Running head: THE EFFECT OF MEDIA ON CRIME PERCEPTION 1

A Distorted Lens: The Effect of Media On Crime Perception

Carlisha Bivins

Old Dominion University

THE EFFECT OF MEDIA ON CRIME PERCEPTION 2

A Distorted Lens: The Effect of Media On Crime Perception

Introduction

In the late 19th century, American was plagued by yellow journalism, “a style of

newspaper reporting that emphasized sensationalism over facts,” which has continued to

influence modern media; particularly with crime coverage by news outlets (United States

Department of State, 2017). As the lines blur between entertainment and education, crime dramas

are also viewed as means of crime reporting. Misconceptions established as a byproduct of both

sources are distorting the general public’s perception of crime and slowly undermining the

criminal justice system as a whole. By examining official crime reports published during the past

half-decade and common myths related to the criminal justice system, I will describe the extent

to which the media has distorted the American perception of these matters and offer rational

solutions to build an authentic realm of coverage.

Crime Dramas

Crime dramas are one of the most popular American genres of entertainment in the 21st

century with series such as Law & Order, NCSI, and Criminal Minds amassing millions of

viewers. Unfortunately, these programs have contributed to a propagation of myths regarding

victimization, police effectiveness, and the criminal justice system as a whole.

Victimization

In their research about character portrayal in crime dramas, Parrot and Parrot (2015b)

discovered that “when compared to other race-gender pairings, White females stood the greatest

chance of being crime victims when they appeared on screen” across all depicted violent crimes.

However, we find an immediate conflict to this genre pattern if we review data provided in the

2016 Crime Report (see Table 1) where Black males (47%) comprised the greatest number of
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homicide victims last year (FBI, 2016b). Furthermore, the Department of Justice (2017)

identifies American Indian women to have the greatest risk of becoming sexual assault victims

but plotlines examining the victimization of Natives are almost entirely excluded from the genre.

Arguably then, the genuine effort to portray victim storytelling from a sociologically

representative perspective is absent. Instead, the genre is fostering excessive, unwarrabinted fear

in viewers that represent the bottom totem of victimization (Donovan & Klahm, 2015).

Another interesting find from the same study conducted by Parrot and Parrot (2015b) is

that “Black males and White males […] were no more likely than each other to perpetuate […]

crimes, and Black males were no more likely to commit […] crimes than White women.” These

details suggest that those involved in the writing and casting for crime dramas have also ignored

the real-world intraracial nature of crime when rallying around their poster victims – White

females. Otherwise, Black males would be significantly less likely than their White counterparts

to be depicted committing a crime against White women within the genre. The lack of clarity

here might be a contributing factor to an interracial social strain where Whites experienced

decreased towards minorities.

Individuals living with mental illnesses are another group that experience serious

misrepresentations in crime dramas. After coding for 983 characters across 65 episodes, Parrot

and Parrot (2015a) found that 5% were identified to have psychological, behavioral, or mood

disorders with an equal gender distribution and Caucasian majority. If we compare these

numbers to the data compiled by the National Institute of Mental Health (2015), we see that the

demographics most affected are actually multiracial persons and females (see Figure 1). This

comes as no surprise in a society with increased institutional pressures against anyone that is not

a White male. What is missing, however, are factors of encouragement to seek treatment. Instead,
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feelings of shame may be invoked because these same characters have poor hygiene and are

disproportionately unemployed (Parrot & Parrot, 2015a).

Furthermore, most of the mentally ill characters from the study were either depicted as

offenders (51%) or victims (46%) but rarely as mere bystanders (Parrot and Parrot, 2015a).

Although it is difficult to measure the accuracy on behalf of victims, the offender rate falls

terribly short when applied to the real world. Considering there are about 43.8 million mentally

ill persons according to the National Alliance on Mental Health (2017), it would be unreasonable

to claim that 22.3 million (51%) are committing serious crimes when less than 3 million of the

American population are imprisoned (Prison Policy Initiative, 2016). That would mean that

millions of perpetrators have not been caught and pose an alarming threat to our public safety.

But perhaps that is what the media would prefer us to believe. By consistently promoting such a

narrative, it becomes easier to pass off national tragedies like mass shootings and crime sprees as

something other than a manifestation of ineffective crime control policies like weak gun control

laws.

Police Effectiveness

For individuals that have not had an interaction with a police, televised depictions are

there only source of perception regarding officers. Certain shows illustrate them as infallible

agents of the law. In fact, Donovan and Klahm (2015) cited sources claiming that clearance rates

are well above 50% in all crime genre programs. This is problematic because clearance rates for

property crimes are much lower than that of violent crime on an annual basis in the real world

(see Figures 2, 3, and 4). Since each program has a specific niche centralized around either type

of crime, but rarely both, that means on-screen clearances rates are exaggerated. Consequently,

viewers may ascribe unwavering, unconditional support to law enforcement even when presented
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evidence of their practical flaws. For example, Michael Slager is still being defended on social

media by active force apologists despite a clear video depicting his unjust murder of Walter Scott

following a traffic stop and foot chase.

Criminal Justice System

Due to the short time (typically 60 minutes or less) allotted for crime dramas, the process

of acquiring justice (conducting an investigation, holding a full hearing, gaining a successful

conviction) is considerably abbreviated – creating an implication that justice is swift and assured.

For victims of crime that refer to these programs to gauge their impending experience, a painful

reality may await them. Televised defense attorneys are encouraged by non-ethical incentives

(e.g. romantic attraction to their client, rivalry with the assigned prosecutor, supporting a

personal ideology) to prove their client innocent. As induced punishment for their lack of

professionalism and for the sake of a victim-friendly ending, failure is almost imminent. In real

life, defense attorneys are more interested in protecting the interest of their clients rather than

proving their innocence. For example, in cases where legal and non-legal factors are likely to

generate a guilty verdict, plea bargains become a rational option to gain reduced sentencing

much to the benefit of the client and the dismay of the victim. Juries are a challenge all on their

own.

A term commonly referenced in intersectional studies of the media and the criminal

justice system is the CSI Effect which describes how the general public determines guilt or

innocence based on the presence of forensic evidence as a result of regularly consuming crime

dramas which often identify DNA as the critical factor in solving an investigation (Rhineberger-

Dunn, Briggs, & Rader, 2016). On the other hand, these programs are nearly silent on the

incidence of DNA contamination by inexperienced, irresponsible, or corrupt technicians which

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could either eliminate existing evidence or provide false evidence. An additional issue is that

DNA can be highly circumstantial depending on the victim-offender relationship; this is

particularly true for skin cells, hair, and semen. These arguments regarding the validity of DNA

reflect how the miseducation of juries by the media poses a constant threat of misjustice: a

criminal may be acquitted and an innocent person may be convicted. Fortunately, there is some

research that suggests the CSI Effect may be somewhat overestimated but that does not resolve

misperceptions caused by actual crime reporting (Rhineberger-Dunn, Briggs, & Rader, 2016).

Crime Reporting

Crime reporting is distributed in a variety of mediums with the most consumed sources

being local news broadcasts, 24-hour news networks, electronic articles, and published

newspapers. Despite the responsibility of crime reporters to properly inform the public, the

content distributed is frequently re-packaged in a way that is not fair, thorough, accurate, or

balanced.

Sensationalism

Crime occurs every day in nearly every city in America but we only hear about a fraction

of these incidents that are identified as newsworthy. In other words, stories that involve

extraordinary deviance regarding victim-offender relationship, brutality, and status are granted

top priority. One latent byproduct of this sensationalism are copy-cat criminals seeking grandeur

amounts of attention and fame. (There are also social cults that praise specific criminals for their

ruthless but that is an entirely separate intersectional essay.) “Normal-minded” persons, on the

other hand, are falsely conditioned by sensationalism to rely on the news to decrease their

chances of victimization by “staying informed.”

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All stories are eventually retired to an archive despite their newsworthiness. Narratives,

however, are recycled. For example, local networks report violence in areas concentrated with

minority housing on a daily basis (Bjornstrom, Kaufman, Peterson, Slater, 2010). Such an

organized effort has done nothing more than reinforce stereotypes and encourage increased

police presence which does not inherently reduce crime. Meanwhile, crime sprees in

predominately White areas are hushed – undermining the “informed” decision making of citizens

concerned about personal safety.

Political Agendas

CNN and Fox News among other media outlets have faced increasing scrutiny in the past

few years about their political affiliations. Stations that are left-leaning have been proven to use

language to accommodate liberal/Democratic perspectives on crime: “death penalty must not be

arbitrary; fight crime with prevention, community police; reduce racial disparities in sentencing

for drug crimes; [and] strengthen gun control” (On The Issues, 2015a). On the other hand, right-

leaning stations appeal to conservative/Republican ideals about crime: “enforce existing laws;

more victims rights and harsher penalties for certain crimes; [and] no gun licensing” (On The

Issues, 2015b). The remaining political parties also have dedicated sources that utilize the same

propagandized tactics. As a result, viewers and readers are almost always exposed to reports

tainted with biased language that blurs central truths about crime.

White Collar Crime

In a study reviewing 529 news segments, Frost and Phillips (2011) found that “stories on

street crime, sex offenses, and terrorism accounted for more than 90% of crime coverage.”

Meanwhile, white collar crime accounted for less than 2% putting it well behind pop culture

(10%) as a topic focus but this should not be dismissed as poor prioritization. The avoidance of
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white collar crime is a two-fold problem. On the surface, members of the general public struggle

with conceptualizing it. A sample survey conducted by Michel, Cochran, and Heide (2015)

showed 73.5% of the respondents failed a questionnaire measuring their objective knowledge

about the definition, examples, and harmfulness of white collar crime. It is also more difficult to

pre-emptively identify the source of threat because the perpetrators are not random thugs as with

street crime; instead they are clean-cut people and reputable businesses. For individuals not

previously affected, getting robbed as a result of a faulty mortgage agreement seems more

abstract than getting robbed at gunpoint.

Despite the cost of white collar crime exceeding into the trillions, well beyond the

billions caused by street crime, those committing these dastardly acts against innocent citizens

and unsuspecting consumers are able to avoid scrutiny either due to egotistical power or

associative power in the media sphere (Michel, Cochran & Heide, 2015). Egotistical power

refers to perpetrators that own a considerable share in or other substantial influence over one of

the six corporations (see Figure 5) that have practically monopolized our intake of information

(Lutz, 2012). Associative power, on the other hand, refers to preparators that have close ties to

corporation shareholders. In both cases, a demand trickles down the allied corporation chain of

command to the owned media outlets: stories that could be damaging to a the interests of the

white collar criminal are to be avoided at the expense of public safety.

Recommendations

The first change that seems necessary in resolving biased crime coverage is explicitly

focusing on known facts rather than mentioning speculated assumptions to increase accuracy.

Frost and Phillips (2011) found that less than ¼ of guests – including field experts - on crime

reporting broadcasts actually discuss pertinent aspects such as causation, crime control, and
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related policies. Family and friends of victims and offenders should only be incorporated

sparingly because introducing emotional elements only further distracts viewers from the closest

version of the truth. Their personal testimonies should be reserved for the court room. Critics of

this solution might argue that limiting information is just as reckless as offering too much

information. I do not agree. People do not un-learn things. Rather, they alter their ways of

thinking about a particular thing in degrees. From that perspective, the general public would

expend less energy on compartmentalization by starting from an accurate locus than an

inaccurate one.

Second, news outlets should be fined after disseminating a series of unconfirmed details

that are later identified as false to encourage fact checking prior to information dissemination to

increase thoroughness. Opponents would argue that this violates freedom of speech and freedom

of press and reporters will experience varying levels of stress and intimidation. I reject this

claim, considering the proposed fines to be more in line with libel and slander laws. I should,

however, clarify that the fines would be charged to the media outlet rather than individual

reporters because several eyes (are supposed to) review crime reports before they are released to

the public.

Third, equity needs to be maintained in the presentation of suspects to increase fairness.

Broadcasts and publications should rely on neutral photos of suspects rather than mugshots.

Otherwise, presumptions about guilt are cultivated. Gutsche (2011) conducted a case study

supplementing this claim with an accompanying focus on how photo composition (e.g. lighting)

also influences the types of messages received about depicted persons. Reporters are likely to

complain that neutral photos may be too difficult to obtain. Admittedly, I would not even

entertain this argument. Based on the number of neutral photos that are conveniently available
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for so many White suspects, it is not unreasonable to expect the same dedication for minorities

who also must continue to navigate the communities in which those images will be distributed on

local news channels and newspapers if not nationally.

Lastly, crime dramas should assume an obligation to their audiences by providing stills or

end scenes with actual statistics about the crimes that were covered in the episode much like

regular television dramas do for episodes about suicide, sexual assault, and other heavy topics.

There may be some initial apprehension towards this solution due to budgeting and adjustments

in filming but I anticipate that the production teams would gradually approve implementation

based on the public service nature of the request which should increase program reputation.

Notably, there is not a recommendation here about how to address the issue of balanced

reporting. As previously mentioned, political bias and corrupt corporate interests are an ongoing

problem. Addressing these issues would require the complete dismantling and de-monopolization

of American media which I do not anticipate happening in the next 20 years – especially as we

await the vote on Net Neutrality which could will undoubtedly affect the tide.

Conclusion

Modern America is still suffering from the remnants of yellow journalism a century later

as made evident by the juxtaposition of distorted versions of reality championed by news outlets

and crime dramas against an empirical reality guarded by official organizations and watchdog

agencies. Yet, accountability is a societal burden. Reporters and producers should be more

responsible in their actions while the general public should be more proactive in forming a full

scope of crime issues. With that being said, we have a long road ahead of us to making crime

coverage even remotely legitimate again but hope remains.

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References

Bjornstrom, E., Kaufman, R., Peterson, R., & Slater, M. (2010). Race and ethnic representations

of lawbreakers and victims in crime news: a national study of television coverage. Social

Problems, 57(2), 269-293.

Department of Justice. (2017). Tribal affairs. Retrieved from:

https://www.justice.gov/ovw/tribal-affairs

Donovan, K., & Klahm, C. (2015). The Role of entertainment media in perceptions of police use

of force. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42(12), 1261-1281.

FBI (2014). Clearances. Retrieved from: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-

u.s.-2014/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/clearances/main

FBI. (2015). Clearances. Retrieved from: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-

u.s.-2015/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/clearances

FBI. (2016a). Clearances. Retrieved from: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-

u.s.-2016/topic-pages/clearances

FBI. (2016b). Expanded homicide data table 1. Retrieved from: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-

u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-1.xls

Frost, N., & Phillips, N. (2011). Talking heads: crime reporting on cable news. Justice Quarterly,

28(1), 87-112.

Gutsche, R. (2011). Building boundaries: a case study of the use of news photographs and

cultural narratives in the coverage of local crime and in the creation of urban space.

Visual Communication Quarterly, 18(3), 140-154.

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Lutz, A. (2012). These 6 corporations control 90% of the media in America. Retrieved from:

http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-

america-2012-6

Michel, C. (2016). Violent street crime versus harmful white-collar crime: a comparison of

perceived seriousness and punitiveness. Critical Criminology, 24(1), 127-143.

Michel, C., Cochran, J., & Heide, K. (2016). Public knowledge about white-collar crime: an

exploratory study. Crime, Law and Social Change, 65(1), 67-91.

National Alliance on Mental Health. (2017). Mental health by the numbers. Retrieved from:

https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers

National Institute of Mental Health. (2015). Any mental illness (AMI) among U.S. adults.

Retrieved from: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/any-mental-

illness-ami-among-us-adults.shtml

On The Issues. (2015a). Democratic Party. Retrieved from:

http://www.ontheissues.org/Democratic_Party.htm

On The Issues. (2015b). Republican Party. Retrieved from:

http://www.ontheissues.org/Democratic_Party.htm

Parrott, S., & Parrott, C. (2015a). Law & disorder: the portrayal of mental illness in U.S. crime

dramas. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 59(4), 640-657.

Parrott, S., & Parrott, C. (2015b). U.S. television’s “mean world” for white women: the portrayal

of gender and race on fictional crime dramas. Sex Roles, 73(1), 70-82.

Prison Policy Initative. (2016). Mass incarceration: the whole pie 2016. Retrieved from:

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2016.html
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Rhineberger-Dunn, G., Briggs, S., & Rader, J. (2016). Clearing crime in prime-time: the

disjuncture between fiction and reality. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(2), 255-

278.

Rhineberger-Dunn, G., Briggs, S., & Rader, N. (2017). The CSI effect, DNA discourse, and

popular crime dramas. Social Science Quarterly, 98(2), 532-547.

United States Department of State. (2017). U.S. diplomacy and yellow journalism, 1895-1898.

Retrieved from: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/yellow-journalism

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Tables

Expanded Homicide Data Table 1

Murder Victims
by Race, Ethnicity, and Sex, 2016
Sex
Race/Ethnicity Total Male Female Unknown
Total 15,070 11,821 3,208 41
White 6,576 4,665 1,906 5
Black 7,881 6,749 1,126 6
Other race 400 266 133 1
Unknown race 213 141 43 29
Hispanic or Latino1 2,367 1,977 389 1
Not Hispanic or Latino1 9,725 7,600 2,120 5
1
Unknown 2,226 1,678 516 32
1
Not all agencies provide ethnicity data; therefore, the ethnicity totals
do not equal the total number of victims.

Table 1 | FBI. (2016b). Expanded homicide data table 1. Retrieved from:

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/expanded-
homicide-data-table-1.xls
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Figures

Figure 2 | National Alliance on Mental Health. (2017). Mental health by the numbers. Retrieved from:
https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers
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Figure 2 | FBI. (2016a). Clearances. Retrieved from: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-

u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/topic-pages/clearances

Figure 3 | FBI. (2015). Clearances. Retrieved from: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-

u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/clearances

Figure 4 | FBI (2014). Clearances. Retrieved from: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-

u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/clearances/main
THE EFFECT OF MEDIA ON CRIME PERCEPTION 17

Figure 5 | Lutz, A. (2012). These 6 corporations control 90% of the media in America.
Retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-
media-in-america-2012-6