Myths and Reality of Crime
1. Imagine asking 100 strangers to describe a criminal. Predict whether those descriptions would
be likely to focus on street criminals, or the variety of topics covered in this video.
If I were to ask 100 random people to describe a criminal, I would definitely get a variety of answers. I think it depends on the person who I’m asking. If I were to ask a person of Mexican descent who lives in predominantly Mexican neighborhood, they would probably describe a person who they have the most interaction with which would be another Mexican. Same for a African American, the people you see and deal with you automatically think that they are the ones committing crimes. But if I were to ask a white person they would more than likely describe a person outside of their race, not because of racism but that is what the media perpetuates. When you turn on the news you don’t see crime stories about criminals in the suburbs you only hear inner city crime. I think that it would be a small percentage of people who would even think about the topics discussed in the video, because of the level of crimes being committed are done by people in high levels of a company. These stories are rarely talked about in the media because of advertising or the money the corporation spend with the media outlets.
2. Describe how society defines crime. Do not provide a definition – instead, explain how the
definition is reached.
I think social class has a big part in how society defines crime. It is important to understand that social class is in part about wealth and income but also about social status, social influence, and social networks. There are other smaller categories that help define how crime is defined. Life Chances which can tell what kind of economic situation you currently are in and what they could potentially become, Social Inequality which refers to the distribution of power, goods, and services...