| Description |
1 online resource (225 pages) |
|
text file |
| Summary |
When Crime Waves offers an in-depth exploration of a large number of social issues involved in the study of crime waves. Issues such as how and why crime rates change over time, why some types of crime and not others come in waves, and the role played by the mass media, politicians, and interest group leaders in the promotion of crime waves are discussed to help students develop analytical skills and apply them to real-world situations. offers an in-depth exploration of a large number of social issues involved in the study of crime waves. Issues such as how and why crime rates change over t. |
| Contents |
1. What are crime waves? -- Defining crime waves -- Social constructionism -- The criminal content of crime waves -- Victims -- Offenders -- Criminal events -- Places -- The nature of waves -- Some uses of crime waves -- Politicians -- Media personnel -- Experts -- Policing agencies -- Offenders -- Victims -- Security industry -- Conclusion -- 2. Why do crime rates go up and down? : dislocation, diffusion and innovation -- The demography of offending -- Maleness -- Youthfulness -- Social dislocations -- War -- How the West became wild -- Economic dislocations -- Institutional breakdown -- Diffusion -- Copycat copycat -- Innovation -- Social innovations : shifts in routine activities -- Market innovation -- Technological innovations -- Conclusion -- 3. Crime waves by the numbers -- Numerate and innumerate consumers -- The statistics of crime waves -- Statistics in the raw -- Emergent problems -- Statistical record keeping as a social process -- Redefinition -- Tolerance -- Bookkeeping quality -- The manipulation of statistical records -- Statistics in the media -- Where does statistical news come from? -- Statistics and the news flow -- Statistical news and news values -- Statistical news can be entertaining -- Statistical news is important -- Statistical news is objective news -- Conclusion -- 4. Mass media and crime waves -- Importance of crime to mass media -- The increase in crime coverage -- An increase in carrying capacity -- Diffusion of newsgathering technology -- Changes in journalistic mores -- Politicization of crime -- Programmatic change -- How do the news media cover crime? -- Atypicality -- Simplicity -- Personification -- Status quo orientation -- Why do media cover crime as they do? -- Making news -- Crime sources -- How do media generate crime waves? -- Conclusion. |
|
5. That's the rumor -- Talking about crime -- Rumors and legends -- The rumor process -- Rumors and networks -- Interpersonal and mass communications -- Technological innovation and rumor transmission -- Rumors of war -- The social implications of talk -- Conclusion -- 6. Being afraid -- The meaning of fear -- Cognitive dimensions -- Affective dimensions -- Behavioral dimensions -- What are we afraid of? -- Who is afraid? -- Gender -- Age -- Race and income -- Community of residence -- Victim status -- Access to crime news -- Do rising crime levels cause fear? -- Does fear cause rising crime levels? -- The (ir)rationality of fear -- When fear goes wild -- Conclusion -- 7. Crime waves and public policy -- The political context -- We're going to war -- Policy and problem image -- Searching for the panacea -- Cost-effectiveness -- Immediate gains -- Clear logic -- Good intentions -- Evidence of success -- Hungry for a solution -- When social control becomes the problem -- Conclusion -- 8. Crime waves : a skeptic's guide -- Are crime rates really going up? -- What causes the sudden shifts in crime levels? -- Can we really trust crime statistics? -- Are my own experiences (and those of my friends) a useful guide to whether crime levels are increasing? -- What are we to make of the media obsession with crime? -- These stories I have been hearing from so many people have to be true, don't they? -- The fear of crime is irrational, right? -- It's fear that drives the justice system response, isn't it? -- A rising crime level is a simple problem with a simple solution, right? -- When interventions are followed by falling crime levels, can we assume cause and effect? |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-199) and index. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Crime.
|
|
Crime. |
|
Criminology.
|
|
Criminology. |
|
Criminal statistics.
|
|
Criminal statistics. |
|
Mass media and crime.
|
|
Mass media and crime. |
|
Criminal justice, Administration of.
|
|
Criminal justice, Administration of. |
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
|
|
Electronic books.
|
| Other Form: |
Print version: 9780761927839 |
| ISBN |
9781452245454 (electronic book) |
|
1452245452 (electronic book) |
|
0761927832 (paperback) |
|
9780761927839 (paperback) |
|
