In 2005 Jacksonville gained the title of “Florida's murder capital” (Florida Times-Union, 2005; Murphy, 2005). According to the results of “The 904 Project” in 2011 Jacksonville still holds the title. According to Sherriff Rutherford during the time the study came out Jacksonville has shed that title (Patterson, 2011). Does Jacksonville hold the title or not? It depends on who you ask. In reflecting on what the 904 Project has brought us it is important to not only look at the results of the study, but also what we already know about media and the criminal justice system and what the study might have inadvertently illustrated about Jacksonville’s media, it’s leaders, and the crime problem itself.
What research shows is that media and crime are intertwined and that there is an effect on the criminal justice system and its policies. Surette discusses the two tenets concerning criminal justice and the media. The first is the “backwards law” which states that anything the media portrays is in fact the opposite of what is really happening (2010, p. 182). He goes on to explain that this distortion is due to how news is presented in either an episodic format, the following of a single incident or case, or thematic format, a flowing of trends, and how both formats only show a small fraction of the reality (p. 183). The other is the “rule of immanent justice.” Surette defines immanent justice as “the belief that a divine higher power will intervene, and reveal and punish the guilty while protecting the innocent” (p. 186). He argues that the media perpetually illustrates that criminality is inborn and that society seeks immanent justice and supports crime fighters, such as police, in helping combat the issue of crime (pp. 186-187). While...
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Surette, R. (2010). Media, crime, and criminal justice: Images, realities, and policies Cengage Learning.
Treen, D. (2006a, Girl's killing sparks pleas for an end to the violence community and city leaders discuss plans to stem the killings. Florida Times-Union, the (Jacksonville, FL), pp. A-1.
Treen, D. (2006b, Murder rate on grand jury list shorstein says he has discussed it with panel. Florida Times-Union, the (Jacksonville, FL), pp. A-1.
Treen, D. (2011, Results are in: Duval no longer murder capital miami-dade takes title as violent crimes in duval county down 19%. Florida Times-Union, the (Jacksonville, FL), pp. A-1.
UNF Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice. (2011). No longer #1? Retrieved January, 2012, from http://www.unf.edu/uploadedFiles/aa/coas/ccj/904_project/No%20Longer%20number%201%20-%20Data.xls
Criminology. The. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print. The. Shakur, Sanyika.
Seigal, L. J., & Worrall, J. L. (2012). Introduction to criminal justice (13th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
During the course of research from The Department of Public Safety unsolved homicide indexes (DPS UHI), in the years of 2008 and 2009 a total of forty three criminal homicides still remain unsolved, resulting in twelve unsolved homicides for the year of 2008 and thirty one for the year of 2009. These are very high numbers for unsolved homicides considering, that for the years of 2008 and 2009 there were a total of 214 homicides in all. This means that almost 21% of the homicides for those years are yet to be solved. For these unsolved criminal homicides, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) should take a more aggressive approach for resolution on these cases. Due to the time lapsed, IMPD should refresh the memories of the public by broadcasting these ...
When the City of Atlanta is mentioned, individuals automatically associate the city with its positive attributes, such as, the beautiful lights, family activities and tourist attractions. The crime that occurs often goes unmentioned; however, it is increasingly becoming an issue. Forbes ranked Atlanta as the sixth most dangerous city in the US with a violent crime rate of 1,433 per 100,000 residents. The city’s crime rate correlates with its poverty levels and low education rates. Beccaria’s believed punishment should be swift, severe and certain. However, Beccaria’s ideas are often difficult to execute properly.
Maguire, M., Morgan, R., and Reiner, R. (2012) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. 5th ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Christopher, Liam. “Mother ‘vindicated’ after girl’s murder suspect held.” Daily Post. 18 Aug. 2006: 19. Proquest Newsstand. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Review, PubMed PMID: 19543886. Saferstein, R. (2011). Criminalistics: An introduction to forensic science (10th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Pollock, J. M. (2012). Crime & justice in America: An introduction to criminal justice (2nd ed.). Waltham, MA, USA: Anderson Publishing (Elsevier).
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 27, 343-360. http://ccj.sagepub.com.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/content/27/3/342
...it is the advent of television media that have sparked debate over the integrity of reliable news making. Print media was factual, although sometimes sensational, while electronic media made use of the technologies, such as videotapes and live footage to enhance and exaggerate the drama of the event even further. Many research studies have been conducted to show the effects of the media coverage on crime and how it influences the publics of fear of crime. Mass media has perpetuated a notion that crime is on the increase by portraying events and tragedies in the headlines that are sensational. The public buys into that idea, despite statistical accounts that reflect stable or low crime rates. The more stories people read and watch about crime, the more likely they are to think that crime is out of control. Politicians may then enact legal reforms to sooth the public’s outcry for crime control and prevention. As easy as it may be to hold the media accountable for barraging us with images and ideas that affect our views and beliefs, it important that the public take responsibility for the information that we consume. After all, there is always the “off” button on the remote control.
To give some insight into the scale of the problem posed by the serial killer, in the United States can be gained from examining the statistics for just one year. In 1989 (the last year for which detailed figures are available) there were 21,500 recorded homicides, of which some 5,000 are unsolved. Unofficial sources believe that as many as a hundred serial killers may be at large at any given time. Add to this the number of known victims of serial killers, then between 3,500 and 5,000 people are killed by serial murderers every year. (Lane and Gregg 3)
Throughout society there are both individuals and groups of people with a wide range of perceptions about crime and justice. These perceptions are influenced by the media and what the media presents. Media presents crime stories in ways that selectively distort and manipulate public perception, thus creating a false picture of crime. Therefore the media provides us with perceptions and social constructions about our world. Firstly I will be discussing the role of the media in constructing knowledge about crime. I will begin by explaining why the media is important, and go further to explain that media representations construct knowledge of crime and since knowledge about crime is constructed it does not necessarily capture reality in fact crime stories are often sensationalised. I will then link this to my central argument that the media shapes people’s perceptions of crime and how this is important as it can lead to changes in the law. I will then explain what it is that the public or society needs to be aware of when reading and watching media reports about crime. We need to be aware of bias and moral panics that are created by the media and how the media shapes or influence’s public perception through this, it is important for us to be aware of misleading or false crime stories so that we are not swayed by the media in believing what they want us to believe.
Morgan, R., Maguire, M. And Reiner, R. (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Legal Information Institute. (2010, August 9). Retrieved February 17, 2012, from Cornell University Law School: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/criminal_law
Federal Bureau of Investigaiton. (2010, December 22). Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January –June, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjs/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s./2010/preliminary-crime-in-the-us-2009