Summary Of Criminal Justice By Victor Chen

Victor Chen adopts a critical view of the media’s role in the reporting of criminal justice. He uses a compare and contrast method to etch his thesis and it is one in which it attempts to convince the reader of the distortion in representation and perception of crime by the media to create sensationalism. In order to flesh out his thesis, he organizes his argument by the block method to highlight the differences between the incidence of violent crime and the sentencing of criminals.

Chen’s block method is taken directly from a lawyers’ playbook during court proceedings. However, he lays out his case in plain language so as not to lose anyone in the legal jargon. He develops a line of inquiry with the issue of incidence of violent crime by first

articulating the problem, then naming the accused by highlighting their misdeed and then supporting it with evidence and facts. The block method offers Chen a way to compare and contrast between two aspects of the criminal justice system in order to flesh out the distortion created by the media. In essence, Chen organizes the structure of his arguments using block method because it questions the credibility and authority of sensationalist media reporting.
Chen also uses evidence to support his arguments and to convince readers of his thesis. He draws a premise on a specific crime and follows this by reporting crime statistics. The facts serve as an important tool to question the validity of sensationalist reporting by the media, especially in cases of violent crime. For instance, he highlights the disparity in reporting and coverage to illustrate the emphasis media places on covering violent crimes, thereby skewing reality and achieving the goal of media’s own corporate agenda, instead of accurately informing the public on crime.
The purpose of contrasting both the image and reality of the justice system is to encourage readers to be more critically aware and less complacent of the information that is mediated through the media. It serves to diminish the field of distortion by equipping and empowering the public to view media reports of crime using a critical lens. Chen also employs rhetorical questions to encourage readers to link his evidence and arguments for themselves. The rhetorical question therefore serve to actively engage the reader, rather than simply allowing them to passively accept the ideas expressed by Chen.
Ultimately, Chen’s adoption of the block method as a compare and contrast tool, introduction of evidence through statistics and the use of rhetorical questions to engage his reader, allow him to present a clear, articulate and compelling argument on the intentional distortion of crime by media organisations.