Moreover, the visual images of these front page articles are also important for analysis. In ‘I’ve been stabbed’, Tapaleao and Schoultz (2016) uses a photograph of the crime scene showing vehicle of the victim and a police officer at night with a red filter. This is alarming for readers with conjunction with the descriptive witness accounts of the crime. In ‘Aussie Criminals Link Up in NZ’, Jones (2016) uses an image of handcuffs which represents offender, unlawful, the law, and authority. On the other hand, in both ‘Frontline officer: ‘Some people’s lives are just horrible’’ and ‘We should be embarrassed’, Leask (2016a,b) presents distressing and evocative images of women abused by a partner, with the hashtag “Betterthanthis” in bold red (p.1).
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It appears that all six articles share the theme of the fear of crime, which is ‘a rational or irrational state of alarm or anxiety engendered by the belief that one is in danger of criminal victimisation’ (McLaughlin, 2001: 118). The fear of crime is suggest in, for example, “The robbery is one of a recent spate of incidents targeting stores selling cigarettes” (Strongman, 2016: 1); “As more and more people go on there it creates a bigger pile of potential victims for the criminals” (Tapaleao and Schoultz , 2016: 3); and “…it can be inferred that for most of these deportees, their offending is yet to commence or become evident” (Jones, 2016: 3). There is a dominant perspective that violent crime is increasing and it is a threat to individuals, communities, and the nation as a whole. However, this perceptive may be relative to actual crime increases (McLaughlin, 2001). This is apparent in how politicians and police are presented as experts, and their opinions are structured carefully in the article – usually after a statistic. These experts are often highlighted because they are figures of authority and power, who are responsible to actively or politically address the issues of crime and safety. Politicians, in particular, are extremely sensitive to public attitudes and the media discourse, thus the fear of crime creates huge misconceptions, pressure and can affect policy and law changes (McLaughlin,
It appears that all six articles share the theme of the fear of crime, which is ‘a rational or irrational state of alarm or anxiety engendered by the belief that one is in danger of criminal victimisation’ (McLaughlin, 2001: 118). The fear of crime is suggest in, for example, “The robbery is one of a recent spate of incidents targeting stores selling cigarettes” (Strongman, 2016: 1); “As more and more people go on there it creates a bigger pile of potential victims for the criminals” (Tapaleao and Schoultz , 2016: 3); and “…it can be inferred that for most of these deportees, their offending is yet to commence or become evident” (Jones, 2016: 3). There is a dominant perspective that violent crime is increasing and it is a threat to individuals, communities, and the nation as a whole. However, this perceptive may be relative to actual crime increases (McLaughlin, 2001). This is apparent in how politicians and police are presented as experts, and their opinions are structured carefully in the article – usually after a statistic. These experts are often highlighted because they are figures of authority and power, who are responsible to actively or politically address the issues of crime and safety. Politicians, in particular, are extremely sensitive to public attitudes and the media discourse, thus the fear of crime creates huge misconceptions, pressure and can affect policy and law changes (McLaughlin,