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How can the media affect public perception of crime
How can the media affect public perception of crime
Media affects crime essay
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Every morning on my way to school I often pick up the Red Eye newspaper and read the latest news happening in Chicago. As I skim the pages I often see a section that shows the homicide tracker in the city of Chicago. This section of the newspaper shows numerous of deaths occurred in a month in a specific area. Consequently, similar to this homicide tracker on the newspaper the following articles have about the same homicide stories that have occurred in the city of Chicago years ago. In the book The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson illustrates the dreadful events about crime, violence, and illness all leading to death; The Coldest Case: The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre by Jonathan Eig describes a tragic murder of six men by the mob making Chicago seen as a gangland murder capital; The Untouchables by Eliot Ness tells the conflict Eliot Ness experienced trying to put the gangster Al Capone out of business, and For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz Age Chicago by Simon Baatz retells the case of judge Clarence Darrow which was to defend two boys of receiving the death penalty. The combination of these three stories shows serious issues such as crime, corruption and violence that are plaguing Chicago.
In these stories one of the most serious issues plaguing Chicago is crime. Crime in the article The Coldest Case: The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre is seen as the most amazing crime in Chicago’s amazing criminal history (Eig). Larson illustrates a scene of crime as he says, “He spotted mutilated bodies on the floor and inhaled the stench of blood. That is not the only historical issue plaguing Chicago for crime, but the book For the Thrill of it by Simon Baatz also explains its crime background. Baat...
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...ite City should be put in consideration primarily. Very often people might see on the news that crime happens every day and violence and corruption are part of it. To promote a better society to future generations these serious issues should be taken into action adequately to minimize numerous deaths in the city of Chicago.
Works Cited
Baatz, Simon. For the Thrill of It. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2008. Print. “Chicago’s Promise.” Perrysburg Journal. 29 Oct 1892. Web. 20 Sept 2011
Darrow, Clarence. “The Loeb-Leopold Tragedy.” Chicago Stories. Ed. John Miller and geneviene Danderson, San Francisco: Chronicle Books 1993, 201-207. Print.
Eig, Jonathan. “The Coldest Case” Chicago Magazine. Chicago Tribune, May 2010 Wela 28 Sept 2011g Journal. 29 Oct 1892. Web. 20 Sept 2011
Larson, Eric. The Devil in the White City. New York. Vintage Books, 2003. Print.
Two murders within 6 weeks from each other committed by teenagers is a major problem presented in the heart of America. When Ron Powers heard of these crimes, one happening in his hometown, Hannibal, MO, his eyes were opened to this problem of today’s children and traveled back to find out just what went wrong. Growing up in Hannibal, considered by many to be ‘America’s Hometown’, the author never experienced greed, hate, or envy as a child. The most responsibility he had was being a traffic officer and save children from getting hit by passing cars as they crossed the street. What baffles Ron Powers is what has happened to today’s youth, what has changed in the way children are raised these days that create this loss of innocence, which is why he set out to try and find out what happened through interviews in Hannibal. I feel he successfully expresses his ideals on society through memories of his own compared to the two recent murders and everything he finds out through the interviewing.
In Cold Blood, a novel written by Truman Capote and published in 1966, is, though written like fiction, a true account of the murder of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas in 1959. This evocative story illuminates new insights into the minds of criminals, and how society tends to act as a whole, and achieves its purpose by utilizing many of the techniques presented in Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor. In In Cold Blood, Capote uses symbols of escape and American values, and recurring themes of egotism and family to provide a new perspective on crime and illustrate an in-depth look at why people do the things they do.
Erik Larson’s book Devil in the White City is full of magic and madness that has shaped the society of the late 19th century that is specific to in Chicago. The issues that have been handled through this time frame that are addressed in this book is that how Chicago was known to be the black city at first, and how the city hoped that hosting the World’s fair would increase their reputation. Secondly, the magic of a man named Daniel Burnham that did put the plans of the world fair in Chicago into life and the obstacles that he had overcame. Next, once the world fair was complete, it has made Chicago “The White city,” by its dazzling designs and attractions that made it memorable. Then, the madness of H.H. Holmes and how his evil deeds has seemed to undermine the world fair and the things that are going on within it with his murders and treachery that does grip Chicago once his evil deeds have been found out. Finally, the events that happened in the world fair that relate to the issues that occur in the late ninetieth century within the United States. The city of Chicago was in a desolate condition before it hosted the World Fair.
On April 19th, 1989, Trisha Meili was the victim of violent assault, rape, and sodomy. The vicious attack left her in a coma for 12 days and The New York Times described it as “one of the most widely publicized crimes of the 1980’s.” The documentary, The Central Park Five, reveals the truth about what happened the night of April 19th, and how the subordinate group of young black boys were wrongly convicted. Analyzing the conflict theory of crime in association to the case of the central park five, understanding the way they were treated based on setting, why it was so easy for the law enforcement to pin the crime on the young black boys, and how wrongly convicting someone has great consequences along with relating it
When help presented itself, many of the people at least made an effort to change and realize that violence was not the answer. The amount of people that are shot and killed in Chicago is a surprising number. Many of the violence does not come from someone necessarily being a bad person, but someone who is unwilling to back down from any situation (Kotlowitz, 2012). In Chicago many believe that “death before dishonor” is a good motto to live life by (Kotlowitz, 2012). The funerals that people attend are just a reminder to them, that one day the way they live their lives on the street will catch up to them (Kotlowitz, 2012). The violence interrupters are working hard in Chicago to help the people in the society, but if people do not want to change it is hard to make a difference (Kotlowitz, 2012). The people in Chicago also have to put in the work to make the community a better place, so that they feel safe leaving their houses instead of feeling like “every time [they] go outside somebody is going to get killed” (Kotlowitz,
This book review was on the book of Race Riot: Chicago in the Red Summer of 1919. It was a long-term study done by William M. Tuttle, Jr. Its objective was to make a comprehensive documentation of the events of 1919 in Chicago. The book dealt with all aspects and perspectives of the event. The author’s objective was to leave no stone uncovered. That every aspect would be talked about in detail. Some important aspects that he arose throughout the book are going to be the focal point of this book review.
The increase in population due to the Great Migration led Chicago to be the nation’s fastest growing city. In the city, homicide rates increased dramatically. The nature of homicide among African Americans in Chicago changed when the traditional impulsive violence between young boys became family violence or fights with acquaintances. Essentially, the Southern African Americans who moved to northern cities for freedom still experienced discrimination in jobs and housing from whites living in the neighborhoods prior. Many of them became frustrated about this and proceeded to demonstrate that through violence. In result of the increased violence, juvenile courts were developed. To address the concerns of juvenile delinquency, Chicago initially advocated courts to punish them for the acts of violence. The courts were filled with cases of violence between races due to the increasing racial tensions in neighborhoods throughout Chicago. Often, racist comments would be made, or an African American would fight against segregation or speak out and there would be a fight. Acts of violence became more and more common throughout the city and the juvenile courts were only one way to attempt to solve it. In Standing at Armageddon: A Grassroots History of the Progressive Era, it is said that the violence in Chicago was “the
Kerr, Walter. "'Chicago' Comes On Like Doomsday." Rev. of Chicago. New York Times 8 June 1975, Arts and Leisure sec.: 109. New York Times Archives. New York Times. Web. 1 May 2014.
Alleys are not the safest in South Side Chicago, then again walking through any area of Chicago at night is like writing an invitation to your own funeral. The alleyway was long and narrow with apartment complexes parallel to each other, graffiti covering their tall walls. It was very bleak and shadowy, a broken shop sign would flicker a few times towards the path’s end. The smell of rotting garbage and feces filled it’s thick air. Clarence could tolerate the darkness and aroma, although what drove him crazy were the voices. At first, Clarence believed they were from the occupants of the apartments, but to his disbelief they soon started calling out his name in soft whispers. Each night the murmurs would get closer and more clear, yet they remained at the same soft spoken volume, “Clarence, get them, shoot them all.!”,
CNN presents the documentary, Homicide in Hollenbeck, spotlighting gang activity in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollenbeck. This documentary explores the subculture of gangs existing within Hollenbeck from a several perspectives. The people documented include a mother who lost both of her sons to gang violence, a priest that has tried to help rehabilitate gang members, a police officer that has worked in Hollenbeck for five years in the gang unit, and a current gang member. For a conclusion, Homicide in Hollenbeck focuses on a juvenile exposed to gang life on the cusp of decided where they want their life to lead; gangs or freedom. Problems attributed to the high rate of gang activity and number of gangs in Hollenbeck are the high poverty rate, low employment rate, and broken families that make up the majority of Hollenbeck. The crime most discussed, as per the title of the documentary, is homicide The number of gang related homicides has risen even though the criminal behavior of gangs has ultimately decreased in the neighborhood. In order to fight the overwhelming gang presence, the police believe in increasing the amount of gun power on the streets and number of jailed gang members. The priest who runs Homeboy Industries stated that he feels most gang members are just young men who can’t get out of the gang life. With more funds and opportunities, he thinks the problem could be decreased. In the end, the documentary mentions that the FBI has formed a gang center where local law enforcement agencies can share information to gain more knowledge and to better fight the presence of gangs.
Crime is a really big problem in Detroit right now. On September 30, 2008, there was a man gunned down as he walked out the church doors of his mother’s funeral. As if this sight wasn’t shocking enough, some of the members that were attending the funeral drew guns and returned fire at the gunmen. The pastor of the church, Rev. Walter Cheeks had this to say: “Next thing I know I look up and then everybody shooting, I mean I never had seen nothing like it.”
In the city of Chicago, the sale of guns is forbidden because of an ordinance that went into effect in 2010. There were 432 murders in 2010 and 500 murders in 2012. As a result, the city’s ordinance did nothing to reduce its murder
HISTORICAL CONTEXT: In Cold Blood, a 1966 book by author Truman Capote, tells the true story of the barbaric 1959 murders of a successful farmer from Holcomb, Kansas, Herbert Clutter, his wife, and two of their four children. When Capote was informed about the murder of these four innocent souls before the two selfish men were captured, he decided to travel to Kansas and write about the crime. Nelle Harper Lee, a childhood friend and fellow author, accompanied him and together they interviewed local residents and investigators assigned to the case. As a result, thousands of pages of notes were documented for Capote’s literary works. The murderers, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, were arrested six weeks after the murders and after the criminals were found, tried, and convicted, Capote organized personal interviews with both Smith and Hickock. Capote portrayed Smith as the more sensitive and guilt-ridden of the two killers due to his fascination with Smith. Rumors of a relationship between Smith and Capote still linger to this day. The book was not completed until after Smith and Hickock were executed. Capote ended up spending six years dedicated to his book, which became the greatest crime seller at the time and is almost universally acknowledged as one of the best books of its type ever written.
Chicago. What is the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of the name? Is it mobsters, gambling, gangs, murders or more simply put, one of the most violent cities in Americas’ history? Unbeknownst, this is what most people would think first, unless you have done extensive research or you are a history junkie. Chicago derived its’ name from a Miami Indian tribe in relation to the wild leeks that grew on the banks of the Chicago River. Long before crime and violence riddled the city, Chicago was home to the Miami, Sauk, Fox, and Potawatomi tribes. Fort Dearborn, which was built on the south bank of the Chicago River in 1803, was destroyed in 1812 and rebuilt in 1816. In 1830, lots were sold to finance the Illinois and Michigan Canal, thus paving way for the great city we now call Chicago. The Black Hawk War of 1832 ended the final phase of the Native American resistance in the northern area.
Ages, Languages, and Styles all varied throughout the streets of Chicago. 400 Thousand people gathering together for the same reason: the love of music. Anticipation flowing through the air as lines grew farther from the entrance. Faintly hearing the music while shuffling to the front. Making our way in I had to stop for a second. Suffocated by the overwhelming amount of music, I realized that there was no other place I’d rather be right now.