Media plays a crucial role in how the public perceives crimes and their attitude towards the criminal justice system. Studies have shown that media has an immense influence on the social construction of crimes taking place in the society, including public opinion towards justice system in a country. Due to advancement in technology, the media is increasing expanding to reach more consumers, particularly through the use of the internet. Currently, it is not possible for both the media and criminal justice system to operate independently, as they heavily depend on one another. Therefore, this paper focuses on the role of media in the criminal justice system (Tapscott, 2011).
The main role of the media is to ensure that justice is done to every citizen regardless of their age, gender, and racial group (Feilzer, 2007). Consequently, the media has focused much of its attention to cases where innocent people have been wrongfully prosecuted or convicted by the criminal justice system. Due to their inability to prove their innocence or lack of financial resources to hire competent lawyers to argue their case, some of the alleged perpetrators have been wrongly convicted in the criminal justice system. Fortunately, as a result of media’s ability to undertake an independent investigation and dig deeper to know the truth, such wrongful convictions can be identified, and the innocents have been able to receive justice.
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The media is also keen to report any case of police brutality or bribery in the criminal justice system. The media has increased their coverage in police brutality, which has forced the law enforcement agencies within the criminal justice system to come up with policies and programs that reduce the practice (Tapscott, 2011). For instance, many countries have come up with a policy where body cameras are put on police officers to monitor their behaviors, especially when they are arresting a criminal. According to criminologists, body cameras can help in improving the behavior of police officers because they make them accountable. Besides, the programs such as body camera have led to responsible law enforcement. However, the changes have not come overnight, but as a result of increased media coverage on police brutality, which has forced the law enforcement agencies to act. Therefore, one of the main roles of the media in the criminal justice system is to ensure that justice prevails, even to the marginalized people in the society.
It is also acting as a source of intelligence for the criminal justice system. The media, especially social media, has become intelligence gathering tool for law enforcement agencies and person. Journalists gather a lot of information about a criminal case and law enforcement the information as a foundation for their further investigation. There is emerging trend where law enforcement officers are using information from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to gather more evidence, determine law enforcement biases, or identify the association between gang members (Tapscott, 2011). In some of the cases, criminals brag of their activities in media, especially social media and intelligence officers are able to use such information to locate and apprehend them. Furthermore, media always report some of the criminal activities or gang groups, and police officers have used such information to track down criminals and prosecute them for their criminal activities. Media, as a result, is one of the sources of intelligence information that is used in the criminal justice system.
At the same time, media have a role in shaping public attitudes towards the criminal justice system officers. Media portray criminal justice officials in different ways based on the way they conduct their activities and interact with people. The inaccurate portrayal of the officers can damage their reputation and how they are perceived by the public. The media has portrayed the professionals both negatively and positively, and the portrayals are important because they provide information to the section of the public that has no contact with the criminal justice system (Tapscott, 2011).
For instance, in many TV programs and films, lawyers, who are part of the criminal justice system, are always depicted as people who are willing to do anything to win a case, regardless of whether the alleged perpetrator committed the crime or not. According to the portrayal of the media, the main objective of lawyers is to ensure that the accused they represent walk free (Tapscott, 2011). In addition, in many comedy programs in the media, lawyers are depicted as greedy and always taking advantage of the vulnerable. At the same time, the media has portrayed the police in different ways. In many media programs, police officers are depicted as harsh and commanding dirty corps, and sometimes incompetent (Donovan & Klahm, 2015). The portrayal has a significant influence on how the public perceives and interact with the justice system officials.
Besides, countries like the US that have active correctional systems have come up with enough policies that ensure that they are fair and just to criminals. Some media reports have portrayed correctional officials as harsh and abusive. It has also revealed some of the illegal activities taking place in the correctional centers such as smuggling in contraband and corporal punishments (Tapscott, 2011). Due to the revelation and portrayal by the media, governments have taken necessary measures to correct the mistakes in the correction systems. Consequently, criminals are now able to enjoy their fundamental rights and freedoms while in prisons or probation.
Therefore, the media has a role in ensuring that it only gives the true picture of the criminal justice system and its officials. It is one of the most important social institutions that should ensure that there is a cordial relationship between justice system officers and the public to ensure justice and fairness. On the other hand, it should also reveal the negative aspects of the officers with the aim of ensuring that they change their negative behaviors that may hinder justice. The public deserves to know the truth about criminal justice officers, and the media is the only institution that is best placed to ensure that that happens (Tapscott, 2011).
Furthermore, the media is one of the institutions educate the public about the activities of the criminal justice system. There is a lot of complexity in the criminal justice system in many countries and the media can help the public to understand how it operates. It helps in educating the public on how they can get justice when they are accused of committing a crime. In addition, it is the role of the media to ensure that the public is aware that not all people who are arrested by police are guilty (Happer & Philo, 2013). Knowledge is very important when it comes to justice and the media ensures that the people can access important information on how the criminal justice system works.
In addition, is playing an important role during the formulation of policies that concern the criminal justice system. One of the primary roles of the media is to scrutinize government affairs and activities to ensure that they do not infringe the rights of common people (Christian, 2013). In many cases, policy making is a political issue and it involves the struggle of ideas. Therefore, it is the duty of the media to the focal issues in the policy-making process and disseminates factual regarding the policy to the public. It should also ensure that the policy formulated by the criminal justice system does not only favor victims but also takes care of the criminals.
However, some of the roles that are played by the media negatively affect the operations of the criminal justice system. The concept of “ideal” victim, as portrayed by the media has led to injustice to some of the accused. In many media representations, some victims are more innocent than others (Happer & Philo, 2013). Those who are perceived to be ideal victims by the media include women, the marginalized, the elderly, and children. The concept of the ideal victim has led to a hierarchy of victimization, which may cause injustice in the criminal justice system. There are cases where judges have been forced to lean towards public opinions as portrayed by the media about ideal victims such as women involved in violence. Hence, the biased representation by the media can lead to injustices in the criminal justice system.
The media is also unfair and biased on how they report a criminal case in the society. It always focuses more on crimes committed by strangers that those performed by common people or locals (Dowler, 2003). For instance, a child abducted by a stranger will be given more attention than when a child is kidnapped by parents. The selective coverage by the media is likely to give people a false sense of insecurity. At the same time, it will make criminal justice system to focus more on particular crimes while ignoring many common crimes that are affecting many people. Besides, the media always give more attention to sensational crimes only. As a result, the biased reporting by the media makes the criminal justice not to devote a lot of resources and energy on all crimes taking place in the society. It is also possible the accused who are involved in the cases that have not attracted the interest of the media to get injustice.
In conclusion, the media should always act as the fourth estate to the government and its agencies to enhance transparency and accountability in the society. Even though criminal justice system is expected to ensure justice for all, this is not always the case as it is led by people who can make mistakes. Consequently, the main role of the media is to make sure that the system is accountable to the people and everybody gets justice. It should disseminate factual information to the public and pinpoint mistakes made by a criminal justice official to help the system achieve its main objective of preventing the occurrence of crime, maintaining law and order, and promoting justice in the society. The role of the media should not hinder the operations of the criminal justice system, but it should promote its effectiveness.
References
Christian, M. (2013). The Media’s Role in the Policymaking Process . Retrieved from http://www.aalep.eu/media%E2%80%99s-role-policymaking-process
Donovan, K. M., & Klahm IV, C. F. (2015). The Role of Entertainment media in Perceptions of Police Use of Force. Criminal Justice and Behavior , 42 (12), 1261-1281.
Dowler, K. (2003). 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), 109-126.
Feilzer, M. Y. (2007). Criminologists making news? Providing factual information on crime and criminal justice through a weekly newspaper column. Crime, Media, Culture , 3 (3), 285- 304.
Happer, C., & Philo, G. (2013). The role of the media in the construction of public belief and social change. Journal of social and political psychology , 1 (1), 321-336.
Tapscott, R. (2011). Media effects and the criminal justice system: An experimental test of the CSI effect. East Tennessee State University.
