Crime and Media

I get information and knowledge concerning crimes and justice from some media houses, official websites of organization in criminology and judicially, and scholarly journals and books. Usually, the news release from media houses in video, voice, or textual publications are an ideal source of current affairs in the justice system. They are also ideal sources to learn the waves of public opinion regarding crimes and justice. Media house releases are highly opinionated, propagate stereotypes, and mostly biased (Hamborg, Donnay & Gipp, 2018, p. 396). Therefore, they are not a credible source since one has to evaluate the releases critically and filter the bias extensively.

However, it is a critical source for keeping-up-to the current affairs in the criminal justice system. I use official websites of the judicial system such as courts’ websites, and official websites of law schools to learn legislative rules, laws, bills, amendments, and other judicial characteristics. These sources are less likely to publish biased information; hence, I regard them as highly credible. Lastly, peer-reviewed scholarly journals and books are ideal sources for critical reviews, analyses, and summaries for various topics in criminology and justice system. Those that are reviewed and cited by many scholars in trusted databases such as the JSTOR, ELSEVIER, SAGEPUB, and the NCSC are mostly reviewed by the bar or senior scholars. Therefore, they are highly credible.

In the article, Nova Scotia’s Department of Justice stereotyped that a low level is worth conditional discharge since they are minor offenses. Also, law enforcement may have failed to follow up on the probation since the department failed to produce a report (Donkin, 2020, par 10). However, the notion is wrong on a broader perspective, since an extensive follow-up should be conducted, ensuring that chances of re-offending are mitigated. Stereotyping that minor offenses are less likely to re-offend may be associated with the recent Wortman’s mass shooting.

References

Donkin, K. (2020). Suspect in N.S. killings didn’t have criminal record, but previously pleaded guilty to a crime | CBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2020, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-shooting-suspect-criminal-record-1.5541176

Hamborg, F., Donnay, K., & Gipp, B. (2018). Automated identification of media bias in news articles: an interdisciplinary literature review. International Journal On Digital Libraries, 20(4), 391-415. doi: 10.1007/s00799-018-0261-y