Discuss whether or not the media is a reliable source of knowledge Essay

Discuss whether or not the media is a reliable source of knowledge about crime and criminality, and utilise examples to illustrate the concept of 'media and moral panics' - Essay Example Determining the crime rate based solely on reported crime and number of arrests can be inaccurate because not all crime is reported and not all arrests turn into convictions. According to Crimestoppers U.K. (2009), recorded crime provides a majority of the crime statistics and can determine the amount of police manpower necessary to keep crime in check. However, it is the surveys that provide more valuable information about unreported crime. Crimestoppers states that â€Å"The BCS (British Crime Survey) count also gives a better indication of trends in crime over time because it is unaffected by changes in levels of reporting to the police and in police recording practices.† In Pfeiffer’s (2007) preface, she states that her motivation to write a book about mentally ill persons in prison stems from a statistic regarding suicide that had been prepared about conditions of New York State prisons. In her further research, the high suicide rate that she had read about turned out to be a conservative figure. Pfeiffer realized that the statistics reported were grossly inaccurate and decided that she needed to find out the truth for herself. Throughout her book, she follows the stories of six mentally ill inmates who ultimately took their own lives. On page eleven Pfeiffer states, â€Å"When people commit suicide, rarely is the information released to the public. When reporters ask for it, they are given minimal details and told to wait for official reports.† Pfeiffer’s discovery opens another aspect to why the media is not always an entirely reliable source of information regarding crime. A reporter can only relay the facts they are given. The reporter has no choice but to relay the information he has been given, and if the information is inaccurate that is how it will be reported. Where the information comes from initially plays a huge role in the accuracy of the report. Leighton (2007) states that, â€Å"Statistics are tricky. For every statistic designed to