The Impact of Media Portrayals on Public Perception of Crime

Criminal incidents prevail in the media's top stories, entertaining and shocking people worldwide. The media plays the most prominent role in the creation of crime through facets such as filter and emphasis. Established as a portrayal of crimes and their outcomes, media representation determines how society and people view criminals and their victims. Not only does this coverage change the perception, but it also elevates the perception of risk and shapes attitudes toward the police and criminal justice policies. The daily fix of dramatic and sometimes manipulative crime stories skews their view on crime rates, and citizens become more uncomfortable with the world they live in. In addition, distorted portrayals help foster social prejudices and alter the public perception of the different racial and social groups involved in the crime. Therefore, this essay concludes that the media is central to shaping people’s beliefs, perceived risk of crime, and attitudes toward the police and Criminal Justice policies, hence the need to exercise critical scrutiny.

Media Representation of Crime

In the case of the public perception of crime, media selectiveness and sensationalism bear considerable influence. Traditionally, the media is thought to report violent crimes more than non-violent ones, therefore changing the way people perceive crime levels. Sensationalism is widespread because it involves using shocking and, at times, highly sensational stories to attract viewers. This kind of approach only serves to perpetuate racial and ethnic bias, with minorities primarily depicted as criminals. For example, Nix et al. (2020) found out that a more significant proportion of African Americans and Latinos are depicted as criminals in news articles and broadcasting; hence, the prejudice continues. Moreover, gender prejudices in crime reporting contribute to portraying males as offenders and females as victims, thereby promoting conventional gender roles and stereotypes (Walker et al., 2020). These biased representations are from news broadcasts, TV dramas, and social platforms, which are part of the discourse system that is most connected to the people. Therefore, such representations may lead to distortion of the perception of crime and criminals and how they exist in society.

Influence on Public Perception

Concerning crime, media coverage influences the public rate of fear of crime and the perception they hold about criminals and victims. This is due to exaggerated reports where people hear more about crime incidences and believe crime rates are rising when they are not. Anthony & Crofts (2024) revealed that persons often exposed to crime media products overestimate victimization risks. This increased level of fear could lead to punitive action and a cynical view of the concept of dangerous communities. Also, the depiction of criminals that make race or ethnic origin conspicuous plays a significant role in the biased preparation of various attributes to specific groups with undesirable impacts on the formulation of policies. Similarly, victims might be empathized with or represented as having only themselves to blame for suffering. This kind of selective sympathy can also affect how the public perceives justice and victim support services. Thus, it is essential to understand how crime is depicted in media and how it influences people’s perceptions of crime, which is also not always true.

Impact on Attitudes Toward Law Enforcement

Media portrayal of crimes significantly influences the public's perception of law enforcement agencies. The negative portrayals include today’s reports that portray police brutality, thus reducing the public’s confidence in police departments. This is according to Griego (2021) in his research that showed that with an increase in coverage of police brutality, there is a decrease in citizen’s trust in the police. On the other hand, the media fans law enforcement through positive stories and portrayals in all television dramas, setting high expectations for the police. This duality affects the attitudes toward law enforcement policies, shifting the public opinion between requiring more police accountability and increasing severe punishment for criminals. For example, there have been some changes in the viewers' attitudes due to the media's influence on issues like stop-and-frisk or body cameras. Variations in trust and support demonstrate the media’s significant impact on public perception and opinion regarding law enforcement, which can switch depending on the promoted story.

The Media’s exaggeration of the risk of crime distills anxieties and calls for stringent law enforcement measures. The coverage maintains a constant on crime, implying that crime is always present, unlike painting it as a rare event. Therefore, the audience might find police state and surveillance necessary for their protection even though some of the incidents shown in the programs are staged. Thus, relying on the study of Mastrorocco & Ornaghi (2020), the current analysis demonstrated that the audience that consumes more crime news is more likely to support the aggressive tactics of police officers. Understanding crime in the media is critical to avoid such biased perspectives from governing the thought process of society and policymakers.

Influence on Criminal Justice Policies

Criminal justice policies are primarily determined by the social construction of crime through media coverage. Encouraged by political pressure from the public, Panic created by the media causes political leaders to act tough to meet the demands of the public due to the created fear. For instance, high-profile cases result in ‘get tough on crime’ legislation since politicians aim to satisfy an enraged public (Rosen et al., 2022). Newcomb (2024) did a report that showed how the media escalated the public’s demand for harsher sentencing laws in most states. Moreover, the representation of some crimes means a shift of focus, with more attention being paid to heavily advertised crimes instead of other equally important ones. Media influence in forming public opinion tends to lean towards punitive rather than rehabilitative measures, influencing the general effect of criminal justice reform. It also showed that media can act as agents for legislative reform based on certain high-profile cases, and thus, balanced reporting is necessary for proper policy making. As such, media representations are influential in determining criminal justice policies, which result in reactive rather than preventive approaches.

Additionally, it notes that police representation in the media does not present the structural problems in a police department but looks at a particular event or a policeman. This results in selective reporting that results in a misguided public that perhaps sees these problems as an exception instead of an inherent societal feature. Failing to discuss various reform processes needed for a change points to the fact that promoting singular cases of misconduct as a solution only deepens a flawed system presented as a solution to the problem. Further, Gross et al. (2020) stress that the media should go deeper into the roots of police misconduct for more informed discourses on reforming the police. Therefore, recognizing both the positive and negative aspects of media portrayals, one could start wondering whether fair reporting might help to rebuild the necessary trust in police forces and develop a healthier public discussion of particular policies and procedures used by law enforcement agencies.

Conclusion

Media coverage plays a critical role in the social construction of crime, including perception, fear of crime, and attitudes towards police and criminal justice policies. As explained above, the portrayal of crime and its sensationalized presentation forms the bias that the public holds, such as racism and gender prejudices. It results in an amplified perception of crime risk wherever one is and, in equal measure, twisted perceptions of both offenders and victims. Moreover, the media influences public perception towards the police force in the wrong, as well as overly positivist representations that work to demoralize the force at times or set up unrealistic expectations. They also shape social criminal justice policies as various sections of the population are pressured into demanding harsher penalties by sensationalized crime reports. Thus, it is apparent that the media has a tremendous influence on perception and policymaking, stressing the importance of reporting media literacy to enhance the public’s understanding of crime and its consequences.