Newsmaking criminology argues that criminologists should interpret, influence, and even shape the direction of newsworthy information about crime and justice to the extent that they aggressively make their presence known by engaging the media. This article calls for an expansion in the practice of newsmaking criminology to also include criminal justicians, as well as social workers when it comes to the issue of school violence. Recently, a number of shootings have occurred on school campuses in rural, urban, and suburban America. When these shootings are reported, they quickly become politicized and generate widespread attention from parents, law enforcement, politicians, community activists, and policy-makers. However, what appears to be missing from the discussion is input from criminologists, criminal justicians, and social workers who could bring a wealth of knowledge and understanding to these atrocities. This study used a random sample of 129 items from over a twenty-one year period in a content analysis to categorize the spokespersons used by the mass media to discuss school violence and school shootings.
With the increased number of documented cases of violence perpetrated by police against protesters of the Black Lives Matter movement, public health officials are starting to list police violence as a health risk or a public health issue for black Americans. Using several timely theoretical explanations, we explore reasons why law enforcement officers routinely inflict violence against black protesters and avoid criminal stigma. Although police use of excessive force and untimely killings of blacks have always been criminal justice issues, the number of negative health consequences that are emerging after violent police confrontations implicates public health concerns. We argue that several strategies can be used to reduce police violence in the future.
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