Running head: Crime Theories
Crime Theories
Clifton C. Staples
CJ Philosophy Policy

Do crime myths impact criminal justice policies?

The manner in which criminal justice policies are created, solidified and employed are questionable at times dependent upon where the nucleus or core originated. Public scrutiny, media coverage, blogs, Internet sites are just a few examples of arenas where crime myths are created and perpetrated. These volcanic eruptions in mainstream society, stir the pot, drive public perception and create non-factual based chaos and mayhem, forcing heads of state and politicians into full effect to create safety measure to mitigate such instances from occurring again. These policies at times can take on a life of it’s own and cause more harm then good in certain situations.
“The news media are not mirrors, simply reflecting events in society. Rather, media content is shaped by economic and marketing considerations that frequently override traditional journalistic criteria for newsworthiness” (Beale, 2006, p. 397). Immigration laws, sexual assaults, drug use, gang violence, gun control are just a few of the many examples of media led myths that lives and breathes in the circulating media sources, which “through agenda setting and priming, the news media's relentless emphasis increases public concern about crime and makes it a more important criteria in assessing political leaders” (Beale, 2006, p. 398). During the recent 2014 election cycle the barrage of political commercials were endless where you could not turn on a television without some politician making a claim to preserve or abolish the second amendment right by lobbying or supporting some sort of gun bill. This saturated forum of non-stop information of crime in the news media poses a strong risk in skewing American public opinion, increasing the support for various