Seminar 2 – Measuring Crime and Crime in Culture and media
Textbook Reading
T Newburn, Criminology, chapter three (not section on Data on offenders), and chapter four OR
Case, Johnson, Manlow et al, Criminology, chapter five and chapter seven
Essential Reading
S. Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics, 3rd edn (London: Taylor and Francis) 2002, pp. 161-171
M Valverde, ‘Questions of Security: A Framework for Research’ (2011) 15 Theoretical Criminology
– This is a very difficult reading. The point of the seminar is to explore difficult ideas, however, so please come along ready to discuss it.
R. Reiner, Law and Order: An Honest Citizens Guide to Crime and Control (Cambridge Polity Press) 2007, pp. 61-70
Recommended Additional Reading
Tim Newburn, Key Readings in Criminology, Chapter Three and Chapter Four Questions to think about:
Section A – Crime and the Media
1. Do media representations of crime correlate with our knowledge of the reality of crime gauged from statistics?
2. What impact do these representations have on our perceptions of crime?
3. What impact do these representations have on rates of criminal behaviour?
4. Is it easy to assess this impact?
5. Why is the general public interested in stories about crime and criminals?
6. What is meant by the term ‘folk devil’ and ‘moral panic’?
7. What is meant by the term ‘deviancy amplification’?
8. Do newspapers cherry-pick the ‘victims’ they feel are worthwhile writing about?
9. Do media representations of crime contribute to a view that some groups are more likely to be the victims or perpetrators of crime?
