The Role of the Media in the Fear of Crime: A Qualitative Study in the Portuguese Context

• Published date: 01 September 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/07340168221088570
• Author: Cynthia Silva,Inês Guedes
• Date: 01 September 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

The Role of the Media in the

Fear of Crime: A Qualitative

Study in the Portuguese

Context

Cynthia Silva

1

and Inês Guedes

2,3

Abstract

The present study, using a Portuguese sample, is aimed at understanding how the media shapes the

fear of crime experiences. Concretely, we explored how individuals interpret the content transmit-

ted by the media and how these perceptions inf‌luence the fear of crime contextually situated. It was

also our aim to explore if the area of residence (rural and urban), as well as certain sociodemo-

graphic characteristics (such as gender), were important in the way meanings are attributed to

the media in experiences of insecurity. In total, 20 semi-structured interviews were undertaken

(n =12 women; 13 from rural areas and 7 from urban areas). Among the relevant results found

in the present study, one of the conclusions we can highlight is that it is not possible to establish

a clear relationship between media consumption and insecurity feelings. Indeed, media do not totally

shape the fear of crime experiences, as a panoply of meanings has emerged, which makes their inf‌lu-

ence differential. Thus, aspects such as the sensationalism, the location of the reported crime, the

realism of the news and the proximity to the event are examples of factors that emerged with great

relevance in this investigation. In short, this study allowed the authors to reach a depth and diversity

of meanings of insecurity, through several approaches that were the basis for their understanding

and conf‌irms the relevance of studying this theme from experiences and discourses using qualitative

research.

Keywords

media, fear of crime, qualitative approach, interviews, meanings, experiences

1

School of Criminology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

2

Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Crime, Justice and Security (CJS) School of Criminology, University of Porto, Porto,

Portugal

3

CEJEA, Lusiada University, Norte, Portugal

Corresponding Author:

Inês Guedes, Faculdade de Direito da Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas 223, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal.

Email: iguedes@direito.up.pt

Article

Criminal Justice Review

2023, Vol. 48(3) 300-317

© 2022 Georgia State University

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/07340168221088570

journals.sagepub.com/home/cjr

Introduction

We have seen a huge spread of information about crime in the news, such as on social networks,

blogs or other sources, appearing either in the form of text or images (Srinivasa & Thilagam,

2019). On television, for example, there are two main reasons why crime is increasingly prevalent:

f‌irst, crime is linked to fear, a basic element of the entertainment format; and, second, crime and vio-

lence are clearly easy topics to cover (Soola, 2007), and are faster, cheaper and more eff‌icient topics

for television stations (Altheide, 2003). Fear of crime, broadly def‌ined, is a multidimensional phe-

nomenon that includes emotional, cognitive and behavioral manifestations to crime or symbols asso-

ciated with crime (e.g., Gabriel & Greve, 2003). There have been diverse explanations to address

why certain groups or places fear more than others. These explanations are nested into individual

(such as sex or gender), contextual (for instance, lack of street lighting or simply darkness) and

social models (such as collective eff‌icacy). Among them, previous literature has focused on the rela-

tionship between fear of crime and the media, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies

(Cashmore, 2014; Chadee, 2001; Chadee & Ditton, 2005). In 2004, after a review on the linkage

between fear of crime and the media (newspaper and television consumption), Ditton and colleagues

found that 41% of the studies found a positive relationship between those variables, but 59% did not.

Later, Chadee and Ditton (2005) focusing on Trinidad, stated that that “the results clearly indicate

that there is no relationship between fear of crime and the media”(p. 329).

Nevertheless, according to some authors, such as Leal (2010, p. 397), the mass media “have

become a powerful vehicle for transmitting messages essential to the cohesion of individuals and

the structuring of their own identity”. Thus, if the media play an informative and entertainment

role, and if part of its agenda is made up of crime-related news and content, it may be relevant to

understand, through qualitative methodologies, how these messages are received and interpreted

and what role they will play in the fear of crime. Therefore, in the present study, qualitative in

nature, we used semi-structured interviews looking to explore these meanings in order to understand

how the place where individuals live (rural or urban) and the relationships they establish in this

context inf‌luence their perception of the media and the role of news in the fear of crime.

Specif‌ically, in the f‌irst place, (a) this study aims to analyze the consumption habits of media and

social media, namely the type of sources and content most consumed. In other words, it aims to

explore the perceptions about the role that the media plays in society and about the way news are

transmitted, as well as the factors that inf‌luence these meanings; (b) secondly, this study explores

the consequences of the consumption of media in the fear of crime (in its different manifestations);

(c) thirdly, it is intended to investigate what meanings are attributed to (in) security and the way in

which it is perceived and experienced from the physical, social and fear contexts; and f‌inally, (d) it

seeks to explore the role that direct and indirect victimization experiences have in the fear of cri me.

Regarding the structure through which this article will be developed, f‌irstly the crucial concepts

for exploring the theme will be def‌ined, followed by the main prominent theories of literature, with

some later considerations about the fear of crime, and further on, about the media. Next, the meth-

odology of the present study will be described in detail. To conclude, the main results will be pre-

sented and discussed, ending with a ref‌lection and implications of the study.

Theoretical Background

Def‌inition of Fear of Crime

The scientif‌ic community has been following two different understandings when referring to the

concept of fear of crime (Vandeviver, 2011). One the one hand, fear of crime is conceived in a

restricted way, corresponding to the emotional dimension to crime or symbols associated with it

Silva and Guedes 301