The Media Affects On Police - 2002 Words

Media Affects On Police Josh Erwin Georgia Gwinnett College There are multiple issues the criminal justice system faces on a daily basis. One of the most recent issues the system faces is the outlook the public has on police officers. As you could imagine police and public relations are very important due to the fact that the police in all actuality work for the people. The police must preserve the rights of all individuals good and bad and without community relations it fosters mistrust, hostility, and ultimately produces anarchy. Unfortunately, in today’s world a police officer is not allowed to make any mistake and is expected to make the right decision in a split second life and death situation. Society views police officers as a†¦show more content†¦The use of less lethal alternatives are not always an option in all situations, and people who have no experience in law enforcement are sometimes unable understand why this is. The relationship between fear of crime, punitive attitudes, and perceived police effectiveness is discussed in the Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture. The article states the public knowledge of crime and justice is largely derived from the media. This statement could not be more true (Dowler, 2003). Society only knows what it is told and very few people actually do their own research other than watching the nightly local news. People watch movies and TV shows and assume what police do which can cause some major issues. The relationship between coverage of violent crime and a general fear amongst the population is studied as well. The study showed that the crime and violence portrayed on TV is actually much higher than the actual statistical data of crimes committed (Dowler, 2003). The researchers determined that the viewer internalizes the information seen on TV and truly believe that the crime portrayed is real. The effect of local news is shown to be higher for residen ts in high crime areas and those who have actually experienced victimization. The local news tells the viewers daily what is going on and the majority of the episode is violence because that is what brings viewers. If the viewers are watching the news