Suchergebnisse

Compared are police, newspaper, TV, & public images of crime trends for the 7 US Federal Bureau of Investigation index crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, & motor vehicle theft) during a 3-month period in 1978, the relative occurrence f of these offenses, & characteristics of persons committing them. Media presentations of crime trends are found generally unrelated to trends in police statistics. Newspaper presentation of the relative distribution of crimes approximates police figures more closely than does TV presentation. Public views of the relative distribution of crimes but not of crime trends more closely approximate media presentations than police presentations. Possible reasons for these findings & their implications for crime news reporting are discussed. 3 Tables. Modified HA.