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Common Public Misperceptions about Crime

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Common Public Misperceptions about Crime
Common Public Misperceptions about Crime
By: Joseph Colombo

References Source retrieved on December 6, 2008 from http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st/st176/s176h.html Source retrieved on December 4, 2008 from (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgibin/fulltext/119422514/PDFSTART) Source retrieved on December 5, 2008 from. (Adweek.com) Source retrieved on December 6, 2008 from http://realcostofprisons.org/blog/archives/2005/08/incarceration_a.html

There are many common misperceptions about crime that lead to ineffective laws and policies getting passed by the government. For example the news, may have you believe that there are a lot of murders that occur on a daily basis; however murder is statistically the crime that is least likely to occur. Certain shows such as CSI Miami, COPS and NYPD Blue can also give the public a false view of crime. For example CSI gives us the misperception of what a CSI agent’s job entails. If you watch CSI, then you might think that a CSI agent’s job is full of excitement and chasing down criminals in the street. This could not be further from the truth in reality all a CSI agent really does is test the evidence that the detectives find at the crime scene. On the other hand news coverage is not connected to the actual crime and it focuses on violent crimes, rape, terrorist, and stereotypes. Even when the crime rate decreases the news coverage has been known to increase. Violent crimes are obviously more interesting then burglaries so the news reports on them; however the problem with this is that people watch the news in order to get a realistic view of what is going on in America and the world. The media and the news make it seem as if the crime rate is very high and this gives the public a poor perception of America’s criminal justice system. Other myths include that anti drug campaigns reduce teen drug use. Also that


References: Source retrieved on December 6, 2008 from http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st/st176/s176h.html Source retrieved on December 4, 2008 from (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgibin/fulltext/119422514/PDFSTART) Source retrieved on December 5, 2008 from. (Adweek.com) Source retrieved on December 6, 2008 from http://realcostofprisons.org/blog/archives/2005/08/incarceration_a.html
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