Media-Based Anticrime Efforts

Today’s prevalent technological innovations contribute to the growing incidents of crime in the United States. This alarming fact has already been brought into the awareness of the National Citizens’ Crime Prevention Campaign and that which the agency has been addressing these days. Majority of NCPC’s campaigns are engaged in preventing crimes that involve the internet crime, bullying, and theft. (“Current Campaigns”)

In addition, Court TV’s Choices and Consequences also wishes to help the American society become aware of its ability to prevent crime. Empowering the youth – as its main targeted audience – with the wisdom that they can help prevent crime by being aware that the decisions that they make as adolescents have significant lifetime consequences is what this award-winning program do. (“Mission”)

In my opinion, these crime-fighting organizations are effective with their mission of preventing crimes in the society. Through their programs, the community is provided with sufficient information that strips them off from being ignorant about the most recent crime trends in the society. This information will serve as their weapon in fighting against particular crimes when they encounter them. The use of the various forms of media leaves no man ignorant about serious social issues that directly affect him.

Consequently, sometimes, excessive use of media in order to deter crime does not necessarily mean that it initiates fear among the members of the society to commit crime. There are even instances when people are influenced otherwise. Too much information also leads to curiosity – curiosity to do what and how it feels like to do what the law tries hard to prevent from happening. Moreover, though broadcast companies hate to admit it, media sensationalize crime incidents that results to adverse psychological effects among some members of the society.

There is moreover a conflicting interest issues in the media’s concern regarding its ability to report and deter crime. The federal government, in its hope to secure the society and prevent crimes from happening utilizes the media in order to popularize its campaigns against crime. Major organizations who are advocates of deterring crime also provides television networks with a large sum of money just to make sure people are aware of the criminal issues that are happening in the society so they can avoid it when in the situation. These huge amounts of money that is at stake here leaves us into doubt whether the media companies are earnest in helping deter crime in the community.

References:

Current Campaigns. Retrieved from http://www.ncpc.org/newsroom/current-campaigns on Oct. 25, 2007.

Mission. Retrieved  on Oct. 25, 2007.