The media, having played a part in constructing a moral panic, may then embark upon a moral crusade against the identified folk devils with the desired outcome being for the media to distort events and use sensational headlines and dramatic styles to their writing to evoke strong feelings from those reading or watching the news.
Moral panics are specifically associated with morality and are expressed as an outrage rather than a fear. Valier, added that moral panics are a political phenomena and that the media did not create the news but only serve to reproduce and prolong dominant coverage of an issue. (2002, p, 122)
Knife crime has become an issue in contemporary Britain which is repeatedly reported through the media leading to many changes in the law surrounding the sale and use of knives. The Offensive Weapons Act 1996 is an Act to make provision about persons having knives, other articles which have a blade or are sharply pointed or offensive weapons; and about selling knives or such articles to persons under the age of sixteen years. A House of Commons document stated that “Knife-related offences, as with most types of crime, appear to affect different segments of the population to greater and lesser degrees. From the research available, it seems that children and young people, black and minority ethnic communities and populations living in poorer areas are more likely to be the victims of crime, violent crime and knife offences” (House of Commons, 2007) Knife crime has been an issue for many years and is a problem that has long been relatively neglected, tackling it effectively, however, cannot be achieved overnight. In 2003 the murder of 14-year-old by a fellow pupil in a school in Lincolnshire sparked the flickering of moral panic. The spate of stabbing stories brings to the surface a neglected problem, but Manhire believes, a knee-jerk response would only make things worse. Current concerns over knife crime add to the persistent demonisation of young people. (Manhire. 2006) Media coverage on knife crime is becoming a daily issue with varied reporting on the carrying of knives through to vicious and brutal killings by knives. In fact, the most common weapon used in a violent crime in England and Wales is not a gun - but a knife. There are almost four times more knife related killings as firearms related killings, and of the 25 violent teenager deaths nationwide since the beginning of 2007, 17 have been stabbings. (Casciani, 2007)
Steele, debated the concern of knife crime in the Telegraph and added there was not enough precise information on the scale of knife crime and the use of knives. He also added there was no indication whether knife crime was escalating or not. The deaths/injuries of people through knife crime reflect a truth which is widely recognised, even if the scale is unclear. Lane asked “if are we really witnessing a rise in so-called knife culture or is the recent coverage afforded to the issue in newspapers just a spot of media hysteria?” The media has a way of describing knife crime and will always use the most emotive language or a headline which causes us to think twice about the subject, however fail to add that the knife is merely a tool used in crime. Without dealing with the underlying causes of violent crime such as inequality and relative deprivation, programmes to reduce knife crime will have only a limited effect. Stabbings are not caused merely by the presence of a knife. . (House of Commons, 2007)
Crime and deviancy come from social interactions and from the power of social groups to identify and label certain behaviours. Crime was seen as a type of deviancy or social problem created by social groups. The behaviours are seen as against the norm within a society. Sociologists usually label a social problem as “an alleged situation that is incompatible with the values of a significant number of people who agree that action is needed to alter the situation” (Rubington and Weinberg, 2003, p 40) these problems are exacerbated by coverage from the media. The media report these deviants in the news and create fear amongst a society group, and instead of decreasing the behaviours of the labelled group, it pushes them further into the deviant behaviour.
However, although the media coverage may have created and sensationalised the events, the media did not operate on its own; there were others involved, such as social control agents, including the police and judges, and moral entrepreneurs, particularly politicians. (Thompson, pg 36, 1998)
This is shown in Cohen’s study of the Mods and Rockers in which the media were counter productive in their aims and actually made the trouble much larger and unrelenting The continuing deviancy results in greater attention from the police, which leads to more arrests and therefore further media coverage, a result of which is the deviancy amplification spiral. This spiral describes what happens when a society deprives a particular group. (Portsmouth University, p103-105) A negative social reaction escalates and the group becomes increasingly isolated, which in turn leads to the group becoming more and more criminally oriented. This spiral of deviancy could last for many weeks or go on for months, but it never spirals out of control for a number of reasons. Media interest will eventually wane and move on to other issues and, after a period of time, the folk devil becomes familiar and therefore is perceived as being less of a threat. (Jewkes, 2004. p69)
The deviancy theorists such as Cohen moved the focus of explanations for crime away from “pathology” of crime to the “social” explanations of crime. Cohen looked at the political and social processes which identified activities as crimes and the individuals as criminals. (Maguire, 2002, p 333)
The media plays a huge role in attempting to understand crime and justice. Reiner (2002) believes there are several preconditions needed for a crime to occur, including motive, means, opportunity and the absence of controls all of which the media can involve themselves in. This also accounts for fluctuating crime levels and the types of behaviours we now see as a crime. (Reiner, 2002, p 393-394)
Moral panics are seen as “ubiquitous in criminology and the sociology of deviance.” (Murji, p 177, 2001) and have become a way of seeing the power behind a society, and the way in which we are “manipulated” by the media into taking some things too seriously and other things not seriously enough. (Jewkes, 2004, pg85)
This essay has explored moral panics and looked at the recent concern over knife crime. It has become clear that the media has played a mammoth part in reporting knife crimes. The terminology and headlines used by the media cause fear amongst societies making all young people within the society appear to carry knives and behave inappropriately.
This essay has examined moral panics and looked at how they occur and also looked at what knife crime is. The essay then moved on to focus on some of the debates surrounding knife crime and how moral panics are involved in the issue of reporting crime. Finally the essay explored crime and deviance and how moral panics can explain such crime and deviance.
As I have explored in this essay knife crime is a problem and needs to be challenged by those who make the laws and by those whom protect our societies. However knife crime, stabbings, and even those whom carry a knife remain the minority.
Media representation actively contributes to a society’s construction of crime and also improves the same societies understanding of these crimes. (Welch, Price and Yankey, 2002 p 3-30) Moral panics assist individuals to make decisions on what is right and wrong in society. Within a society, the mass media are influential voices to how the public make sense of the crime and criminal justice. For some the media is the only way of accessing information, they are a friend of the public and use this to influence opinions and feelings. As Cohen describes it, the media is a source of information to people that is similar to word of mouth, in respect to a range of problems. The moral panic creates an awareness of the problem and what actions are called for to solve it. And if the media can so successfully engage the public’s fascination, they can just as easily tap into and increase people’s fears about crime.
The moral panic over knife crime as displayed by the mass media, only serves to re-emphasise the significance of ‘moral panics’ in relation to criminal activity.
Word count 1881
References
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