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Statement In Relation To A Major And Growing Social Problem Of Hate Crime

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Statement In Relation To A Major And Growing Social Problem Of Hate Crime
Essay Question: 'Crime is a major and growing social problem'. Critically discuss this statement in relation to a crime type of your choice.

Essay Plan
- My essay will explore hate crimes and how it has become a major growing social issue through the impacts it has on certain groups within society. This is partly fuelled by the role of the media and their power to influence the perspectives of individuals.
- To support this argument, the following points will be made:
• Hate crime can be examined in three broad perspectives (Boeckmann, 2002). The perspectives of society’s responses, the perpetrators motives and the victims experience can all be used to gain further insight to the main cause and continuous growth of such crimes.
• The depiction …show more content…
Have the LGBT been increasingly victimised as a result of recent policies such as the legalisation of same-sex marriage? And is it these laws that contribute to the growth of hate crime? The text is most informative in discovering the impacts of hate crime in the LGBT community, but its narrow perspective fails to analyse the impacts on society as a whole. It also fails to examine the origin of hate crime and if the criminals only harm certain communities, thus making it a less informative source for this essay.

Colomb, W. and Damphousse, K. (2004) Examination of Newspaper Coverage of Hate Crime: A Moral Panic Perspective, American Journal of Criminal Justice, 28(2), pp. 147-163

The text explores the role of media in constructing social problems and how it can create moral panic in society. It emphasises that when these social problems are portrayed a particular way, it creates a negative image to certain groups or communities of people. This then contributes to the prejudice and bias-motivated violence that fuels hate crimes. The writer leaves the impression that various acts of mankind are often encouraged by the news reportage and entertainment venues. They argue that media in the US and other countries thrive on social conflicts and acts of depravity to help create profits. They also explore the legislations created to prohibit hate crimes, such as the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) introduced in
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