There is also a considerable gap that exists between the media’s portrayal of policing and real life law enforcement as well as television and film almost glorifying criminals. Therefore media portrayal of policing is juxtaposed with both positive and negative representations. As a result, a complex relationship exists between media consumption and public attitudes towards the police.
| Positive representation of police - doing their job!!!! |
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| Negative representation of police - brutality!!! |
The media displays a negative and positive image when it comes to police officers. Society sees both sides from the media by reflecting how they view police in their own communities. In our communities we also see police getting shot or often finding themselves in a bad situation. The police are here to protect us and to serve the communities to the best of their abilities. However there are negative images that exist among society that are showed to citizens by the media and television programmes that allow us to see and hear about police officers, which include corruption or brutally beating harmless suspects in their custody. The positive images would be that they have saved an innocent life in a hostage situation. The media portrays the police in many different ways. We need to realize that the police are on our side and that they are human just like everyone else.
The television shows that we see on television today are both helpful and harmful to the profession. For example, “Highway Patrol” and the “Recruits” are based on real life situations and we actually see what police officers go through on a daily basis. This profession is very dangerous and you have to be prepared for whatever comes your way. These two factual television series are helpful is some ways because it gives society an inside look at police officers in action and allow us to feel safe because they are doing their jobs and apprehending criminals. The television series “Underbelly” portrays police officers as corrupt cops working together with criminals in order to get rich and live the high life without apprehending them. It also shows police brutality in action and those police officers will even betray their own when it comes to a life and death situation. This image of police officers is in some ways harmful to how society sees police officers but also gives the sense that corruption and police brutality does exist and opens a giant can of worms for politicians, the police force and the media of course have a field day with it.
Interesting post Natali. One thing to consider perhaps, and we can talk about this next week, is whether in fact police now have more of a monopoly on their media image. For example, police can neatly package content for the news (video footage, story details) which often gets broadcast 'as is'. Police also have editorial control over a lot of the 'reality' shows they feature in. Does this in any way shape the content that gets shown? Furthermore, is what we are seeing really the reality of policing? Contrary to popular beliefs, policing can be pretty boring at times. The dangerous or exciting events we often see portrayed on tv only constitute a very small part of what police do. The rest of the time there is a lot of paperwork and a lot of 'mediation' work going on.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good blog work :)
Alyce
A very interesting post Natali, I think you are right when you say that the there is a considerable gap between the media’s portrayal of policing, and real life law enforcement. We can argue that television shows and films have created an unrealistic expectation of the criminal justice system, especially in relation to the police’s ability to solve crimes- T.V shows seem to find the offender, and achieve “justice” all within an hour! Surrette (2007) discusses how comic books constructed crime-fighters such as policemen as superheroes, this presented a positive image for the police, however in recent years, the mass media has shown a growing negative depiction of the police, in particularly in shows like Underbelly, this depiction has extended to factual reporting in Newspapers, especially concentrating on issues of corruption and brutality, one example being the inappropriate use of Tasers.
ReplyDeleteIn your entry, you have placed a cartoon image of a large policeman squishing a small male, reading, “you have the right to remain black and blue.” This satire reaffirms the distinction between police and civilians- it distinguish “us” and “them,” which builds a barrier between efforts such as community policing. Leishman and Mason (2003) in Marsh & Melville (2009) argue that a positive police media image is paramount; however, this constant negative image will affect people’s perception, especially because Skogan (1990, p. 18-19 & 1994, pp. 13-14) in Mawby in Mason (2003) found that up to two-thirds of people find out about the police through the media rather than through personal contact. Therefore, I feel it is fair to conclude that due to the recent negative depiction of police by the media, it is hard not have a clouded judgement about the police.
REFERENCE:
Leishman, F. & Mason, P. 2003, in Marsh, I & Melville, G. 2009, Crime Justice and the Media, Routledge, New York, United States of America.
Skogan, W. 1990 Mawby, R.C. (2003) ‘Completing the “Half-Formed Picture?” Media Images of Policing’, in Mason, P. ed. Criminal Visions: Media Representations of Crime and Justice, Cullompton: Willan Publishing, pp. 214-237.
Surette, R. 2007. Media, Crime and Criminal Justice, 3rd edn, Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, Chapter 1, pp. 1-30.