Just as observing the loud and chaotic explosion of lava from a volcano does little to explain plate tectonics theory, attempting to understand crime and the criminal justice system from the media provides only a sensationalised and partial image of the phenomena, lacking the depth and theory required to truly understand factors leading to crime. What Surette is attempting to get across is that much of what is presented to us by the media regarding the criminal justice system is a simplified and sensationalised version of the truth.
Just as viewing a volcanic eruption is an explosive and instantaneous view of geology, which in reality is a slow-moving process, media representation of crime is often sensationalised and dramatised. This has been illustrated by the media coverage of the Merrylands high school break-in by sword and bat bearing youths in April 2008, and the 2005 Macquarie Fields riots following the police chase of a stolen car which lead to a fatal crash.
In both of these crime events, the media has dramatised and sensationalised the facts of the case, reflecting a tendency by the media to dramatise news and make it emotive rather than report the facts (Daly et al 2006 p54).
This is reflected by the Sydney Morning Herald article ‘Machete, Bat Attack at Sydney School’ (Ramachandran, 2008). On page one there is a highly emotive image of a parent waiting to make sure their child was safe, followed by hyperbolic descriptions of the incident as “terrif[ying]” and a “rampage”. It is not until page 3 a recount is given by a student who states “we all felt pretty safe”.
The Daily Telegraph’s (2008) interview with a student best illustrates the hyperbolic portrayal by the media,
"They were carrying baseball bats and two had machetes. I though I was going to die.
"Teachers just told us to get down. Students were just crying and screaming."
The Australian and The Age described the attacks in terms of an exciting ‘revenge’ plot (O’Brien & Wilson 2008, Baker & Ramachandran 2008), and The Age (Baker & Ramachandran 2008) describing the alleged offender’s ‘escalating’ behaviour in terms of ethnic stereotypes. The article does not even open with facts; but rather gives a narrative of the victim’s lives.
It is through this depiction we are given an image of the events analogous to Surette’s (2007) analysis of the media’s portrayal of crime as having archetypal representations of the ‘ideal offender’ as predatory and violent in nature- and through racial stereotyping separate and deviant from those in the rest of society- and the ‘ideal victim’ as the innocent, in particular children, living out their normal lives when they are suddenly attacked. In this way Daly et al (2007 p54) describes a simplification of facts as being an easily accessible ‘them and us’ story and as a dramatisation rather than a source of news.
A similar dramatised version of the facts was given by the media coverage of the Macquarie Fields riots, focusing on law and order issues and the wider community’s outrage over the riot (Owens 2006 p5). An ABC Stateline Episode (4 March 2005) summarised many of the views of media commentators, most focusing on the criminality of the offenders and their being ‘juvenile delinquents’ (Stateline 4 March 2005).
What lacked in these sensationalised and simplified images and explanations of crime was an explanation of the underlying problems and social processes that lead to the riot, rather than the offenders being inherently criminal. We saw the eruption, but not the tectonic plates shifting. This insufficient contextualisation is what sets apart the media’s description of crime from that of a criminologist.
Media commentators barely reflected on the social causes for crime, prominent radio commentator John Laws making a mockery of their social backgrounds;
I mean, to say someone who steals a car is not bad, somebody who's spent most of their life in detention centres since the age of 12 is not bad... Well, not to my mind, they weren't.
(John Laws, cited in Stateline 4 March 2005)
In attempting to explain the Macquarie Fields riots, media commentators’ explanations superficially varied, from ethnic stereotyping, low intelligence, and school truancy to the cure-all explanation of the residents of the area as impoverished and lacking adequate housing thus pushing them to crime (Owen 2006 p6-7). The media’s explanation is probably best summarised by State Premier Bob Carr though, ‘I’ve always wanted to look at underlying causes, but the underlying cause is criminality’ (Stateline 11/03/05, cited in Owen 2006 p7).
As Surette explains (2007 p219) what is truly needed is a portrayal akin to sports coverage- with statistics, commentary, discussion and background facts. Because this is lacking, the media’s portrayal is that of crime being innately senseless and abstracted from context (Surette 2007 p209), but as Owens (2006 p6 p11-12) explains of the Macquarie Fields riots, there was a direct cause and meaning to the riots.
There was a history between the police and residents of mutual suspicion and alienation, residents having a sense the police were “picking on” them. Upon finding out their friend’s had died from a preventable police crash in a bend in the road known to be dangerous, residents were morally outraged (Owens 2006 p6 p11-12). But the media simply failed to explain to the public that the citizens had a legitimate claim to moral indignation, focusing instead on law and order and society’s outrage over the riots (Owens 2006 p5).
An accurate social explanation was also lacking from the media’s explanation of the Merrylands High School invasion. Alan Jones (8 April 2008) explanation of the crime centred on a lack of discipline for the youths (pro-law enforcement) and the commission of crime for personal enjoyment because they are emulating African American Gangsters from the USA.
His and the explanations of others in the media are in abstraction from historical, social and structural conditions in the area (Surette 2007 p209). While it is simple for the media to blame an ethnic group for a crime, a number of more complex factors come into play; gang culture, the need for young males to prove masculinity, violence, and divisions between and within ethnic communities (Collins et al 2001 cited in Findlay 2001 p116).
As such, a criminological perspective on the reasons for the Merrylands High School invasion would centre on an ‘Anomie and Strain’ explanation. While Australia is ostensibly a multicultural society, we swiftly condemn those of differing racial and cultural backgrounds (Collins et al 2001 cited in Findlay 2001 p116).
The police and media in particular are quick to blame these groups for crime and social unrest, resulting in ethnic and racial minorities experiencing a feeling of victimisation and social isolation (Poynting 2001 110-112) as the media ‘demonises’ the youths as violent and dangerous (Collins et al 2001 cited in Findlay 2001 p116).
As a result, a sense of alienation exists between ethnic groups in the area and wider society, and social anomie is experienced. Lawlessness is normalised as groups feel confusion or separation from the laws created by society, and no longer bound by them (Daly 2006 p92-94). In the cases of the Macquarie Fields Riot and the Merrylands High School Invasion, the reaction to this anomie is rebellion; rebellion against police who victimise them, and rebellion against social norms.
It seems a strange twist that the crime caused by ethnic ‘gangs’ so lamented by the media is fuelled by racial stereotypes and alienation they have a part in creating. As Poynting observes, crime is not caused by someone’s ‘Lebaneseness’ or ‘Asianness’, but rather the labelling and targeting creates the problem in the first place, and additionally increases their difficulty to gain employment without discrimination, further compounding their social problems (Poynting 2001 p112).
The media popularised dramatic and highly emotive images of the youths in the Macquarie Fields riots such as the one below;-
Nick Moir in Sydney Morning Herald 2005
This creates a tangible source for the general public to fear crime, leading to the public calling for and justifying the need for Pro-law enforcement strategies. Because news and the media represent crime as separate from social issues, viewers are led to overlook the need for long term preventative measures (Surette 2007 p206). While we are told conventional approaches to crime don’t work, the only solution offered by the media is for punishment to be more punitive (Surette 2007 p219).
This was very much reflected in the coverage of the Macquarie Fields riot. The media did not criticise social policy in Macquarie Fields, so much as criticise the police for not coming harder and faster (Stateline 4 March 2005, PM 29 June 2005, Kidman 2005). Similarly, the Merrylands High School invasion was blamed on a lack of discipline for the youths (Alan Jones 8 April 2008). Very few media sources asked for an improvement in social policy in the area to decrease social alienation, remove resentment between police and citizens and address the issues which lead their low socio-economic status, with the exception of Michael Kennedy (cited in Stateline 4 March 2005).
Any suggestion by the police or commentators that the Macquarie Fields riots were being blown out of proportion, considering there was no deaths and minimal property damage, were dismissed by new reports as the Police Commissioner simply attempting to defend himself from his perceived ineptitude (Sydney Morning Herald 13 March 2005, Sydney Morning Herald 5 December 2005).
But in reality, large-scale neighbourhood disturbances and violent invasions are fairly rare in NSW. Only 6.5% of households experience household crime, 5% of the population suffered personal crime, and 53% of people did not perceive any crime or public nuisance in their neighbourhood (ABS 2007). But the way the media presented the Macquarie Fields Riot and Merrylands High School Invasion, and their domination of the ‘airwaves’ in talk back radio and on current affairs shows would indicate to viewers that violent crime is far more widespread.
Thus, attempting to learn about crime from the media gives one a sensationalised view of crime, in which rare occurrences like riots and invasions are blown out of proportion, and made to appear more commonplace than they truly are. This creates an onus on the police and government to visibly do something about the problem.
Through the media, people see very simplified explanations for the crime, based around hegemonic stereotyped views of ethnic minorities and low socio-economic people, as a panacea to explaining all crime. Because an explanation of labelling, anomie, reliable statistics and background facts are lacking from news media, people are not only misled as to the real nature of crime, but call for pro-law enforcement measures to combating crime. This approach ignores the real causes for the crime and often compounds existing social problems as police are seen to single out certain groups in society and increase the feelings of social isolation that leads to the commission of crime in the first place.
Works Cited
After the Riots: Stateline, 2005, television program, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sydney, 4 March, transcript available online at <http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/nsw/content/2005/s1316622.htm>
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007, Crime and Safety, Cat. no.4509.1, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, accessed 11 May 2008, available online at < http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/62880831C8EE7C47CA25739500185F18/$File/73424121.pdf>
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Surette R, 2007, Media Crime And Criminal Justice: Images, Realities and Policies, 3rd Edn., Thomson Wadworth, Chapter 8: The Media and Criminal Justice Policy, pp201-223
