Crime in America: Part II
Throughout my Crimes in America project, I chose to study and report crimes committed in and around Boston and the New England area. By doing this I was able to analyze which types of crime occur most often in the Boston area, as well as patterns and connections between these different crimes. During my research, I also found that while reporting these crimes, news outlets report from different stages in the steps in the Criminal Justice Process and add to their stories as time progresses.
One pattern that was blatantly obvious throughout my research is that the most poplar crimes reported were violent crimes. For example, 13 of the 15 crimes I researched were of an outwardly violent and aggressive nature. These crimes ranged in everything from murder, attempted murder, bombings, and stabbings, to less serious violent crimes such as disorderly conduct and breaking and entering. One reason for this pattern may be that the Boston area is a dangerous, crime-ridden place, however I am not so sure that is the case. Crimes like these, although violent, occur everywhere, everyday around the country. I believe it is actually the press and todays media that give places like Boston a violent reputation. The media’s job is to report the news as it happens, however in today’s modern media, I believe they take some liberties with was they choose to report on. Crimes with a violent nature intrigue and scare people, which is exactly the emotions the media tries to exploit in the public. Now, the media obviously doesn’t make up these crimes just to scare the public and sell newspapers, these events all did really happen to someone or something. However it is the way in which the media chooses to release the news that really shows their true motives behind their headlines.
Crimes are also reported at different stages throughout the Criminal Justice Process, and each step gives a crime a different feel to the story. For example, If a story is just breaking and the police are just beginning to investigate a crime, the media doesn’t have a whole lot of