Crime, Criminology, and the Crime Genre: Oppositions and Synchronicities

• In Event: Public Perception and the Crime Genre

Abstract

For years, many criminologists have argued that the crime genre presents misinformation about crime and the criminal justice system, and that this causes misperceptions in the public. However, other scholars suggest that despite inaccuracies, the crime genre is actually far more reflective of the workings of the criminal justice system than had been previously thought.
In this paper, we trace across historical and contemporary dimensions the relationship of crime genre productions, e.g., novels, film, and television, to past and present criminal justice practices and trends. We focus on three thematic linkage areas between the crime genre and criminal justice practice: science and technology; cultural diversity; security/insecurity. We demonstrate both opposition and synchronicity across time periods when the crime genre is compared to crime in the real world. We will argue that the parallels as well as the divergences between fictional constructions and the “reality” found in criminological analyses help us to gain significant insight into the problems in each.

Authors

• Gray Arco Cavender, Arizona State University

• Nancy Jurik, Arizona State University