Sample Final Exam Questions

Possible Final Exam Questions: Crime and Media

1. Discuss Surette’s findings that the media can be both a "cause of crime" and a "cure of crime." In your opinion, which is the better documented theory?

2. (a) Discuss the 2 major myths regarding policing one sees depicted in the media. (b) What is the real nature of police work? Is it particularly dangerous? (c) Discuss the real nature of police stress. Why can it be argued that for police officers the myth sometimes becomes reality? Did the first episode of "Cops" better reflect the myths or the reality of policing?

3. (a) Does the public really understand our prison system? (b) Do the facts point to the reality of "country club prisons" which coddle inmates? (c) Compare American and Scandinavian prisons.

4. (a) Discuss the studies which have attempted to document the deterrent effect of the death penalty in reducing murders. (b) Is the death penalty more cost effective than lifetime imprisonment?

5. In what ways have your opinions, beliefs, or attitudes about the (a) media, (b) the criminal justice system, and (c) the interaction between the two been altered by this course?

6. (a) How have lawyers who work within the criminal justice system been depicted by Hollywood? (b) Is pretrial publicity a real problem within American criminal courts? (c) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of TV cameras in courtrooms?

7. (a) Discuss the roles of the police public information officer and the crime reporter. (b) What rules of law determine the nature of their interaction. (c) Does a PIO's interaction with the media usually serve to perpetuate crime myths or dispel them? (d) Do you believe that reporters should have less or greater access to police information?

8. (a) Why is it so difficult to present criminological research findings accurately within the context of media formats? Compare newspapers, tabloids, TV news, and TV talk shows, discussing the problems related to each medium. (b) You have been asked to appear as a guest on a local one hour talk show to discuss your latest criminological research. How will you attempt to optimize your presentation so that the audience fully understands what you have to say.

9. (a) Discuss the history of the way law enforcement has been portrayed in Hollywood films and TV cop shows. (b) In what ways are such portrayals inaccurate?

10. (a) Discuss the history of the way prisons (men’s and women’s) have been portrayed in Hollywood films. (b) In what ways are such portrayals inaccurate?

11. Discuss the ways in which new media technologies have been used to benefit the judicial system. What [a] logistical problems and [b] potential Constitutional issues have emerged regarding their use?

12. Is what ways do crime myths prevent the truth about crime problems from becoming known by the public? What do the authors mean when they say that we are "masking real social problems with myth? What is the goal of "newsmaking criminology?" In what ways must criminologists make there message "fit" various news media formats if they hope to communicate their research findings to the public? What potential pitfalls must be avoided in the process?

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