TY - JOUR
T1 - Watching the detectives
T2 - Crime programming, fear of crime, and attitudes about the criminal justice system
AU - Kort-Butler, Lisa A.
AU - Hartshorn, Kelley J.Sittner
PY - 2011/12
Y1 - 2011/12
N2 - Research demonstrates a complex relationship between television viewing and fear of crime. Social critics assert that media depictions perpetuate the dominant cultural ideology about crime and criminal justice. This article examines whether program type differentially affects fear of crime and perceptions of the crime rate. Next, it tests whether such programming differentially affects viewers' attitudes about the criminal justice system, and if these relationships are mediated by fear. Results indicated that fear mediated the relationship between viewing nonfictional shows and lack of support for the justice system. Viewing crime dramas predicted support for the death penalty, but this relationship was not mediated by fear. News viewership was unrelated to either fear or attitudes. The results support the idea that program type matters when it comes to understanding people's fear of crime and their attitudes about criminal justice.
AB - Research demonstrates a complex relationship between television viewing and fear of crime. Social critics assert that media depictions perpetuate the dominant cultural ideology about crime and criminal justice. This article examines whether program type differentially affects fear of crime and perceptions of the crime rate. Next, it tests whether such programming differentially affects viewers' attitudes about the criminal justice system, and if these relationships are mediated by fear. Results indicated that fear mediated the relationship between viewing nonfictional shows and lack of support for the justice system. Viewing crime dramas predicted support for the death penalty, but this relationship was not mediated by fear. News viewership was unrelated to either fear or attitudes. The results support the idea that program type matters when it comes to understanding people's fear of crime and their attitudes about criminal justice.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78650873427&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78650873427&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1533-8525.2010.01191.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1533-8525.2010.01191.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 21337735
AN - SCOPUS:78650873427
SN - 0038-0253
VL - 52
SP - 36
EP - 55
JO - Sociological Quarterly
JF - Sociological Quarterly
IS - 1
ER -