Crime Control, Politics and Policy

Peter Benekos, Alida Merlo

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317523475
• Subtopic: Public Policy
• Index: Social Sciences

This book reviews concepts, information and points of view that help to explain the context and constraints of the criminal justice system. The chapters summarize developments in public policy and crime control, and interweave themes central to the discussion: the impact of ideology, the role of the media, and the politicization of crime and criminal justice.

1
Dynamics of Criminal Justice

Since 1997, the sustained downturn in reported crime has been a major story in the United States. Even major cities like New York have experienced a continued decline in the number of violent crimes reported to police. In 2004, the number of murders in New York (570) was the lowest since 1963 (Lueck, 2005). Experts have offered various explanations ranging from better policing to tougher sentencing to stabilization of the crack drug market to an improving economy (Butterfield, 1997a, 1997b).

In the summer of 2005, however, this encouraging, optimistic news about declining crime was juxtaposed with news and television replays of the 1996 bombing at the Atlanta Olympics (which killed one woman and injured more than 100 people) and the 1998 bombing of an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama (where a police officer was killed and a nurse was seriously injured) (Rahimi, 2005). These bombings were revisited because the “terrorist bomber,” Eric Robert Rudolph (who was apprehended in May 2003, after a lengthy manhunt), was sentenced in July 2005 to two consecutive life terms for the Birmingham bombing and he is “scheduled to receive two life sentences without parole” for the Olympic bombing (Rahimi, 2005:par. 5). The news about Eric Rudolph included statements from Emily Lyons, the nurse who was permanently injured in the clinic bombing, and Felecia Sanderson, the widow of police officer Robert Sanderson, who was killed in the bombing (Rahimi, 2005).

During the summer of 2005, news reports were also focused in Idaho on the search for Shasta (age 8) and Dylan (age 9) Groene, who were missing since May 16, 2005, after their mother, brother, and the mother’s boyfriend were found bludgeoned to death in their home (Geranios, 2005). After six weeks of disappearance, Shasta was recognized in a restaurant, and police apprehended Joseph Edward Duncan III and charged him with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. Dylan’s body was later found in a camp site used by Duncan. This crime also captured attention because Duncan was a convicted sex offender who had been diagnosed as a “dangerous sexual psychopath” and had served a prison sentence for raping a 14-year-old boy at gunpoint in 1980 (CNN, 2005a). Duncan was 16 years old at the time. After being paroled in 1994, he violated parole conditions, was returned to prison in 1998, then “released again in 2000 after serving his full sentence” (“Today Show,” 2005). At the time he kidnapped the Groene children and murdered three people, he had “skipped out” on bail from Minnesota, where he had been charged with “second-degree criminal sexual conduct” for allegedly molesting two boys (“Today Show,” 2005).

Another major “story” that captured the news throughout 2004 was the murder of Laci Denise Peterson and her fetus (baby boy, Connor). This was followed by almost daily news about the investigation, arrest, trial, conviction, and sentencing of her husband, Scott Peterson (“The Laci Peterson Case,” 2005). The crime story was presented as a drama with soap opera elements, including a young, beautiful, pregnant wife, allegedly murdered by a philandering husband; another woman, Amber Frey, who had been lied to by Scott Peterson; the death of a fetus, raising issues of fetal rights; interviews with anguished parents; news briefings by opposing attorneys; a media frenzy focusing on Modesto, California; the suspense of jury deliberations; and the final sentencing verdict (death by lethal injection) (“The Laci Peterson Case,” 2005).

These stories are not a representative sampling of crime in the United States for 2005, but they do suggest a few salient generalizations and themes about crime and criminal justice:

1. Obviously, crime is news, and a significant segment of the public gains its information and understanding of crime and criminal justice from news stories presented by the media.
2. News about crime and criminal justice is frequently general, reflecting broad trends and issues. For example, aggregate data are used to report that the national crime rate is down, the number of offenders incarcerated in state and federal prisons is up, the number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty is down, and the number of cities with teen curfews is up.
3. On the other hand, the news can be specific and detailed, including childhood photos and crime scene pictures. Details about the crime, the life of the victim, and the status of the investigation all reinforce a familiarization with the crime incident. For example, Emily Lyons, the nurse who was injured by the bombing of the Woman All Woman abortion clinic, lost an eye and had more than 20 operations as a result of the explosions. After Rudolph’s sentencing, she posted an “8-page statement . . . on the Web” calling Rudolph a “monster” and declaring that “she had not received justice” (Rahimi, 2005:par. 10). Duncan’s criminal record was quickly broadcast, documenting that he was 12 years old when he committed his first sexual assault.
4. News stories often include commentary from public officials or “state managers” (Welch, Fenwick & Roberts, 1998) and experts. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani credited tough policies and police crackdowns on minor crimes as the reason for the decrease in crime in New York City (Goldberg, 1998). DiIulio suggests that mandatory and longer prison sentences have removed more offenders from the streets (1992). These statements reflect perspectives and conclusions that are not always shared. As a result, opposing views may be solicited to “balance” the reporting. For example, an improved economy may dissuade youth from entering the drug business, thus subtracting from the pool of offenders and potential victims.
5. Elected public officials are politicians who may capitalize on the news to further their political agendas and to gain support of voters. In 1996, in response to media reports of youth crime and increasing public fear of youth violence, Senator Mike Fisher (Rep. PA) proposed tougher penalties for youths using weapons when committing a felony. He also introduced legislation to lower the age to 15 for the transfer of violent youths to criminal court. Senator Fisher was elected attorney general of Pennsylvania on the promise to “get tough” on crime and offered the new state law, ACT 33, which he sponsored as evidence of his commitment to go after criminals (Durantine, 1996).

In April 2005, Florida lawmakers responded to the kidnapping and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford by proposing legislation that would require longer sentences and life-time electronic monitoring for designated sex offenders (CNN, 2005b). In May 2005, three months after Jessica Lunsford was found dead, Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed the Jessica Lunsford Act, which “establishes a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life behind bars for people convicted of certain sex crimes against children 11 and younger” (New York Times, 2005a:18).

Also in April 2005, H.R. 1505, the Jessica Lunsford Act, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, with provisions to tighten registration requirements for sex offenders (Thomas, H.R. 1505). Similarly, in July 2005, the U.S. Senate introduced the Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde Act, which would provide funding to assess the effectiveness of the electronic monitoring of sexual predators (Thomas, S. 1407). With this focus on sex offenders, the Department of Justice announced in July 2005 that a national sex offender database, with more than 500,000 registered sex offenders, was available for online searches (New York Times, 2005b).

In examining these general observations, three dynamic dimensions of criminal justice that influence crime control policy in the United States can be identified. These are helpful in explaining the dilemmas and destiny of the criminal justice system. First, the news media are instrumental in “constructing” crime stories and using celebrated cases to portray crime as a prominent social issue. One of the realities of the news industry (e.g., limited space and time to reach and attract as many consumers as possible) requires the emphasis on “extreme, dramatic cases” to generate interest in the stories (Chermak, 1994:580). Based on his content analysis of crime stories and news production, Chermak described how both the public and politicians develop distorted images and perspectives on crime (p. 580):

Although these (dramatic) incidents represent crime in its most extreme form, the public is more likely to think they are representative because of the emphasis by the media. . . . Yet the media overemphasis of celebrated cases and moral panics may be influential because people are more likely to recall these events when thinking about crime. . . .

Consequently, as will be discussed below, the public is sensitized—or oversensitized—to the crime issue and, based on distorted representations, is preoccupied with crime and fearful of being victimized. With this zeitgeist of crime as a major social issue, a second dynamic—ideology—reflects the need to explain and make sense of this social problem and to do something about it.

Attributions of crime, however, reflect different—and often opposing—assumptions and concepts of human behavior. Later discussion will suggest how ideas about crime and criminals are reflected in ideologies and public policies on crime control. It is important to note that ideology influences individual and public perspectives on crime and that the media have an important role in shaping the prevailing ideology. However, society’s dominant crime ideology also influences how the media construct crime news. In other words, “though crime news exists as a product manufactured by the media, it is shaped significantly by state managers who contribute to its distinct ideological qualities (Welch, Fenwick & Roberts, 1998:220).

This points to the final dynamic of criminal justice: politics and the politicization of crime and criminal justice. Fairchild and Webb explain that this “suggests that crime and fear of crime are being used by politicians as issues in which rhetorical and symbolic policy initiatives can enhance their popularity and electability” (1985:8). As students of United States politics understand, politicians have differing ideological perspectives regarding crime causation and control. Among the dynamics of media, ideology, and politics, it is not surprising that politicians attempt to promote their views and agendas, which tend to influence how crime news is distorted by the media. More directly stated, “crime news therefore tends to be ideological insofar as it represents a worldview of state managers (e.g., political leaders) who distort the reality of crime” (Welch, Fenwick & Roberts, 1998:220). The dynamics of these dimensions of criminal justice will be discussed further.

Media

The role of the media in informing public opinion and influencing citizen reaction to crime issues is central to understanding the framing of crime policy. With round-the-clock, up-to-the-minute news, the television viewer not only learns about local crimes but also sees victims, offenders, and crime news from around the nation and the world. Just as the news coverage of the Vietnam War influenced public sentiments about the war, the news helps to keep crime issues high on the list of public concerns and serves to heighten fears and apprehensions about victimization and public safety.

Increased technology and changes in local and national media environments have significantly altered the portrayal of crime in America. The growth of cable stations, the live broadcast of court proceedings (e.g., that of Louise Woodward, the au pair accused of killing eight-month-old Matthew Eappen), and the changing societal mores governing what is appropriate media coverage (consider Paula Jones’s sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton, as well as Clinton’s inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky), coupled with changes in programming that rely heavily on news stations, magazines, talk shows, and re-enactments of real-life crime dramas, have all affected the public’s perception of the crime problem (Sacco, 1995:145). As a result, the public has developed a “fixation on crime.” Potter and Kappeler describe the growth of the new genre of programming called “reality TV,” which is a “genetic cross between entertainment and the news” (e.g., “America’s Most Wanted,” “Unsolved Mysteries”) (1998:3).

In addition, because crime stories are presented as entertainment, viewers develop a distorted understanding of criminal investigation and “unrealistic expectations” about forensic evidence (Stockwell, 2005). For example, Stockwell described a phenomenon called the “CSI effect” (2005:29):

Prosecutors say jurors are telling them they expect forensic evidence in criminal cases, just like on their favourite television shows, including “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” In real life, forensic evidence is not collected at every crime scene, either because criminals clean up after themselves or because of a shortage of resources. Yet, increasingly, jurors are reluctant to convict someone without it, a phenomenon the criminal justice community is calling the “CSI effect.”

Clearly, the media, the government, politicians, and other special interest groups have benefited from the news coverage of crime. Our perceptions of crime and its victims are largely shaped by the presentations that are made through these various media. The television news stations, newspapers, and news magazines selectively determine which aspects of official police incident reports, crimes, victims, and court proceedings merit attention. Television news programs do not have unlimited amounts of time to detail every aspect of the official versions of crime provided by the police department. Therefore, decisions are made to feature the most sensational, emotional, significant, and universally appealing aspects of the crime stories for the public’s viewing (Sacco, 1995:146-147).

The adage, “if it bleeds, it leads,” is well-known in the television news industry. Data suggest that violent crime news is disproportionately broadcast on major networks (Potter & Kappeler, 1998). Chermak concludes that “seriousness” of the crime is “an important variable, influencing decisions about selection and production” of crime news (1994:568). Based on his content analysis of crime news, Chermak found that celebrated cases and “crimes with the greatest audience appeal are emphasized similarly across media” (p. 571). With limited opportunity to sell news in a com...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Contents
• Chapter 1 Dynamics of Criminal Justice
• Chapter 2 Police: Maintaining a Delicate Balance
• Chapter 3 The Court Conundrum: Confronting the Consequences of Policy
• Chapter 4 Punishment and Prisons: Correctional Policy in Crisis
• Chapter 5 Juvenile Justice: Deconstructing Adolescence and Dismantling the Juvenile Court
• Chapter 6 Criminal Justice Policy: The Legacy of Get-Tough Legislation
• Chapter 7 Changing Course
• Name Index
• Subject Index
• About the Authors