SOCY 1004 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Killer Kids, Homicide, Louis P. Sheldon
Document Summary
Crime in the news, tall tales and overstated statistics. We have managed to convince ourselves that just about every young american male is a potential mass murderer - a remarkable achievement considering the steep downward trend in youth crime throughout the 1990s. Reporters i(cid:374) a(cid:374)tho(cid:374)y rigg"s murder reported the right victim, but the wrong perpetrator, motive, and moral. Had news writers checked with knowledgeable criminologists or homicide detectives, the might have been impressed by the improbability of a car thief murdering someone execution-style when a simple shot or two would have done the job. The significance the media attaches to many homicides and other violent crimes they choose to spotlight is another matter. The streets of america are not more dangerous than a war zone, and the media should not convey that they are. Unnecessary focus on the danger of halloween candy in the news.
