crimes are portrayed as committed by strangers, rather than acquaintances (contrary to real statistics)

  • violence, drugs, and sexual offences are over-represented

• Surette (1998) argues that fictional portrayals shape public perceptions and stereotypes but do not reflect actual crime statistics

Sociological theories & media effects

• Functionalism:

  • Reiner (2007) claims that media and advertising promote unrealistic ideals of material success, creating anomie among poorer groups

  • Media raises expectations about wealth and consumer goods, and when reality fails to match this, the moral certainty that crime is wrong weakens

• Marxism:

  • Media over-reports working-class street crime while under-reporting white-collar and corporate crime, protecting ruling-class interests

  • Crime reporting reflects ruling-class ideology, giving the false impression that working-class crime is the biggest threat to society

• Interactionism:

  • Media labelling shapes perceptions of certain groups (youth, asylum seekers, ethnic minorities) as being more criminal

  • This creates moral panics and stereotypes that fuel discrimination

• Left realism:

  • The media exaggerates consumer lifestyles and celebrity wealth, reinforcing relative deprivation among poorer groups

  • This sense of exclusion contributes to frustration and potential offending

• Right realism:

  • The media reinforces the idea of a 'law and order' crisis, heightening public fear of crime

  • This justifies tougher social control (e.g., harsher policing, 'zero tolerance' policies)

  • Media exaggeration reflects real public concern about crime and helps push for practical solutions like more visible policing and stronger punishments