Book Reviews : Crime and the American Press by Roy Edward Lotz. New York: Praeger, 1991. 192 pp. cloth
| Published date | 01 March 1991 |
| DOI | 10.1177/088740349100500109 |
| Date | 01 March 1991 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
74
..
duciv~
;w
~he
kind
of
attitude
which
results
in
poor
and
counterproductive
duciv~ ~
the
kind
of
attitude
which
results
in
poor
and
counterproductive
service
delivery),
and
whether
citizen
satisfaction
with
new
services
will
create
demands
that
further
strain
limited
police
resources.
Although
the
concept
of
problem-oriented
policing
has
been
part
of
the
working
domain
of
the
police
since
1979,
it
has
been
slow
to
take
root.
Like
other
policing
innovations,
it
stands
at
risk
of
becoming
a
buzzword
when
the
difficulties
of
implementation
bid
to
frustrate
good
intentions.
Goldstein
may
understate
the
hazards,
but
does
not
ignore
them;
Problem-Oriented
Policing
not
only
expands
the
promise
of
strategy,
but
illuminates
the
path
as
well.
It
is
a
book
which
deserves
careful
reading
by
all
administrators,
police
and
civil
alike,
whose
work
is
affected
by
police
policy.
Michael
E.
Buerger
University
of
Wisconsin
Oshkosh
Crime
and
the
American
Press
by
Roy
Edward
Lotz.
New
York:
Praeger,
1991.
192
pp.
cloth.
Roy
Edward
Lotz
uses
an
historical/sociological
approach
to
examine
the
myths
and
realities
of
crime
news
reporting
in
print
journalism,i.e.,
newspapers.
He
succinctly
evaluates
the
impact
that
newspapers
have
on
America’s
general
population.
As
he
sorts
out
both
fact
and
fiction,
Lotz
asks
why
the
general
public
has
a
fixation
for
crime
news
in
print
and
why
big
city
newspapers
that
cover
crime
extensively
do
such
a
brisk
business
&dquo;advertising
disorder.&dquo;
He
claims
that
while
better
now
than
in
the
past,
crime
news
in
newspapers
is
not
very
useful.
After
a
thorough
review
of
the
literature
in
the
first
few
chapters,
Lotz
demonstrates
that
crime
news
is
not
very
powerful
as
a
crime
deterrent.
He
points
to
several
studies
of
media
coverage
that
report
no
deterrent
effect.
In
other
words,
crime
news
coverage
fails
to
deter.
Further,
Lotz
asserts
that
news
about
crime
does
not
inspire
enough
fear
in
would-be
criminals
overall
to
reduce
the
crime
rate.
According
to
Lotz,
crime
news
is
not
very
useful
when
there
are
no
tips
offered
about
places
to
avoid
due
to
the
threat
of
criminal
victimization.
Crime
news
does
not
try
to
reach
general
conclusions
nor
does
it
make
generalizations
about
the
nature
of
crime.
Most
reporting
of
crime
news
comes
from
police
blotters.
Lotz
further
claims
that
publishers
of
crime
news
choose
stories
that
have
the
largest
impact
and,
as
a
result,
we
never
get
an
overall
picture
of
the
true
amount
of
criminality.
He
points
out
that
when
there
is
a
low
incidence
of
crime,
newspapers
write
about
crime
just
as
much
as
when
the
incidence
is
high.
The
rarer
the
overall
crime
news,
the
more
newsworthy
certain
crimes
become,
e.g.,
violent
personal
crimes.
Violent
personal
crimes
are
rarer
than
property
crimes.
Although
the
commission
of
property
crimes
outnumbers
the
commission
of
violent
crimes
ten-to-one,
such
offenses
get
very
little
or
no
media
attention
whereas
violent
personal
crimes
get
compara-
tively
high
media
focus.
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