Becker’s (1963) discussion of dope smokers, Young’s (1971) study of drug takers and Cohen’s (1972) analysis of Mods and Rockers attempted to demonstrate processes of ‘labelling’, ‘deviance amplification’, ‘moral panic’ and ‘moral entrepreneurship.' The scene that Cohen sets with the Mods and Rockers ‘event’ (p31) and his analysis of the media’s influence is the bedrock of his moral panic. It provides us with the opportunity to identify other events where the amplification (or exaggeration and distortion) of deviance is done by the media by ‘over reporting’ (Cohen, 1972, p31). As noted by Becker (1963)‘the problem must be exaggerated to heighten concern, so the public can support the agenda of “moral entrepreneurs” (Cited in Mitchell, 2001).
‘If we do not take steps to preserve the purity of blood, the Jew will destroy civilisation by poisoning us all.’ (Hitler, 1938)
‘Surely if the human race is under threat, it is entirely reasonable to segregate AIDS victims, otherwise the whole of mankind could be engulfed.’ (The Daily Star, 2 December 1988)
Although an extreme illustration, the above quotes serve to set up the creation of a 'moral panic'. Just as Hitler's 'facts' were unfounded, so too were The Daily Star and what resulted from both incidents was, in effect, the persecution of two minority groups within society. These two examples highlight the difficulty in debating or discussing crime in the setting of fear and moral panic. It is likely to have negative consequences and is unlikely to provide intelligent and well balanced solutions.
Critics have questioned the 30 year legitimacy of Cohen’s moral panic on various grounds. Critcher (1978) stressed that future moral panic analysis should provide a more nuanced interpretation of Cohen’s model, concluding a useful, ideal type, a unique ‘processual model of moral panics’ but its structure is too sequential for moral panics to necessarily follow and adhere. McRobbie et al (1995) notes that Cohen’s model of moral panic is outdated due to the high level of different media that is available and the fact that moral panics are now a part of everyday newspaper reporting. This is direct contrast with Thompson's (1998) claim that moral panics are becoming more frequent and pervasive. A possible middle ground could be to adopt the phrase preferred by Shevory (2004), ‘media’ panic rather than moral panic. Shevory notes that the over use of the concept of moral panic, has sometimes had the unfortunate effect of erasing historical and cultural distinctions. For him, what is most important about Cohen's work is its emphasis on mass communication as a mechanism for encouraging panic and the political effects that flow from that.
Cohen’s influence goes much further, in particular his work on Social Control and his leading book in this area Visions of Social Control (1985). He provides criminologists and sociologists alike with an analysis on the various ways that the state has evolved as it ‘responds to behaviour and people it regards deviant, problematic, worrying, threatening, troublesome or undesirable in one way or another’ (p17).
In order to make more sense of Cohen’s theory it is useful to make at least two distinctions between modes of social control. The first mode can be thought of as ‘hard line’ social control, which includes the ‘hard’ tactics used by such groups as the FBI to directly undermine and abolish radical movements. The second mode of social control includes less direct modes of oppression, such as the control of dissent through the legal regulation of physical space. In Visions of Social Control, Cohen attempts to understand how ‘soft line’ social control is an equally effective tool of the state for maintaining control. He maintains that the method of ‘inclusion’ is characterised by ‘soft’ approaches to deviance. Cohen describes ‘inclusion’ as the desire to deal with offenders and deviants in the community, to dismantle state apparatus, to decentralize and to root solutions in a community-based approach. Under this mode of social control ‘deviants are retained, as long as possible within conventional social boundaries and institutions, there to be absorbed’.
This is what Cohen refers to as the ‘net widening’(p84) effect whereby community programmes and social diversion suck children in at a younger age. Children are now brought into the police network much earlier through the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which introduces antisocial behavioural orders (ASBO’s), curfews and, for those under 10, exclusion orders. Since 1999 there have been over 5,000 antisocial behavioural orders issued by all courts across the country which has not reduced the prison population but simply led to an increase in numbers controlled and the extent of control. Furthermore a probation sentence may now be passed which can remain in force for one or two years. This noticeably increases the numbers controlled at any one time by the criminal justice system.
Cohen also observed that not only are the numbers controlled increased but the level of intervention in their lives is increased (‘thinning the mesh’). In older probationary systems the level of intervention was low but newer schemes such as the community rehabilitation orders are punitive and demanding, ‘satisfying the aims of both integration and reparative justice’(p108). Like many other control theories, Cohen’s cannot explain all types of criminality or delinquency but then no theory ever could. Nevertheless it remains a useful approach and there will always be crimes which people are willing to commit no matter how great their stake in conformity. There have also been many policy suggestions which have arisen from this field, in particular the ideas which will assist families, schools and other socialising organisations.
The world Cohen sees is a world full of sufferings: wars, torture, wrongful and dreadful imprisonment, genocide. Whilst there are both people who are the victims of this, and others who victimize, Cohen’s concern is with a third group: those who turn a blind eye. In States of Denial (2002) Cohen represents the notion of denial as a complex ‘unconscious defence mechanism for coping with guilt, anxiety and other disturbing emotions aroused by reality’(p21). Cohen’s approach originates from the Freudian perception of reality and denying, where the defence mechanism of denial derives from the unconscious. It also echo’s the thinking of Sartre and his theory of bad faith. As Stevenson (1974) describes ‘Bad faith is the attempt to escape anguish by pretending to ourselves that we are not free. We try to convince ourselves that our attitudes and actions are determined by our character, our situation, our role in life, or anything other than ourselves.’
Looking at the perpetrators of atrocities - from Nazi Germany to apartheid South Africa via the years of military dictatorship in South America - Cohen notes "the unedifying ways in which most people comply with authority"(p187). Denial of responsibility inevitably follows one of four paths: obedience to superiors, conformity with society, necessity or splitting of the personality. A recent example of such a denial is the torturing which occurred by U.S. Marshall’s on Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. the dominant response by the Bush administration has been to deny the scope and the causes of torture by laying all blame on a few “aberrant” individuals. They denied the claims that such practices were systematic and rampant in other U.S. military prisons. Cohen agonises why people turn away and ignore this kind of degrading treatment. The right not to be tortured is stronger than the right to life and if torture is systematic and routine in such systems then it is up to the people to do something about it.
Cohen is primarily concerned with the ways in which information about atrocities and suffering is transmitted to a larger audience. For scholars, Cohen argues that the empirical problem is not to uncover more evidence of denial, but to find the conditions under which information is acknowledged and acted upon. This however is not straightforward. It is Cohen who admits that the ‘ability to deny is an amazing human phenomenon’(p50) and unless he is using his own sensationalism here then it is rather ambitious to hope to change the way people deny atrocities and suffering. Credit to Cohen though, he has prompted a ‘new’ social movement: the globalization of information networks with an aim to increase public awareness of human suffering.
Cohen has identified new perspectives, ideas and interpretations that open up a large range of impetuses for experts and researchers. His attention to detail has given everyone something to think about. There is no denying that he has played a great part in the way we understand the effect of crime on criminals and society, methods of crime prevention, and the characteristics and workings of the criminal justice system to name but a few. Like all theorists, he has been subject the criticism but he continues to influence and States of Denial is a perfect example of a mind provoking, challenging and inspirational Stanley Cohen.
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References
Becker (1963) cited in Cohen, S. (1972) Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and
British Government (1994) The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. [online] available from [02.11.02]
Cohen, S. (1972) Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers. St. Martin’s Press, New York.
Cohen, S. (1985) Visions of Social Control: Crime, Punishment and Classification. Cambridge: Polity Press
Cohen, S (1995) Punishment and Social Control. Blomberg
Cohen, S. (2002) States of Denial: Knowing about Atrocities and Suffering. Cambridge: Polity Press
Critcher (1978) cited in Hall et al (1978) Policing the Crisis: Mugging, the State and Law and Order. Daily Star Newspaper (2 December 1988) [online]
Palgrave Macmillan
Hitler. A [online]
McRobbie, A. and Thornton, S. (1995) “Rethinking ‘moral panic’ for multi-mediated social worlds.”
Mitchell, J. (2001) The Moral Panic about raves: Newspaper Transmission and Legislation. [online] available from: [15.10.02].
Shevory, T (2004) Notorious HIV. The Media Spectacle of Nushawn Williams
Stevenson, L (1974) Seven Theories of Human Nature .Oxford University Press, 2nd Ed., 1987
Thompson, K. (1998) Moral Panics. Routledge, London.
Young (1971) cited in Thompson, K. (1998) Moral Panics. Routledge, London.
Williams, N (2004) Notorious HIV. The Media Spectacle of Nushawn Williams
