Moral Panic Sociology

As sociologists Thornton is one of many criminologist who have recognised that from 1960s onwards, society has endured major change. According to her on the study of “the social logical of subculture capital”, Thornton and McRobbie argue that Cohen’s view of moral panics has changed in societies prospective and therefore needs updating as it does not relate to the problems society is facing. The world is now more technologized media has greater plurality of views and individuals perception. Thornton and McRobbie (1995) continue o say this makes it ‘impossible to rely on the old models with their stages and cycles, universal media, monolithic societal or hegemonic reactions’.

Miller and kitzinger (1998: 216) correspond that the concept of

Also other police methods are used such as increase of name checks. Media and the police have displayed common interests as the both share a symbolic relationship as media are reliant on the police to gain information and police use media to illustrate certain images. The media tend to provide dramatic images of crime and a defensive image of police and their activities. Cohen argues the media “exaggerated attention, exaggerated events, distortion, and stereotyping”, in other word; the media over exaggerate the event and create a greater amount of panic in the beginning of the moral panics. On the other hand, Thornton argues that objectives of moral panics like folk devils are not typically the passive victims of the media. Consequently, this indicates that society has been exposed to changes and the outlines of moral panic will also be possibility to be influenced as a result, causing difference between reality in contemporary society and Cohen’s ideology of moral panic. The idea of youth problematic is always changing and therefore, the public views are also changing to how they observe the youth whether they are deviant or

The doli incapax system was there to protect children aged 10-13, as the establishment of the belief that they were “incapable of crime” due to their immaturity, unless proberm otherwise. Nevertheless, the reaction Thompson and Jon Venables to towards killing of Bulger proved that the boys were intellectually and emotionally mature enough to notice what they were doing was serious and could have consequences which clarified that they were more than capable of committing such atrocious crime. After Bulger’s case many people argue that the government leant when it comes youth justice. New labour followed conservative, as they want to be tough on crime and punitive stance on young