Media Consumption and Public Attitudes towards Police
The construction of public attitudes toward criminal justice system and law enforcement is significantly influenced by the popular media. Media consumption derives the majority of public knowledge about justice and crime. For this reason, the perception of law enforcement officials, criminals, and victims is determined by the portrayal within the media (Dowler and Zawilski, 193).
The media may distort the public perception of police portraying them as professional and heroic crime fighters. This effect is aggravated by fictional television crime shows which provide a romanticized and over-dramatized presentation of police. In this television shows the majority of crimes are solved and the criminals are successfully apprehended. The media tend to overstate the proportion of criminal investigations that result in arrest shaping an image that the law enforcement authorities are more efficient than the official statistical data demonstrates (Dowler, 109).
The public attitudes towards police discrimination and misconduct are mostly influenced by the network news consumption, compared to other types of media (Dowler and Zawilski, 200). The viewers of network news are more likely to express the opinion that the police misconduct occurs frequently. However, the examination of the impact of media on public opinion is complicated because of the features of perception of media content. Police portrayals are posed on television and in other media with both negative and positive images (Dowler and Zawilski). Thus, the media influence the image of law enforcement officials and influence the public opinion being the major source of public knowledge about justice and crime. However, the extent by which the public perception of police is shaped essentially by media is questionable. In order not to be misled by the media into a skewed view of law enforcement, justice or crimes, the individuals should evaluate the information provided by media and compare the messages from several independent sources.
Works Cited
Dowler, Kenneth, and Valerie Zawilski. "Public perceptions of police misconduct and discrimination: Examining the impact of media consumption." Journal of Criminal Justice 35.2 (2007): 193-203.
Dowler, Kenneth. "Media consumption and public attitudes toward crime and justice: The relationship between fear of crime, punitive attitudes, and perceived police effectiveness." Journal of criminal justice and popular culture 10.2 (2003): …
