Crime Myths
Most crimes are solved by fingerprints and DNA. This is a prime example of a crime myth. The truth is less than 1 percent of all serious crimes are solved by DNA, and fingerprints do only slightly better. As mentioned in USA Today titled "Crime and the media: Myths and reality", it discusses some of the important insight to crime in the media causing myths. Another source that covers this topic is in an Irish Times article by O’ Toole, Fintan entitled “Myths that conceal the truth about roots of crime: [CITY EDITION]” it goes over the many aspects that relate to myths that are contributing to the truth about roots of crime. There are many factors that contribute to how the public understands and responds to crime, these observations are often inaccurate because of the media 's unrealistic method in presenting crime.
…show more content…
The media tends to focus on the dramatic or alarming aspect of an incident in an attempt to stun the viewer. Crimes that are reported by the media are often crimes that take place the least. In fact 12 percent of all crimes are in some way related to violence yet these crimes represent 60 percent to 90 percent of all crime news stories. So why are the majority of crime news stories violent crimes? The public is interested in hearing about intense, fascinating events. These stories rouse the public 's attention due to the severity and devastation of incidents. They also give the viewer a feeling of superiority; find comfort in watching criminals get caught and reprimanded for the crimes they commit. They are glad to find out criminals do not get away with crimes and justice is done. However, viewing violent crimes can also have an adverse effect on the viewer and have sparked 'copycat crimes ' in which offenders imitate what they have seen reported on the television or in the