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Mass Media, Crime and Justice (Criminology)

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Feb 16th, 2018
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  1. Introduction
  2. The impact of the mass media on crime and justice is recognized as substantial, and serious interest in the topic can be traced to a number of historical trials and crimes. Criticism of media actions and content was common but research was sparse and not rigorous until the Payne Fund studies of the 1930s. Relevant research soon broke into varied streams and disciplines and has competed with junk science, diatribes, and overstated conclusions about causality since. The current issues in the public mind revolve around the effect of publicity on the processing of criminal cases, the effect of violent media on social aggression and crime, and the effect of sexual media on sexual behavior. Additional ongoing lower-visibility issues involve the surveillance of public-space areas (such as parks and neighborhood streets), the generation of copycat crime, the relationship between news media and terrorism, pernicious effects from video games, and various efforts to use the media to reduce and solve crime. Mass media, crime, and justice encompass a broad set of disciplines such as law, sociology, criminology, communications and mass media, and theoretical perspectives such as diffusion, social learning, social constructionism, critical criminology, cognitive psychology and imitation. Under this broad umbrella, the study of social events from the discovery and investigation of crimes, arrest and crime prevention, criminal trials, to prison riots and escapes and social processes such as policy formation, news production, entertainment marketing, and criminalization and decriminalization of behaviors is included. As even this limited short list shows, the points of contact between a society’s mass media web and its extensive crime and justice system elements are numerous. Not surprisingly, the current literature and research are enormous, unwieldy, and widely dispersed. Here, sources are organized by media types, components of the criminal justice system, and areas of special interest. When a subarea is dominated by a particular theoretical perspective such as social learning, that is noted. Both seminal historical pieces and more recent research articles are provided when available.
  3.  
  4. General Overviews
  5. Overviews and edited collections are particularly useful in the area of media, crime, and justice because the research and theoretical perspectives that have been brought to bear are so far-flung. Edited collections of works are useful entrées into the literature while simultaneously serving as general overviews. Three are recommended. Bailey and Hale 1998 provides good introductory essays on the crime and justice content that dominated throughout the 20th century. Greer 2009 offers a broader, more theoretically grounded, and more recent set of readings. Readers interested more specifically in visual media should examine Mason 2003. The other cited works discuss general crime, media, and justice issues. Surette 2011 serves as a broad introductory survey of the topic area; Greer 2009 is recommended to those entering the field. For slightly more focused reviews, readers interested in the role of television should examine Rapping 2003. Those interested in crime news can begin with Jewkes 2004 and Carrabine 2008, and sections of Rapping 2003 also apply. Those looking for discussions of the crime and media audience and the media industry are directed to Carrabine 2008. Finally, Crime, Media, Culture (currently edited by C. Greer and M. Hamm) exists as a readily available online journal that focuses on crime and media issues and is recommended as a general source for pertinent recent scholarly work.
  6.  
  7. Bailey, F., and D. Hale. 1998. Popular culture, crime and justice. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
  8.  
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  10.  
  11. A good collection of essays the touch on a wide range of media, including movies, comic books, commercial films, and the news media. They also examine portraits of law enforcement, attorneys, and corrections.
  12.  
  13. Find this resource:
  14.  
  15.  
  16. Carrabine, E. 2008. Crime, culture, and the media. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
  17.  
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  19.  
  20. A recent overview that takes a broader view of the issues than normally found elsewhere, while focusing on the production and consumption of crime narratives. With a nice eye to history in the media, crime, and justice area, the book includes sections on audience effects, the historical development of crime-related media content since the invention of the rotary press, and the media industry processes that cull, mold, and market crime narratives.
  21.  
  22. Find this resource:
  23.  
  24.  
  25. Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal.
  26.  
  27. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  28.  
  29. The academic journal with the greatest emphasis on media, crime, and justice research. Fully peer-reviewed, it provides a vehicle for scholarly exchange across the fields of criminology, criminal justice, cultural inquiry, and media studies. The journal is recommended to researchers as a first stop to check for recent works in their specific research areas.
  30.  
  31. Find this resource:
  32.  
  33.  
  34. Greer, C. 2009. Crime and media: A reader. London: Routledge.
  35.  
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  37.  
  38. A great entry point to the literature. A strong collection of forty-two essays, with a nod to early works that laid the foundation on which media crime and justice studies today rest. Greer’s introductions to his five subsections and to each reading add additional value, wherein Greer discusses the growth, history, deficiencies, and current posture of media criminology.
  39.  
  40. Find this resource:
  41.  
  42.  
  43. Jewkes, Y. 2004. Media and crime. London: SAGE.
  44.  
  45. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  46.  
  47. A work that touches on a number of current hot topics in this area: the refinement of the concept of newsworthiness as applied to crimes, moral panics, predator criminals, and media-based surveillance. In addition, the chapter on theorizing media and crime provides a solid introduction to the different theoretical perspectives that have been applied.
  48.  
  49. Find this resource:
  50.  
  51.  
  52. Mason, P. 2003. Criminal visions: Media representations of crime and justice. Devon, UK: Willan.
  53.  
  54. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  55.  
  56. An additional strongly edited collection of works that focus on images of crime and justice found in varied media on varied topics. With its focus on visual media, it harbingers the current evolution of new media.
  57.  
  58. Find this resource:
  59.  
  60.  
  61. Rapping, E. 2003. Law and justice as seen on TV. New York: New York Univ. Press.
  62.  
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  64.  
  65. A discussion with a focus on television programming. Rapping surveys and discusses law-related content in entertainment, news, and infotainment television.
  66.  
  67. Find this resource:
  68.  
  69.  
  70. Surette, R. 2011. Media, crime, and criminal justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
  71.  
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  73.  
  74. An introductory text that surveys the most common contact points among media, crime, and justice. Designed for undergraduates and organized along criminal justice system lines (crimes, law enforcement, courts, corrections, and policies), it is also recommended for graduate students and others delving for the first time into the literature.
  75.  
  76. Find this resource:
  77.  
  78.  
  79. Social Construction
  80. Social construction has emerged as a common theoretical base for much of the research in this area. For those not familiar with its tenets or relevance for crime, justice, and the media, the following will be useful. Spector and Kitsuse 1987 and Meyrowitz 1985 (focusing on visual electronic media) deal with social constructionism and not specifically with crime and justice. The balance of the sources cited are applications of social constructionism to crime. Quinney 1970 provides the historical base and Sasson 1995 a more recent application of this theoretical perspective to crime and justice. Specific examples of the theory’s application in crime and justice can be found in the remaining four citations. Barak 1995 and Potter and Kappeler 2006 provide one-stop edited collections of example applications. Innes 2003 develops a key social construction concept for “signal” (elsewhere termed “symbolic”) crimes that needs to be understood to comprehend the use and impact of crime news. For a fully developed, well-documented, and book-length application, see Jenkins 1994.
  81.  
  82. Barak, Gregg. 1995. Media, process, and the social construction of crime. New York: Garland.
  83.  
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  85.  
  86. An edited set of essays, the collection serves as a working tour of social constructionism applied specifically to crime, with a focus on crime news.
  87.  
  88. Find this resource:
  89.  
  90.  
  91. Innes, M. 2003. Signal crimes. In Criminal visions: Media representations of crime and justice. Edited by P. Mason, 51–69. Devon, UK: Willan.
  92.  
  93. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  94.  
  95. Provides a grounding in the concept of high-profile, high-interest, high-impact crimes that become the symbols of competing crime and justice social constructions.
  96.  
  97. Find this resource:
  98.  
  99.  
  100. Jenkins, P. 1994. Using murder: The social construction of serial murder. Hawthorne, NY: de Gruyter.
  101.  
  102. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  103.  
  104. Contains a detailed history of the social construction of serial murder in the United States by news and entertainment media and law enforcement agencies. The chapters on the linking of serial murder to a host of other social issues, including femicide, race, homosexuality, and cults, are excellent. Remains a readable, well-documented example of the ability to rapidly alter social perceptions when divergent social forces coalesce in social construction efforts.
  105.  
  106. Find this resource:
  107.  
  108.  
  109. Meyrowitz, J. 1985. No sense of place. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
  110.  
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  112.  
  113. Meyrowitz’s book remains one of the more readable introductions to the question of the social impact of electronic media and the original set of “new” media that altered the role of the media consumer from a time- and place-bound passive consumer of media content to the current dynamic interactive relationship found between media and their consumers.
  114.  
  115. Find this resource:
  116.  
  117.  
  118. Potter G., and V. Kappeler. 2006. Constructing crime. Long Grove, IL: Waveland.
  119.  
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  121.  
  122. A solid recently edited collection that includes most of the classics works on the social construction of crime. It explores the making of crime news, the media role in constructing crime problems, and the effects of the construction process on public perceptions and social policy. The essays included in Part 2 are particularly good examples of social constructionism in the realm of crime and justice.
  123.  
  124. Find this resource:
  125.  
  126.  
  127. Quinney, R. 1970. The social reality of crime. Boston: Little, Brown.
  128.  
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  130.  
  131. The original application of social constructionism to crime, written before the perspective became popular in criminology, Quinney cogently lays out how crimes and crime law are created in a negotiated social political process.
  132.  
  133. Find this resource:
  134.  
  135.  
  136. Sasson, T. 1995. Crime talk. Hawthorne, NY: de Gruyter.
  137.  
  138. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  139.  
  140. A good beginning point to examine how audiences process and interact with crime news. Sasson’s discussion of the five crime and justice frames that are generally available for a crime news consumer to categorize, understand, and react to crimes is especially valuable.
  141.  
  142. Find this resource:
  143.  
  144.  
  145. Spector M., and J. Kitsuse. 1987. Constructing social problems. New York: de Gruyter.
  146.  
  147. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  148.  
  149. A historical entry point to social constructionism, Spector and Kitsuse’s book lays out the theoretical perspective and its basic concepts and processes.
  150.  
  151. Find this resource:
  152.  
  153.  
  154. Portraits of Crime and Justice by Media Type
  155. One of the initial areas of serious study of media, crime, and justice involved the simple describing of the content. The portraits of criminality and criminal justice were assumed to be distorted, but that fact had not been empirically established. Lacking even this basic foundation, trends and evolutionary changes in the content could not be considered. Research into these portraits was pursued largely along two dimensions. One dimension is type of media: news, entertainment, infotainment (the hybrid merging of news and entertainment formats), and “new media” (recent interactive, mobile, and multipurpose media devices and menus). The second dimension includes the components of the criminal justice system; crime and policing; the law, courts, and attorneys; and corrections. As traditionally forwarded as objective and unbiased, the first research question regarding news coverage of crime is “How distorted is crime coverage?” With entertainment media content, concerns revolve around whether criminal behaviors are encouraged and how criminal justice personnel are portrayed. Infotainment content raises concerns due to its realistic appearance hiding entertainment-driven editing and formatting. New media devices are certainly affecting how crime and justice are experienced, but research written specific to that point of interaction is just emerging. The one type of new media that has been focused are video games.
  156.  
  157. News
  158. Research in how crime news is created and how specific areas of crime news portray associated portions of the world characterizes this literature. Cohen and Young 1981 and Ericson, et al. 1991 (part of a three-volume set) provide early discussions of the creation of crime news. A history of crime news can be found in Reiner, et al. 2003. Local news, particularly local television news, has been the focus of the harshest criticisms, and Lipschultz and Hilt 2002 and Weitzer and Kubrin 2004 are book-length discussions. The remaining three works each look at a specific crime news issue and related news content. Chermak 1995 examines crime victims in the news, Doyle and Ericson 1996 looks at news about corrections, and Meyers 1996 focuses on news about violent crimes against women.
  159.  
  160. Chermak, S. 1995. Victims in the news. Boulder, CO: Westview.
  161.  
  162. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  163.  
  164. An extensive content analysis study of US newspapers, Chermak’s book serves not only as a discussion of victims in the news as titled but also as a good introduction to the larger issues associated with news coverage of crime in general.
  165.  
  166. Find this resource:
  167.  
  168.  
  169. Cohen, S., and J. Young. 1981. The manufacture of news. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.
  170.  
  171. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  172.  
  173. This edited collection is a seminal work in the study of the creation of crime news. Covering the concepts of social constructionism, critical criminology, moral panics, newsworthiness, and gate-keeping, this is a classic collection of essays on how news about crime comes into existence. While some of the examples are obviously now dated (with references to “Mods” and “Rockers,” e.g.), the underlying dynamics spelled out in these essays remain in force.
  174.  
  175. Find this resource:
  176.  
  177.  
  178. Doyle, A., and R. Ericson. 1996. Breaking into prison: News sources and correctional institutions. Canadian Journal of Criminology (April): 155–190.
  179.  
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  181.  
  182. One of the first articles to examine correctional news creation, it remains also one of the few. A good discussion of why corrections administrators are reluctant to cooperate with news media and a very good typology of information sources the news media have access to as alternatives to correctional administrators.
  183.  
  184. Find this resource:
  185.  
  186.  
  187. Ericson, R., P. Baranek, and J. Chan. 1991. Representing order: Crime, law, and justice in the news media. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.
  188.  
  189. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  190.  
  191. Part of an extensive, classic three-volume work on the creation of crime news prior to the development of “new media.” While all three volumes are recommended for serious, advanced researchers, the most pertinent focused discussions may be found in Representing Order.
  192.  
  193. Find this resource:
  194.  
  195.  
  196. Lipschultz, J., and M. Hilt. 2002. Crime and local television news: Dramatic, breaking, and live from the scene. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  197.  
  198. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  199.  
  200. As local television news is often pointed to as the main source of crime news for the public and as the most biased and damaging, this book provides a needed entry into an important subarea.
  201.  
  202. Find this resource:
  203.  
  204.  
  205. Meyers, M. 1996. News coverage of violence against women. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  206.  
  207. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  208.  
  209. Written by a journalist turned academician, this book covers the creation of crime news, with a special focus on how the portrait of violence against women is commonly presented to the public.
  210.  
  211. Find this resource:
  212.  
  213.  
  214. Reiner, R., S. Livingstone, and J. Allen. 2003. From law and order to lynch mobs: Crime news since the Second World War. In Criminal visions: Media representations of crime and justice. Edited by Paul Mason, 13–32. Devon, UK: Willan.
  215.  
  216. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  217.  
  218. A solid history of crime news since World War II with a UK perspective. The authors thoroughly explore the “backwards law” (the tendency of media content to be the polar opposite of official crime statistics) confirming the law overall, while empirically demonstrating diversions from this rule and additional crime news trends and tendencies.
  219.  
  220. Find this resource:
  221.  
  222.  
  223. Weitzer, R., and C. Kubrin. 2004. Breaking news: How local TV news and real-world conditions affect fear of crime. Justice Quarterly 21.3: 497–520.
  224.  
  225. DOI: 10.1080/07418820400095881Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  226.  
  227. Besides serving as an entry to this literature, this research article applies a multimedia examination of the media’s role in generating fear of crime levels. A particular strength is the inclusion of both local and national media.
  228.  
  229. Find this resource:
  230.  
  231.  
  232. Entertainment and Infotainment
  233. Entertainment and infotainment media comprise the bulk of crime and justice media. Rafter 2006 provides the best beginning point for examining the entertainment media from a criminological perspective. Rafter 2007 applies the same method to commercial films about sexual crime. Blumer and Hauser 1933 will provide an understanding of the historical roots and early concerns with crime-related entertainment. Regarding crime infotainment media, Fishman and Cavender 1998 is an introductory collection of essays on reality crime television and associated concerns. A specific focus on reality television’s relationship to law enforcement is found in Doyle 2003.
  234.  
  235. Blumer, H., and P. Hauser. 1933. Movies, delinquency, and crime. New York: Macmillan.
  236.  
  237. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  238.  
  239. A seminal study of historical significance, this study is part of the large Payne Fund studies conducted during the 1930s. As the dominant media of the time, commercial films were examined from a potential criminogenic perspective. Although limited to the research methodologies then available, a surprisingly nuanced and sophisticated discussion of possible crime generation from media portraits.
  240.  
  241. Find this resource:
  242.  
  243.  
  244. Doyle, Aaron. 2003. Arresting images: Crime and policing in front of the television camera. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.
  245.  
  246. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  247.  
  248. Doyle takes a special interest in the effects of reality television and the broadcast image on policing. He includes various theoretical perspectives in an extensive discussion of alternate sources of policing images and alternate uses of those images. Chapters 3 and 4, in particular, focus on reality television programming and surveillance and citizen video of police actions, and are valuable for understanding the “new media” world of policing.
  249.  
  250. Find this resource:
  251.  
  252.  
  253. Fishman, M., and G. Cavender. 1998. Entertaining crime: Television reality programs. New York: de Gruyter.
  254.  
  255. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  256.  
  257. An aging but still useful collection of essays that provide an orientation to the area of crime and infotainment at the time when crime-related infotainment programming was coming into its own. An article on the history of reality crime programs is particularly valuable, as are the various renditions on the program COPS. Essays on crime reality shows in the Netherlands and France are also unique.
  258.  
  259. Find this resource:
  260.  
  261.  
  262. Rafter, Nicole. 2006. Shots in the mirror: Crime films and society. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
  263.  
  264. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  265.  
  266. The best criminologically oriented discussion of commercial films. Rafter covers crime movies from the perspectives of criminological theory, predator criminality, police, attorneys, and corrections. Drew Todd’s chapter on the history of crime films is a nice bonus that traces crime films from the silent era to the 21st century. A more recent update concerning sex crime films may be found in Rafter 2007.
  267.  
  268. Find this resource:
  269.  
  270.  
  271. Rafter, N. 2007. Crime, film and criminology: Recent sex-crime movies. Theoretical Criminology 11.3: 403–420.
  272.  
  273. DOI: 10.1177/1362480607079584Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  274.  
  275. A supplement to Rafter 2006, with a special focus on how sexually related crimes have been recently portrayed in commercial films.
  276.  
  277. Find this resource:
  278.  
  279.  
  280. Components of the Criminal Justice System
  281. A second major research stream concerning the found portrait of crime and justice looks across media types at crime and criminality in general or at one of the major components of the criminal justice system—law enforcement, the courts, or corrections. As a recent subject of some interest, sources studying the “CSI effect” are included.
  282.  
  283. Crime and Policing
  284. By far the most common crime and justice content portrays the committing of crimes and the pursuit of criminals. Literature on these portraits is similarly numerous and long-standing. Although focused on commercial movies, Rafter 2006 provides a recent and solid starting point. A discussion of the portrayals in terms of criminological theory can be found in chapters 2 and 3. Researchers interested in a portrait of crime fighters are directed to chapter 4. Stark 1987 provides a historical base for such a portrait. A subarea has developed around police-media relations and the emergence of public information officers. Those interested are directed to Chermak and Weiss 2005 for a discussion of recent issues in this area and Lovell 2003 for a good historical perspective. The bibliographies of both provide good lists of additional police-media relations literature for researchers. More recent and expanded general discussions of law enforcement and the media may be found in the remaining four recommended works. An additional historical perspective is offered in Wilson 2000. A British focus across multiple media (news, entertainment, and infotainment) is provided by Leishman and Mason 2003. Perlmutter 2000 compares real-world policing with policing as constructed in the media. Those with specific interests in infotainment and policing are referred to Doyle 2003 and Leishman and Mason 2003.
  285.  
  286. Chermak, S., and A. Weiss. 2005. Maintaining legitimacy using external communication strategies: An analysis of police-media relations. Journal of Criminal Justice 33:501–512.
  287.  
  288. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2005.06.001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  289.  
  290. Based on a national US sample, a good entry point for those interested in the increasing use of media relations and public information officers in law enforcement and understanding the evolving relationship between the police and the news media.
  291.  
  292. Find this resource:
  293.  
  294.  
  295. Doyle, A. 2003. Arresting images: Crime and policing in front of the television camera. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.
  296.  
  297. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  298.  
  299. Within a discussion of entertainment and infotainment media, Doyle covers police reality television programming and news broadcast images of police work. Chapters 3 and 4 are especially useful for understanding the “new media” world of policing, surveillance and the impact of citizen videotaping of police.
  300.  
  301. Find this resource:
  302.  
  303.  
  304. Leishman, F., and P. Mason. 2003. Policing and the media. Devon, UK: Willan.
  305.  
  306. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  307.  
  308. Covers the image of British police in news, entertainment, and infotainment, touching on the points of contact from both crime reporters and public information officers. Also covered are police television and film content and reality programming. The implications of the media-driven social construction of police are included.
  309.  
  310. Find this resource:
  311.  
  312.  
  313. Lovell, J. 2003. Good cop/bad cop: Mass media and the cycle of police reform. Monsey, NY: Willow Tree.
  314.  
  315. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  316.  
  317. A good overview of and solid historical introduction to the social constructionism perspective on police media relations, portraits, and interactions, and the consequences on police actions and public policy. Includes chapters with historical material on the press, film, comic books, and television programs.
  318.  
  319. Find this resource:
  320.  
  321.  
  322. Perlmutter, D. 2000. Policing the media: Street cops and public perceptions of law enforcement. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  323.  
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  325.  
  326. An interesting work that examines how real-world police can be influenced by the media construction of police work so that police are pushed to meet media-created expectations of policing in a life imitating art process. The discussion of “media” versus “street” police in chapter 3 is particularly valuable.
  327.  
  328. Find this resource:
  329.  
  330.  
  331. Rafter, Nicole. 2006. Shots in the mirror: Crime films and society. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press
  332.  
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  334.  
  335. Chapters 2 and 3 provide the best criminologically oriented discussion of commercial films. Rafter covers crime movies from the perspectives of criminological theory, predator criminality, police, attorneys, and corrections. In chapter 4, Rafter reviews and discusses police and private detective films.
  336.  
  337. Find this resource:
  338.  
  339.  
  340. Stark, S. 1987. Perry Mason meets Sonny Crockett: The history of lawyers and the police as television heroes. University of Miami Law Review 42:229–283.
  341.  
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  343.  
  344. As the title implies, this article focuses on the history of media portraits of attorneys and law enforcement officers. Stark does a solid and comprehensive job of tracing those portraits to the mid-1980s. As such, this work supplies a foundation for anyone interested in the evolution of the content in these areas.
  345.  
  346. Find this resource:
  347.  
  348.  
  349. Wilson, Christopher. 2000. Cop knowledge. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
  350.  
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  352.  
  353. Wilson provides a history of the image of policing across the 20th century, linking the varied media narratives of police work found in news and entertainment of policing with the real world of police work, and the extent and limits of police power. Policing emerges as a realm of high public interest combined with low public knowledge, with the media filling in the substantial gap.
  354.  
  355. Find this resource:
  356.  
  357.  
  358. The Law, Courts, and Attorneys
  359. As the most symbolic icon of the criminal justice system, the courts and their proceedings, particularly the high-profile trial, are important. Three references are suggested for the histories and discussions of high-profile trials. Famous Trials by Douglas O. Linder provides a list of and basic facts for famous real-world trials back to Antiquity. Rafter 2001 and Stark 1987 outline the historical development of the criminal trials (real and fictional) as presented in entertainment media in the 20th century. Bailey and Chermak 2007 focuses on the news coverage of the most infamous cases. Fox, et al. 2007 extend that discussion and provide a commentary on the importance of CourtTV. The primary concern with news coverage of trials revolves around pretrial publicity. Researchers interested in that area are best steered to Bruschke and Loges 2004. For broader discussions of the effects of media judicial portraits, readers are referred to Sherwin 2000 for a discussion of the interaction between media portraits and courtroom practices, and Lenz 2003 for a discussion of the relationship between the portraits and criminal justice policy.
  360.  
  361. Bailey, F., and S. Chermak. 2007. Crime and trials of the century. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
  362.  
  363. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  364.  
  365. A two-volume review and discussion of the most infamous trials of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The chapters provide a quick feel for the types of trials that have attracted massive media attention and the social impact of the coverage and public attention. Recommended for those wanting background details on specific cases and a sense of the historical sweep and evolution inferred in the chronology of cases.
  366.  
  367. Find this resource:
  368.  
  369.  
  370. Bruschke, J., and W. Loges. 2004. Free press vs. fair trials: Examining publicity’s roles in trial outcomes. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  371.  
  372. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  373.  
  374. Pretrial publicity is frequently advanced as the main source of bias concerning criminal trials so Bruschke and Loges’ thorough review of the issues and research of the actual effects of pretrial publicity is a good book-length starting point in this area. The authors review and discuss both laboratory studies and field research, and include a chapter on media theory and cultivation effects.
  375.  
  376. Find this resource:
  377.  
  378.  
  379. Fox, R., R. Van Sickel, and T. Steiger. 2007. Tabloid justice: Criminal justice in an age of media frenzy. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
  380.  
  381. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  382.  
  383. A book-length discussion of the intersection and evolution of media coverage and resulting portrait of the legal system, with a focus on high-profile criminal trials. The authors divide a recent history overview into two eras: CourtTV to September 11, 2001, and post 9/11. In addition to a discussion of new media, chapters cover the impact of current coverage style on public opinion regarding the courts, race, class, and gender issues.
  384.  
  385. Find this resource:
  386.  
  387.  
  388. Lenz, T. 2003. Changing images of law in film & television crime stories. New York: Peter Lang.
  389.  
  390. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  391.  
  392. A relatively recent book-length discussion of how the portrayal of the law in entertainment media shifted from a liberal “due-process” model portrait to a conservative “crime control” model portrait in the United States. Lenz agues for the link between fictional constructions of the law and its implementation and real-world legal policies and practices.
  393.  
  394. Find this resource:
  395.  
  396.  
  397. Linder, Douglas. Famous Trials by Douglas O. Linder.
  398.  
  399. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  400.  
  401. Constructed and maintained by a law professor, this website is devoted to famous trials, from the trial of Socrates to Zacarias Moussaoui. A great deal of background and analysis of each trial is within easy reach. Linder also provides a hot link to detailed pages about each trial as well as a set of links to other related sites.
  402.  
  403. Find this resource:
  404.  
  405.  
  406. Rafter, N. 2001. American criminal trial films: An overview of their development, 1930–2000. Journal of Law and Society 28.1: 9–24.
  407.  
  408. DOI: 10.1111/1467-6478.00175Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  409.  
  410. A good history and discussion of commercial films that portray criminal trials is available here. An update may be found in chapter 5 of Rafter 2006 (cited under Entertainment and Infotainment).
  411.  
  412. Find this resource:
  413.  
  414.  
  415. Sherwin, R. 2000. When law goes pop. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
  416.  
  417. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  418.  
  419. An examination of the impact of media and associated popular culture dominated by images on the judicial system. Sherwin discusses how the legal presentation of evidence and the media presentation of the courts are both influenced by infotainment drives.
  420.  
  421. Find this resource:
  422.  
  423.  
  424. Stark, S. 1987. Perry Mason meets Sonny Crockett: The history of lawyers and the police as television heroes. University of Miami Law Review 42:229–283.
  425.  
  426. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  427.  
  428. As the title implies, this article focuses on the history of media portraits of attorneys and law enforcement officers. Stark does a solid and comprehensive job of tracing those portraits into the mid-1980s. As such, this work supplies a foundation for anyone interested in the evolution of the content in these areas.
  429.  
  430. Find this resource:
  431.  
  432.  
  433. The “CSI Effect”
  434. The effect of media portraits of criminalistics and forensic science, especially in popular dramatic television programming, has led to speculation about a CSI effect on the public and the criminal justice system. The existence and nature of such an effect are very much debated. For those interested, two works are recommended. A recent discussion and entrée into the larger literature on this subject can be found in Robbers 2008. Stevens 2011 works to expand the CSI effect concept to define a general media effect on public expectations and thereby to a number of additional issues.
  435.  
  436. Robbers, M. 2008. Blinded by science: The social construction of reality in forensic television shows and its effect on criminal jury trials. Criminal Justice Policy Review 19.1: 84–102.
  437.  
  438. DOI: 10.1177/0887403407305982Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  439.  
  440. A recent entrée to the CSI effects debate, this article samples trial lawyers and judges, and contrasts their views with the reality of judicial use of forensic evidence. Robbers reports that media-portrayed CSI is perceived by judicial practitioners as influencing jurors and the presentation of evidence in trials.
  441.  
  442. Find this resource:
  443.  
  444.  
  445. Stevens, D. 2011. Media and criminal justice: The CSI effect. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Barlett.
  446.  
  447. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  448.  
  449. A recent book-length addition to works on mass media, crime, and justice, this title looks to generalize the idea of the “CSI effect” to discuss a number of far-ranging issues, including the war on crime, drugs, sex offenders, terrorism, and immigration. A CSI effect is defined as a media effect that influences real-world expectations of crime and justice.
  450.  
  451. Find this resource:
  452.  
  453.  
  454. Corrections
  455. With the amount of public dollars taken up by correctional institutions and programs, the portrait of corrections in the media is important, and an introductory textbook on the subject is Freeman 2000. Mason 2006 is an edited collection that expands and updates the general discussion of media portrayals of corrections. Prison films represent the most common subject of this research. Students interested in how corrections are portrayed in commercial films are referred to three works: Cheatwood 1998 provides a history of prison movies. Wilson and O’Sullivan 2004 offers a more recent discussion to include a UK perspective (and television programming). Chapter 6 in Rafter 2006 reviews prison and execution films. Researchers interested in news coverage of corrections are directed to Doyle and Ericson 1996, and Mason 2006, as well as portions of Freeman 2000.
  456.  
  457. Cheatwood, D. 1998. Prison movies: Films about adult, male, civilian prisons; 1929–1995. In Popular culture, crime, and justice. Edited by F. Bailey and D. Hale, 209–231. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
  458.  
  459. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  460.  
  461. A good review of the historical development of the prison movie, a component of the media that has been particularly important for public perceptions of correctional institutions.
  462.  
  463. Find this resource:
  464.  
  465.  
  466. Doyle, A., and R. Ericson. 1996. Breaking into prison: News sources and correctional institutions. Canadian Journal of Criminology (April): 155–190.
  467.  
  468. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  469.  
  470. One of the first articles to examine correctional news creation, it remains also one of the few. A good discussion of why corrections administrators are reluctant to cooperate with news media and a very good typology of information sources the news media have access to as alternatives to correctional administrators.
  471.  
  472. Find this resource:
  473.  
  474.  
  475. Freeman, R. 2000. Popular culture and corrections. Lanham, MD: American Correctional Association.
  476.  
  477. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  478.  
  479. Freeman’s work remains the sole textbook available that focuses on media and corrections, and thereby serves as an initial stop for someone entering this particular subset of the literature.
  480.  
  481. Find this resource:
  482.  
  483.  
  484. Mason, P. 2006. Captured by the media: Prison discourse in popular culture. Cullompton, UK: Willan.
  485.  
  486. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  487.  
  488. Supplementing the earlier and somewhat dated references listed, Mason compiles and edits a more recent solid collection of essays focusing on media and corrections. The book serves as a good introduction to the understudied area of media and corrections, and contains chapters on news and entertainment and corrections from both a US and UK perspective.
  489.  
  490. Find this resource:
  491.  
  492.  
  493. Rafter, N. 2006. Shots in the mirror: Crime films and society. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
  494.  
  495. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  496.  
  497. The best criminologically oriented discussion of commercial films. Rafter covers crime movies from the perspectives of criminological theory, predator criminality, police, attorneys, and corrections. In chapter 6, Rafter reviews prison and execution films.
  498.  
  499. Find this resource:
  500.  
  501.  
  502. Wilson, D., and S. O’Sullivan. 2004. Images of incarceration: Representations of prison in film and television drama. Winchester, UK: Waterside.
  503.  
  504. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  505.  
  506. Focusing on US and UK films and television shows that portray prisons, the authors provide a well-written book-length discussion of the images and their effects. Three chapters are devoted to the prison film and three to television shows. Two additional chapters discuss two prison issues as portrayed in films: reform efforts and post-escape or released prisoner experiences.
  507.  
  508. Find this resource:
  509.  
  510.  
  511. Specific Demographics and Predator Crime
  512. Three topics have emerged as areas of special interest in the media, crime, and justice realm. An interest in how gender interacts with portraits of criminals, crimefighters, and victims has generated a field of research. Similarly, research questions about how race and ethnicity are portrayed in relation to crime and justice produces a second research area. Third, a substantial interest in portraits of predator criminals, psychopaths, and serial killers and the popularity of those portraits has generated a substantial set of literature.
  513.  
  514. Gender
  515. Bailey, et al. 1998 looks at media portraits of female police officers, and Hale 1988 does the same for female attorneys. Cecil 2007a and Cecil 2007b look at the portraits of female offenders and female prisoners. Meyers 1996 focuses on how the news media portray violent acts against women, particularly how female victimization from violence is depicted, while Boyle 2005 brings a multimedia perspective to the issue of media portraits of female-targeted male violence. Greer 2003 examines the media construction of sex crimes in British media.
  516.  
  517. Bailey, F., J. Pollock, and S. Schroeder. 1998. The best defense: Images of female attorneys in popular films. In Popular culture, crime and justice. Edited by Frankie Bailey and Donna Hale, 180–195. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
  518.  
  519. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  520.  
  521. A review and discussion of a small sample of twenty-five commercial films concentrated in the 1980s and 1990s that featured female attorneys. The essay provides a historical description of the portrait of female attorneys that dominated and an initial discussion of the concerns that the portrait generated.
  522.  
  523. Find this resource:
  524.  
  525.  
  526. Boyle, K. 2005. Media and violence: Gendering the debates. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  527.  
  528. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  529.  
  530. A solid discussion of the media construction of male violence directed at females in news, infotainment (with a focus on true crime), and entertainment media. The portrayal of sexual violence and sexuality in the media, and its connections with violence against females provides a good starting point for exploring this issue.
  531.  
  532. Find this resource:
  533.  
  534.  
  535. Cecil, D. 2007a. Dramatic portrayals of violent women: Female offenders on prime time crime dramas. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture 14.3: 243–258.
  536.  
  537. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  538.  
  539. One of two recent articles by Cecil (see also Cecil 2007b) that looks at the portraits of female offenders and female prisoners. In this article, television programming is examined within four popular one-hour US television crime programs. Although concentrating on a limited sample, the article provides an expanded recent discussion of female offenders and how they are differently portrayed from their male counterparts.
  540.  
  541. Find this resource:
  542.  
  543.  
  544. Cecil, D. 2007b. Looking beyond Caged Heat: Media images of women in prison. Feminist Criminology 2.4: 304–326.
  545.  
  546. DOI: 10.1177/1557085107306142Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  547.  
  548. This companion article to Cecil 2007a focuses on the construction of female prisoners in ten reality-based television programs—documentaries, news magazines, and talk shows from the 1990s and 2000s. Based on a limited purposive sample, the article provides an expanded list of references and places the portrait of female offenders and female corrections issues into their media frames.
  549.  
  550. Find this resource:
  551.  
  552.  
  553. Greer, C. 2003. Sex crime and the media. Cullompton, UK: Willan.
  554.  
  555. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  556.  
  557. A book-length discussion of how sex crimes are constructed and covered from a UK perspective. Sex crimes against males and females are discussed. Data concerning press coverage are presented specific to Northern Ireland.
  558.  
  559. Find this resource:
  560.  
  561.  
  562. Hale, D. 1998. Keeping women in their place: An analysis of police women in video, 1972–1996. In Popular culture, crime and justice. Edited by Frankie Bailey and Donna Hale, 159–179. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
  563.  
  564. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  565.  
  566. The portrayal of females as police officers, detectives, supervisors, and federal agents in 121 commercial films is extracted and discussed. A good opening cite for exploring the historical image of female law enforcers.
  567.  
  568. Find this resource:
  569.  
  570.  
  571. Meyers, M. 1996. News coverage of violence against women. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  572.  
  573. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  574.  
  575. Written by a journalist turned academician, this book covers the general creation of crime news, with a special focus on how the portrait of violence against women is frequently presented to the public.
  576.  
  577. Find this resource:
  578.  
  579.  
  580. Race and Ethnicity
  581. Media portraits of crime and justice along racial and ethnic dimensions have been examined in two edited collections by Bing 2010 and Mann and Zatz 2002. Rome 2004 provides book-length coverage of how race has been painted in regard to criminality, while Shaheen 2001 takes a similar tack concerning portraits of Arabs. Two chapters in Lipschultz and Hilt 2002 focus on how local crime news shows portray minorities and the elderly as both victims and offenders.
  582.  
  583. Bing, R. 2010. Race, crime, and the media. New York: McGraw Hill.
  584.  
  585. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  586.  
  587. A recent edited collection examines race and the media construction of crime from numerous angles. Includes chapters on broad issues such as crime news and entertainment content and race, and overviews of the history of the portrayals and issues, as well as focused chapters on the media social construction role regarding such topics as the death penalty, rape, sports media, hip hop, drug use, and missing women.
  588.  
  589. Find this resource:
  590.  
  591.  
  592. Lipschultz, J., and M. Hilt. 2002. Crime and local television news: Dramatic, breaking, and live from the scene. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  593.  
  594. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  595.  
  596. Chapter 8 provides an introduction to how minorities are presented in crime news. Chapter 9 does the same for crime news and the elderly.
  597.  
  598. Find this resource:
  599.  
  600.  
  601. Mann, C., and M. Zatz. 2002. Images of color, images of crime: Readings. Los Angeles: Roxbury.
  602.  
  603. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  604.  
  605. As titled, an edited collection of readings that has a broad orientation in that chapters are included that discuss the media constructions of native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Euro-Americans in regard to crime and justice.
  606.  
  607. Find this resource:
  608.  
  609.  
  610. Rome, D. 2004. Black demons: The media’s depiction of the African American male criminal stereotype. Westport, CT: Praeger.
  611.  
  612. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  613.  
  614. This seven-chapter book examines the social construction of African American offenders in television, movies, and music. Historical groundings of the African American experience in the United States and the role of the media in depicting African American life are provided, with separate chapters devoted to television and film.
  615.  
  616. Find this resource:
  617.  
  618.  
  619. Shaheen, J. 2001. Reel bad Arabs. New York: Olive Branch.
  620.  
  621. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  622.  
  623. A film anthology with a focus on how Hollywood has portrayed Arabs in commercial films, this work is an entry point into a little discussed ethnic stereotype.
  624.  
  625. Find this resource:
  626.  
  627.  
  628. Predator Criminals, Psychopaths, and Serial Killers
  629. A long-standing popular media topic and the focus of a set of content analysis studies, the media portrait of predatory criminality has been credited as a source of most of the pernicious concerns associated with crime media. Readers are directed to four works. Simpson 2000 provides a history of the portrait back to gothic literature. Chapter 3 in Rafter 2006 discusses serial killer and “psycho” movies from a criminological theory perspective. For those interested in the origins of the crime concept of a “serial killer,” Jenkins 1994 provides a detailed record of its development in the 1980s. Those interested in the interaction between serial murder, the media, and communities are directed to Fisher 1997.
  630.  
  631. Fisher, J. 1997. Killer among us: Public reactions to serial murder. Westport, CN: Praeger.
  632.  
  633. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  634.  
  635. A rare look at audience and community reactions to serial murder and the media role in generating those reactions. The author discusses serial murder not from the perspective of the crimes, killers, or investigations but from how communities reacted to the presence of active serial killers in their midst. His observations on media circuses that frequently develop in these situations are particularly valuable.
  636.  
  637. Find this resource:
  638.  
  639.  
  640. Jenkins, P. 1994. Using murder: The social construction of serial murder. Hawthorne, NY: de Gruyter.
  641.  
  642. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  643.  
  644. This book-length work is a detailed history of news and entertainment and law enforcement social construction of serial murder as the primary crime problem in the United States in the 1980s. It remains an excellently documented example of the ability to rapidly alter social perceptions when divergent social forces coalesce in social construction efforts.
  645.  
  646. Find this resource:
  647.  
  648.  
  649. Rafter, N. 2006. Shots in the mirror: Crime films and society. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
  650.  
  651. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  652.  
  653. The best criminologically oriented discussion of commercial films. Rafter covers crime movies from the perspectives of criminological theory, predator criminality, police, attorneys, and corrections. In Chapter 3, Rafter discusses slasher, serial killer, and psycho movies.
  654.  
  655. Find this resource:
  656.  
  657.  
  658. Simpson, P. 2000. Psycho paths: Tracking the serial killer through contemporary American film and fiction. Carbondale: Southern Illinois Univ. Press.
  659.  
  660. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  661.  
  662. A work that links the contemporary image of psychotic killers in the print and visual entertainment media to a gothic tradition and the demonization of offenders.
  663.  
  664. Find this resource:
  665.  
  666.  
  667. Criminogenic Media
  668. Criminogenic media refers to a set of research and literature that addresses the research question: Is the media a cause of crime and violence? This question is explored along four dimensions. The longest-running area of interest involves the question of whether violent media generate social aggression, a still much-debated issue. The more specific question of whether the media is a generator of crime has been looked at, on the one hand, by examining changes in aggregate crime rates following media content shifts and, on the other, by examining individual-level copycat crime effects. A fourth path involves the exploration of media and terrorism.
  669.  
  670. Violent Media–Social Aggression Debate
  671. Associated but often confounded with the separate question of the media’s role in generating crime, a debate continues concerning the causative role of violent media in generating social aggression. A recent addition that serves as a jumping off point for the debate is in a special issue of American Behavioral Scientist. Pro and con research reviews and summaries may be found in Gunter 2008, which makes the no effects case, and Murray 2008 and Savage 2008, which offer the violent media effects argument. Additional reviews of this large body of research can be found in Huesmann 2007 that argues for the existence of an effect, and Savage and Yancey 2008 that advocates for a small effect. Two book-length works advance the nil effect argument: Grimes, et al. 2008 and Freedman 2002. Readers interested in the history of the debate are directed to Freedman 2002 and Bandura 1973. Bandura 1973 also provides an introduction to the basic concepts of social learning, the theoretical underpinning for this area.
  672.  
  673. Bandura, A. 1973. Aggression: A social learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
  674.  
  675. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  676.  
  677. Although imbedded in the violent media–social aggression debate, this early work by Bandura remains an excellent introduction to the concepts of social learning as applied to crime and violence and has utility for copycat crime. Bandura lays out the basic concepts and processes through which individuals learn by observing.
  678.  
  679. Find this resource:
  680.  
  681.  
  682. Freedman, J. 2002. Media violence and its effect on aggression: Assessing the scientific evidence. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.
  683.  
  684. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  685.  
  686. Aging but still best critique of the research on violent media as a cause of social aggression. Freedman’s work puts the debate into a historical context, while reviewing the different methodologies that have been employed in the study of this research question.
  687.  
  688. Find this resource:
  689.  
  690.  
  691. Grimes, T., J. Anderson, and L. Bergen. 2008. Media violence and aggression: Science and ideology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  692.  
  693. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  694.  
  695. A recent book-length discussion that advances the nil effects argument. This title is also a good treatise on the interplay of research and public policy.
  696.  
  697. Find this resource:
  698.  
  699.  
  700. Gunter, B. 2008. Media violence: Is there a case for causality? American Behavioral Scientist 51.8: 1061–1122.
  701.  
  702. DOI: 10.1177/0002764207312007Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  703.  
  704. A summary of the prior research and argument that this research does not support the conclusion that a significant violent media are not a cause of social aggression. Provides a solid list of entry-level citations in the research literature.
  705.  
  706. Find this resource:
  707.  
  708.  
  709. Huesmann, L. R. 2007. The impact of electronic media violence: Scientific theory and research. Journal of Adolescent Health 41:6–13.
  710.  
  711. DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.09.005Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  712.  
  713. Huesmann summarizes recent research for both short- and long-term effects across multiple media of television, movies, video games, the Internet, and new media, and across methodologies of experiments, quasi-experiments, and cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. Compares the effect size for violent media as equivalent to a number of other accepted public health threats, exceeded in the research only by that of smoking and lung cancer.
  714.  
  715. Find this resource:
  716.  
  717.  
  718. Murray, J. 2008. Media violence: The effects are both real and strong. American Behavioral Scientist 51.8: 1212–1230.
  719.  
  720. DOI: 10.1177/0002764207312018Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  721.  
  722. Murray provides a summary and overview of the pro-effect argument concerning violent media content influencing social aggression. See also Savage 2008.
  723.  
  724. Find this resource:
  725.  
  726.  
  727. Savage, J. 2008. The role of exposure to media violence in the etiology of violent behavior. American Behavioral Scientist 51.8: 1123–1136.
  728.  
  729. DOI: 10.1177/0002764207312016Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  730.  
  731. A summary of the research arguing that the research does support a significant violent media as a cause of social aggression conclusion. Also provides a list of entry-level citations in the research literature. See also Murray 2008.
  732.  
  733. Find this resource:
  734.  
  735.  
  736. Savage, J., and C. Yancey. 2008. The effects of media violence exposure on criminal aggression: A meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior 35.6: 772–791.
  737.  
  738. DOI: 10.1177/0093854808316487Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  739.  
  740. In their meta-analysis of the relevant research, Savage and Yancey provide a good recent review of the research on violent media and violent aggression. Focusing on studies that address the research question of what the relationship between exposure to media violence and subsequent violent aggression is, the authors provide a strong listing of research study citations and a nice discussion of methodologies and effect sizes (which they describe as unimpressive).
  741.  
  742. Find this resource:
  743.  
  744.  
  745. Various authors. 2008. Special Issue: Media Violence and Aggression. American Behavioral Scientist. 51.8.
  746.  
  747. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  748.  
  749. This special issue provides a good entry point to the violent media as a cause of the social aggression debate, with articles arguing both positions: that the media is a significant cause of aggression and that it is not. In addition to covering the current debate on media effects in this area, the special volume provides solid recent overviews of the relevant research.
  750.  
  751. Find this resource:
  752.  
  753.  
  754. Media as an Influence on Crime
  755. The media as an influence on crime has not received the same amount of research as the media as an influence on general social aggression. Hennigan, et al. 1982 provides the best researched effort to date on aggregate media criminogenic effects. The balance of the literature has focused in a less empirically rigorous manner on individual-level effects, better known as copycat crime. Two theoretical perspectives currently dominate the discussion of copycat crime. Social learning theory serves as the primary criminological theory and imitation as the primary theory of a copycat crime mechanism. Researchers interested in the initial theoretical discussions should consult Akers 1998 for an introduction to social learning applied to crime and Hurley and Chater 2005 for a comprehensive overview of the research concerning imitation. Early copycat crime studies emerged from an examination of terrorist crime waves linked to news coverage. Mazur 1982 and Holden 1986 are seminal research articles that provide empirical assessments of news media coverage generating copycat crimes. Both serve as well-designed historical entrées to the literature. Relatively little has been written about actual copycat crime behavior among offenders. Heller and Polsky 1976 asks offenders about their use of media in their offending; Surette 2002 queries juveniles on the same subject. At the aggregate level, copycat crime has been studied under the conceptual umbrella of “crime waves.” Sacco 2005 provides a recent book-length discussion of crime waves that includes the role of media, social diffusion, and rumor. Research has frequently focused on the diffusion of rioting from locale to locale. Those interested in the media’s role in the diffusion of riots are directed to Myers 2000.
  756.  
  757. Akers, R. L. 1998. Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Boston: Northeastern Univ. Press.
  758.  
  759. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  760.  
  761. Social learning theory applied directly to crime with imbedded discussions of the media’s role.
  762.  
  763. Find this resource:
  764.  
  765.  
  766. Heller, M., and S. Polsky. 1976. Studies in violence and television. New York: American Broadcasting Company.
  767.  
  768. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  769.  
  770. An early study of the use of television content in planning and committing crimes as reported by imprisoned adult males. Heller and Polsky first stated the distinction between the instrumental use of media content to acquire how-to techniques versus motivational uses.
  771.  
  772. Find this resource:
  773.  
  774.  
  775. Hennigan, K., L. Heath, J. D. Wharton, M. Del Rosario, T. Cook, and B. Calder. 1982. Impact of the introduction of television on crime in the United States. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 42:461–477.
  776.  
  777. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.42.3.461Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  778.  
  779. A well-executed study of the impact of television in the United States on aggregate violent and property crime rates; reports that the introduction of television correlated more with increases in property crime than violent crime. A still commonly accepted assumption is that because media have so much violent content, social effects are most likely to appear in violent behaviors.
  780.  
  781. Find this resource:
  782.  
  783.  
  784. Holden, R. 1986. The contagiousness of aircraft hijacking. American Journal of Sociology 91.4: 874–904.
  785.  
  786. DOI: 10.1086/228353Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  787.  
  788. A seminal study in the contagion or copycat spread of terrorism. Holden established that terrorist hijacking of airliners increased by type (transportation or extortion), depending on which type of hijacking was reported in the news. With Mazur 1982, a good historical point at which to enter the literature.
  789.  
  790. Find this resource:
  791.  
  792.  
  793. Hurley, S., and N. Chater. 2005. Perspectives on imitation. 2 vols. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  794.  
  795. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  796.  
  797. Although little is said directly about crime, this two-volume edited set provides a one-stop collection of essays that bring the reader through the historical and biological research on imitation (the material on mirror neurons as biological bases for imitation is excellent), and the social role and importance of imitation for human development. These volumes are required reading for an understanding of copycat crime from a biosocial foundation.
  798.  
  799. Find this resource:
  800.  
  801.  
  802. Mazur, A. 1982. Bomb threats and the mass media: Evidence for a theory of suggestion. American Sociological Review 47:407–411.
  803.  
  804. DOI: 10.2307/2094997Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  805.  
  806. An early study of a news media copycat-generated crime effect that also demonstrates media criminogenic effects will result in generalized behaviors beyond rote imitation. In this study, terroristic bomb threats generated threats of different types against different institutions. With Holden 1986, a good historical base to the literature.
  807.  
  808. Find this resource:
  809.  
  810.  
  811. Myers, D. 2000. The diffusion of collective violence: Infectiousness, susceptibility, and mass media networks. American Journal of Sociology 106.1 (July): 173–208.
  812.  
  813. DOI: 10.1086/303110Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  814.  
  815. An updated treatment that employs a more sophisticated analysis of US riot data from the 1960 through 1970s than found in prior research. This article demonstrates the complexity of diffusion and the factors that encourage and inhibit the adoption of a collective behavior such as rioting. It also demonstrates the crucial role of the mass media in the process.
  816.  
  817. Find this resource:
  818.  
  819.  
  820. Sacco, V. 2005. When crime waves. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  821.  
  822. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  823.  
  824. A recent well-written book-length treatment of the concept of crime waves that incorporates the use of crime statistics by the news media and the dynamics of diffusion of behaviors and the spread of rumor in society.
  825.  
  826. Find this resource:
  827.  
  828.  
  829. Surette, R. 2002. Self-reported copy cat crime among a population of serious violent juvenile offenders. Crime and Delinquency 48.1: 46–69.
  830.  
  831. DOI: 10.1177/0011128702048001002Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  832.  
  833. A work that directly queried juveniles regarding their copycat crime activities, this self-report study of juveniles incarcerated for serious offenses sets a rough boundary on the proportion of offenders who have utilized media information at some point in their offense histories: between 20 and 40 percent.
  834.  
  835. Find this resource:
  836.  
  837.  
  838. Video Games
  839. The capacity of video games to generate copycat crime has generated a debate similar to that associated with violent media as a cause of social aggression. Also similar is the fact that most of the research has focused on violent video games and player aggression, rather than criminal behavior. Video game links to player criminality are extrapolated from player aggression research and from anecdotal reports of crimes with similarities to aspects of certain games, the “Grand Theft Auto” video game being the most often cited. Entry to the research literature on games and players can begin with the special issue of Journal of Adolescence dedicated to adolescent video game playing. This special issue remains the best one-stop starting point for the growing body of research in this subarea. In it Anderson 2004 provides a good review of the literature through 2003, while the other articles delve into various specific research questions concerning violent video games and adolescent behavior and attitudes. More recent reviews are available in Anderson, et al. 2007 and in Whitaker and Bushman 2009. For those wanting good examples of the research designs commonly employed in this area, Carnagey and Anderson 2005 is recommended. For an example of research not supporting a negative effect from violent game playing, Willaims and Skoric 2005 is suggested reading.
  840.  
  841. Anderson, C. A. 2004. An update on the effects of playing violent video games. Journal of Adolescence 271:113–122.
  842.  
  843. DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.10.009Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  844.  
  845. An earlier review of the literature is also available in the Journal of Adolescent Health that has the advantage of a narrower focus on gaming and real-world violence.
  846.  
  847. Find this resource:
  848.  
  849.  
  850. Anderson, C., D. Gentile, and K. Buckley. 2007. Violent video game effects on children: Theory, research, and public policy. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
  851.  
  852. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195309836.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  853.  
  854. Recent discussion of violent video games and their effects. Provides a one-stop introduction to the literature and summaries of the associated issues and research findings. Part 1 supplies a solid history of video games and research on the effects of exposure to violent media. Part 2 provides good examples of research designs employed in this area and coverage of risk factors.
  855.  
  856. Find this resource:
  857.  
  858.  
  859. Carnagey, N., and C. Anderson. 2005. The effects of reward and punishment in violent video games on aggressive affect, cognition, and behavior. Psychological Science 16.11: 882–889.
  860.  
  861. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01632.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  862.  
  863. A good current example of the methodology that characterizes most of the research into violent video game effects. Describes three experiments connected to rewarding versus punishing violent actions within video games. Prior research is quickly reviewed and competing effect models are tested.
  864.  
  865. Find this resource:
  866.  
  867.  
  868. Various authors. 2004. Special Issue: Video Games and Public Health Issues. Journal of Adolescence. 27.1.
  869.  
  870. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  871.  
  872. This special issue of the Journal of Adolescence is dedicated to reviewing the research and effects of video games. It is an excellent starting point for those interested in this area. Among the articles are research reviews of violent video games and aggression as well as additional articles on non-crime-related video effects and concerns. For those specifically interested in violent video game effects, Anderson 2004 is recommended.
  873.  
  874. Find this resource:
  875.  
  876.  
  877. Whitaker, J., and B. Bushman. 2009. A review of the effects of violent video games on children and adolescents. Washington & Lee Law Review 66 (Summer): 1033–1051.
  878.  
  879. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  880.  
  881. A recent thorough but brief overview of the research and concerns surrounding violent video games and possible effects is available here. The authors quickly summarize and provide cites for the areas of game effects, competing hypothesized explanations of game effects, and moderators of game effects.
  882.  
  883. Find this resource:
  884.  
  885.  
  886. Williams, D., and M. Skoric. 2005. Internet fantasy violence: A test of aggression in an online game. Communication Monographs 72.2: 217–233.
  887.  
  888. DOI: 10.1080/03637750500111781Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  889.  
  890. A counter to research positing negative behavioral effects from violent video games can be found in this article. It, unlike much of the early research in this area, employed a control group and a longitudinal time frame. Findings are reported not supporting a violent video game experience causing substantial increases in real-world aggression.
  891.  
  892. Find this resource:
  893.  
  894.  
  895. Media and Terrorism
  896. Media effects on terrorism and terrorism’s relationship to the media have emerged as main areas of concern in the 21st century. Mazur 1982 and Holden 1986 are early studies that established the empirical reality of “contagion” as a copycat effect came to be termed in the terrorism literature. Together, they serve as well-designed historical entrées to this particular literature. Schmid and de Graaf 1982, and Weimann and Winn 1994 explore the dynamics and theory of media-oriented terrorism in groundbreaking discussions of terrorist uses of the media, particularly the news media and the terrorist dilemma of ensuring that a terrorist event maximizes its newsworthiness. The nature of the relationship between terrorists and the media has altered with the Internet and the removal of much of the gatekeeping power of traditional news organizations regarding what and how knowledge of terror activities reaches the general public. Reflecting this new reality, Nacos 2007 and Tuman 2010 incorporate how new media today influence media-oriented terrorism. Chermak and Gruenewald 2006 and Ross 2007 exemplify recent research and conceptualization in this area.
  897.  
  898. Chermak, S., and J. Gruenewald. 2006. The media’s coverage of domestic terrorism. Justice Quarterly 23.4: 428–461.
  899.  
  900. DOI: 10.1080/07418820600985305Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  901.  
  902. A recent research article that focuses on the coverage of domestic terrorism unlike the bulk of research in this area that examines international terrorist events. Providing a historical basis to news coverage of terrorism, the authors report that prior to 2001, US domestic terrorism received little coverage, counterbalanced by a small number of high-profile incidents.
  903.  
  904. Find this resource:
  905.  
  906.  
  907. Holden, R. 1986. The contagiousness of aircraft hijacking. American Journal of Sociology 91.4: 874–904.
  908.  
  909. DOI: 10.1086/228353Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  910.  
  911. A seminal study in the contagion or copycat spread of terrorism. Holden established that the terrorist hijacking of airliners increased by type (transportation or extortion), depending on which type of hijacking was reported in the news. With Mazur 1982. a good historical point at which to enter the literature.
  912.  
  913. Find this resource:
  914.  
  915.  
  916. Mazur, A. 1982. Bomb threats and the mass media: Evidence for a theory of suggestion. American Sociological Review 47:407–411.
  917.  
  918. DOI: 10.2307/2094997Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  919.  
  920. A seminal study of a news media generated terrorism effect that demonstrates media criminogenic effects will generate generalized behaviors. In this study, news coverage of terroristic bomb threats against one type of government institution generated various subsequent threats against different types of institutions. With Holden 1986, a good historical base to the literature.
  921.  
  922. Find this resource:
  923.  
  924.  
  925. Nacos, B. 2007. Mass-mediated terrorism. Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield.
  926.  
  927. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  928.  
  929. In this book-length treatment, Nacos specifically focuses on the relationship of terrorism and the media, making this work particularly valuable. She provides in-depth coverage of the news media and terrorism symbiotic connections and a sound discussion of the impact of new communication avenues, such as the Internet, e-mail, and other new media, on terrorism and its effects.
  930.  
  931. Find this resource:
  932.  
  933.  
  934. Ross, J. 2007. Deconstructing the terrorism–news media relationship. Crime, Media, Culture 3:215–225.
  935.  
  936. DOI: 10.1177/1741659007078555Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  937.  
  938. A brief but particularly well-referenced research note. Ross summarizes the literature on news media and terrorism, describing it as a subspecialty in the terrorism literature. His note provides directions on where this research is found, common topics and methods, and findings.
  939.  
  940. Find this resource:
  941.  
  942.  
  943. Schmid, A., and J. de Graaf. 1982. Violence as communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  944.  
  945. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  946.  
  947. A book that clearly describes the symbiotic relationship between insurgent terrorism and the electronic image-driven Western mass media before the advent of the Internet and other new media. The authors describe the benefits of news coverage to terrorists and the news value of terrorist acts to media businesses. As such, they provide a sound historical foundation for exploring the issues of terrorism and media today.
  948.  
  949. Find this resource:
  950.  
  951.  
  952. Tuman, J. 2010. Communicating terror: The rhetorical dimensions of terrorism. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  953.  
  954. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  955.  
  956. The recent second edition of an introductory textbook that focuses on the relationship between terrorism and media. Its recent publication date is a strength, but its focus makes this book particularly valuable as a beginning point in the study of media and terrorism. The media’s role is central throughout Tuman’s work and is not confined to a single chapter, as is often the case in more general books on terrorism.
  957.  
  958. Find this resource:
  959.  
  960.  
  961. Weimann, G., and C. Winn. 1994. The theater of terror: Mass media and international terrorism. New York: Pearson Longman.
  962.  
  963. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  964.  
  965. Continuing the conceptualization of Schmid and de Graaf 1982, Weimann and Winn explore media-oriented terrorism as a separate type of terrorism that mimics public theater. They include discussions of the copycat contagion effect of terrorist coverage as well as the interactions of terrorism, coverage, public opinion, and government policies. With Schmid and de Graaf 1982, this provides a solid historical base to begin to explore terrorism and media.
  966.  
  967. Find this resource:
  968.  
  969.  
  970. Public Perceptions and Attitudes about Crime
  971. For the media to have significant social effect, they must influence the public in some manner. Effects on public attitudes and beliefs about crime are therefore of interest and their study has led to an examination of audience use and interaction with crime and justice media. An historical entry point is found in Graber 1980. Book-length discussions of the result of the content and interactions on public/audience perceptions are delivered in Beckett and Sasson 2000 and Altheide 2002. Those interested in specific media, such as news or entertainment are steered to Beckett and Sasson 2000. A recent entry to the literature concerning the media’s role in an observed paradoxical social condition—the fact that crime can be declining in a society while the public believes it is increasing—can be found in Pfeiffer, et al. 2005, which additionally provides a European perspective to this literature. A large amount of research in this area has focused on the media’s impact on levels of public fear. Researchers interested in media fear generating effects and social impacts are directed to Warr 2000 and Altheide 2002. Heath and Gilbert 1996 provides a historical entry point, and Eschholz, et al. 2003 and Ditton, et al. 2004 provide recent examples of media and fear of crime research.
  972.  
  973. Altheide, D. 2002. Creating Fear: News and the Construction of Crisis. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
  974.  
  975. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  976.  
  977. This book generalizes the issue of the media’s impact on the public by expanding the discussion to include the creation of fear from not only crime news, which remains its major source, but how fear generating language has been increasingly utilized to describe a broad range of social problems.
  978.  
  979. Find this resource:
  980.  
  981.  
  982. Beckett, K., and T. Sasson. 2000. The Politics of Injustice: Crime and Punishment in America. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge.
  983.  
  984. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  985.  
  986. This book contains a strong discussion of the media’s role in criminal justice policy formation and the public’s perceptions of criminality. Has separate chapters on crime and news, entertainment, and public opinion.
  987.  
  988. Find this resource:
  989.  
  990.  
  991. Ditton, J., D. Chadee, S. Farrall, E. Gilchrist, and J. Bannister. 2004. From imitation to intimidation: A note on the curious and changing relationship between the media, crime, and fear of crime. British Journal of Criminology 44:595–610.
  992.  
  993. DOI: 10.1093/bjc/azh028Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  994.  
  995. This well-referenced research note serves as a review of the fear of crime and media literature and discusses the infrequency that an expected direct relationship is found between media content and public fear levels. The results suggest that the dynamic between media crime content and public fear of crime is complex and itself mediated by consumer perceptions and interpretations.
  996.  
  997. Find this resource:
  998.  
  999.  
  1000. Eschholz, S., T. Chiricos, and M. Gertz. 2003. Television and fear of crime: program types, audience traits, and the mediating effect of perceived neighborhood racial composition. Social Problems 50.3: 395–415.
  1001.  
  1002. DOI: 10.1525/sp.2003.50.3.395Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1003.  
  1004. Well referenced and relatively recent, this survey-based study explores the media content, audience characteristic interaction that mediates crime content effects on fear of crime. In this study, the perceived racial composition of the respondent’s neighborhood emerges as important for whether media crime content is related to respondent fear of crime levels.
  1005.  
  1006. Find this resource:
  1007.  
  1008.  
  1009. Graber, D. 1980. Crime News and the Public. New York: Praeger.
  1010.  
  1011. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1012.  
  1013. The first comprehensive, well-designed study of how the public actually processes and uses crime news. Using subject diary and story recall data, Graber launches the serious study of how the final “gatekeeper” in the crime news production process actually processes crime news. This seminal work studies crime news from the characteristics of the content to the worldviews of the audience.
  1014.  
  1015. Find this resource:
  1016.  
  1017.  
  1018. Heath, L., and K. Gilbert. 1996. Mass media and fear of crime. American Behavioral Scientist 39:379–386.
  1019.  
  1020. DOI: 10.1177/0002764296039004003Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1021.  
  1022. Establishes that media effects on fear of crime will not follow a simplistic direct relationship of “more crime news” equals “more public fear of crime.” The relationship between media content and public fear is associated with whether the crimes reported are local or distant, sensational or mundane, with local sensational crime related to more fear and surprisingly, distant sensational crime related to less fear.
  1023.  
  1024. Find this resource:
  1025.  
  1026.  
  1027. Pfeiffer, C., M. Windzio, and M. Kleimann. 2005. Media use and its impacts on crime perception, sentencing attitudes, and crime policy. European Journal of Criminology 2.3: 259–285.
  1028.  
  1029. DOI: 10.1177/1477370805054099Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1030.  
  1031. A European-based example of a set of research that demonstrates the disconnect between crime trends and public attitudes toward crime. That is, crime has been observed as declining, the public perceives it as increasing and subsequently support and sometimes demand harsher punishments. This research analyses a ten-year span of German crime and public opinion data and concludes that media consumption creates a biased perception of crime and justice reality.
  1032.  
  1033. Find this resource:
  1034.  
  1035.  
  1036. Warr, M. 2000. Fear of crime in the United States: Avenues for research and policy. Criminal Justice 4:451–489.
  1037.  
  1038. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1039.  
  1040. Researchers needing an overview discussion of the linkage between the media and public levels of fear of crime are directed here. Warr explains why fear of crime levels have important social impacts and how the media influence those levels by fear generating content and information used to access one’s risk of crime. Unaddressed research questions and policy directions relating to the media and fear of crime are included.
  1041.  
  1042. Find this resource:
  1043.  
  1044.  
  1045. Criminal Justice Policy Formation
  1046. Media content as a determinate of criminal justice policy is a popular area of study in the media, crime and justice realm. The seminal article is found in Fishman 1978. Those wanting book-length discussions are directed to Protess, et al. 1991 for an early overview, and to Shichor and Sechrest 1996 for a collection of essays providing a detailed examination of the life history of a specific criminal justice polity, “three strikes and you’re out.” An example of more recent research in this area can be found in Sotirovic 2001.
  1047.  
  1048. Fishman, M. 1978. Crime waves as ideology. Social Problems 25.4: 531–543.
  1049.  
  1050. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1051.  
  1052. The seminal article that triggered renewed interest in the interplay of crime news and crime policy. It remains a good demonstration of why the content of crime news is a concern.
  1053.  
  1054. Find this resource:
  1055.  
  1056.  
  1057. David Shichor, and Dale Sechrest, eds. 1996. Three strikes and you’re out: Vengeance as public policy. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  1058.  
  1059. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1060.  
  1061. An edited collection with a focus on a major criminal justice policy initiative in the late 20th century in the United States. This work serves as an introduction to the dynamics and interactions of media and criminal justice policy formation in the contemporary visual electronic “new media” era.
  1062.  
  1063. Find this resource:
  1064.  
  1065.  
  1066. Protess, D., F. Cook, J. Doppelt, J. Ettema, M. Gordon, D. Leff, and P. Miller. 1991. The journalism of outrage: Investigative reporting and agenda building in America. New York: Guilford.
  1067.  
  1068. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1069.  
  1070. Provides evidence for how rare the direct linear relationship is between media coverage and criminal justice public policy. Refutes the linear model by laying out media/journalist public policy relationships as more often reciprocal, symbiotic, and locally idiosyncratic. This work supplies an understanding that there is no simple model of media policy effects and an early entry into the extant literature.
  1071.  
  1072. Find this resource:
  1073.  
  1074.  
  1075. Sotirovic, M. 2001. Affective and cognitive processes as mediators of media influences on crime-policy preferences. Mass Communication & Society 4.3: 311–329.
  1076.  
  1077. DOI: 10.1207/S15327825MCS0403_04Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1078.  
  1079. An article that expands the focus from content to audience media use patterns, Sotirovic provides an entry to the literature on the interplay between individual support for punitive or preventive criminal justice policies and media usage and preferences. The approach shows the need for moving this area of research beyond content analysis and correlational studies.
  1080.  
  1081. Find this resource:
  1082.  
  1083.  
  1084. Media Based Efforts to Reduce Crime and Victimization
  1085. Positive evaluations of children’s prosocial programming like Sesame Street in the 1970s led to the development of a number of media bases efforts to reduce crime and subsequent associated research. Three works are recommended as entries. A seminal evaluation of an early media anticrime campaign can be found in Sacco and Silverman 1981. Students wanting a book-length entry or are expressly interested in the McGruff Crime Dog campaign are directed to O’Keefe, et al. 1996. A recent discussion with a focus on Amber Alerts is provided by Griffin and Miller 2008.
  1086.  
  1087. Sacco, V., and R. Silverman. 1981. Selling crime prevention: The evaluation of a mass media campaign. Canadian Journal of Criminology 23:191–201.
  1088.  
  1089. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1090.  
  1091. A seminal evaluation of a multimedia victimization reduction campaign that ultimately had opposite unanticipated effects. The reported results lowered expectations for using the media as a crime panacea and established the need for well designed media campaigns informed by communication theory.
  1092.  
  1093. Find this resource:
  1094.  
  1095.  
  1096. O’Keefe, G., D. Rosenbaum, P. Lavrakas, K. Reid, and R. Botta. 1996. Taking a bite out of crime. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  1097.  
  1098. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1099.  
  1100. An aging but still superior discussion of the evaluation of a media-based anticrime campaign:The McGruff campaign in the United States. Still apt for anyone considering the design or evaluation of a crime reduction program based on media outlets.
  1101.  
  1102. Find this resource:
  1103.  
  1104.  
  1105. Griffin, T., and M. Miller. 2008. Child abduction, AMBER alert, and crime control theater. Criminal Justice Review 33.2: 159–176.
  1106.  
  1107. DOI: 10.1177/0734016808316778Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1108.  
  1109. A recent addition to the evaluation caveats regarding media-based anticrime efforts, in this case the adoption and expectations surrounding AMBER alerts in the United States.
  1110.  
  1111. Find this resource:
  1112.  
  1113.  
  1114. Media Technology, CCTV, and Surveillance
  1115. The surveillance of public spaces and criminal justice settings via closed circuit television (CCTV) systems has increased in pace with the fear of terrorism. A number of works discuss this phenomenon. Norris and Armstrong 1999 provides a solid historical introduction to the development of surveillance of public spaces in Britain. Researchers interested in these system’s effects on police behavior are directed to Goold 2004; those interested in effects on behavior in correctional settings are directed to Newburn and Hayman 2002. A comprehensive review of CCTV effects on crime is found in Welsh and Farrington 2002. Lastly, discussions of the general issues associated with recent technological advances in surveillance and political impetus to expand the areas of surveillance are found respectively in Surette 2005 and Sutton and Wilson 2004. Sutton and Wilson 2004 also provides a non-American, non-European perspective.
  1116.  
  1117. Goold, B. 2004. CCTV and policing: Public area surveillance and police practices in Britain. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
  1118.  
  1119. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1120.  
  1121. A dissertation-based study of the incorporation and impact of CCTV systems on policing. Goold follows the creation of CCTV schemes from pre-implementation decisions to final impacts on police practices. His discussion of actions and decisions made in the monitoring rooms, particularly surrounding the decision of whom to watch, is especially valuable.
  1122.  
  1123. Find this resource:
  1124.  
  1125.  
  1126. Norris, C., and G. Armstrong. 1999. The maximum surveillance society: The rise of CCTV. Oxford: Berg.
  1127.  
  1128. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1129.  
  1130. Surveillance has shifted from watching only likely offenders or likely crime hot spots to watching everyone and broad public spaces at least some of the time. The history of the surveillance of the nonoffending public, the growth of benign surveillance via CCTV system in England and its not often considered social implications are laid out for the turn of the 21st century.
  1131.  
  1132. Find this resource:
  1133.  
  1134.  
  1135. Newburn, T., and S. Hayman. 2002. Policing, surveillance, and social control: CCTV and police monitoring of suspects. Portland, OR: Willan.
  1136.  
  1137. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1138.  
  1139. Taking a slightly different tact from other works on public-space surveillance, the CCTV monitoring of prisoners in a number of UK settings is discussed in this book-length work. Unlike the bulk of research, which focuses on public-space surveillance and effects on citizens and police officers, in this work the authors explore surveillance adoption in corrections and its effects on both prisoners and correctional officers.
  1140.  
  1141. Find this resource:
  1142.  
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  1148. A discussion of the issues surrounding the widespread and increasing adoption of public-space CCTV systems from a non-U.S., non-European perspective.
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  1157. The implications of a shift from surveillance camera systems that require human monitors to view, interpret and respond to the surveillance images generated by public-space CCTV systems to computer vision supplemented systems that automatically monitor and assess the surveillance camera images are discussed.
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  1166. In a meta-analysis of the evaluations of CCTV anticrime systems available through 2001, the authors point out the distinction between reported effects for systems in the United Kingdom versus the United States.
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