Fear of crime has been the focus of considerable research in Canada and the United States over the past five decades. An enduring question for researchers is the impact of various forms of media on fear of crime. Specifically, do the salience of specific media types and the amount of exposure to specific news media – newspapers, television, radio, and Internet – affect fear of crime? Using survey data collected at three universities in the United States and one in Canada, this article comparatively examines the impact of media on fear of crime among university students. The results show distinct differences between Canadian and U.S. students, with Canadian students reporting significantly higher levels of fear, particularly of violent crime. The impact of media on fear was inconsistent between the two groups, but media tended to exert a broader range of influence on the American students' fear of crime.

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Students majoring in criminology and criminal justice are assumed to have more detailed and accurate knowledge about crime, criminal justice, and punishment practices than peers majoring in other disciplines. The purpose of this study was to examine if criminology/criminal justice majors were more or less punitive than students pursuing other majors at three universities using standard predictors of punitiveness that have not been consistently examined in previous research. The results indicate that criminology and criminal justice students are more punitive in the combined three-campus sample and in two of the three-campus samples considered separately.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected various aspects of our lives. For many, it has affected their ability to attend school. While some have switched to online classes, others have had to drop or delay college until later. Using official enrollment data for 12 public universities in the State of Texas, this study explores the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on student enrollment in criminal justice programs. A series of statistical techniques, including t-tests comparing pre- and post-pandemic enrollment numbers and panel data analysis models, are utilized to investigate the trends and changes in the program enrollments between 2009 and 2021. While in alignment with the existing research on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on college enrollment in general the authors have found a negative statistically significant effect of the pandemic on total college enrollment for all universities in the sample, no statistically significant effect of the pandemic was found on enrollment in criminal justice programs at 12 public universities. The effect was also non-existent for engineering and all social science programs combined. In contrast to all other programs studied herein, enrollment in natural science programs was found to be positively associated with the pandemic. Authors offer an explanation for these findings as well as suggest ideas for future research.