Narratives of Crime and Criminals: How Places Socially Construct the Crime Problem¹

Abstract

A common narrative about crime in the contemporary United States is that offenders are primarily young black men living in poor urban neighborhoods committing violent and drug-related crimes. There is also a local context to community, crime, and fear that influences this narrative. In this article, I address how narratives of crime and criminals play out differently within particular places. The article is based on participant observation and interviews conducted in two high-crime Bostonarea communities. Although both communities are concerned with stereotypical offenders, there are differential community constructions of crime, formed through interactions between crime narratives and place identities. In one, crime is a community problem, in which both offenders and victims are community members. In the other, outsiders commit crime against community members. Media portrayals of crime and community, community race and class identities, and concerns over neighborhood change all contribute to place-specific framing of ''the crime problem.'' These frames, in turn, shape both intergroup dynamics and support for criminal justice policy.

social construction of neighborhood crime by the news media

“…This aligns with Leverentz's (2012) findings regarding crime narratives in a white, relatively affluent community that place the blame for crime on outsiders from other parts of the city. Combined with the findings of the current study that the newspapers tend to frame suspects as outsiders in areas low in disadvantage, Black residents and Hispanic residents, the differences news media's framing of people across types of neighborhoods helps to reinforce this narrative.…”

“…This framing was more common in reports of violent crimes from neighborhoods low in disadvantage, Black residents, and Hispanic residents compared to their high counterparts. This is not surprising, given findings by Leverentz (2012) that those in a more affluent, whiter area are more likely to frame local crime as a result of outsiders coming into their community to commit crime. The analysis of the language backs this up.…”

“…It is possible that if the media do not report crimes from disadvantaged neighborhoods, it may signal to residents of these areas that mainstream society does not care about them. Leverentz (2012) finds evidence of this in her qualitative investigation into narratives surrounding crime in in two Boston communities that have reputations for being high crime areas. In the community with a high Black population and higher levels of disadvantage compared to the rest of the city, residents are dismayed when the traumatic events that they suffer are not covered by the local media as it signals that their plight is not worth the attention of the greater public.…”

“…Grounded theory requires that theory be set aside in order to let substantive theory emerge from the data (Glaser & Strauss, 1967;Urquhart, 2013). Once I determine patterns in pertinent descriptions that emerge from the data, I plan to return to previously discussed ideas related to framing (Entman, 1993;Benford & Snow, 2000), newsworthiness (Chermak, 1995;Jewkes, 2015), and crime narratives (Leverentz, 2012) in order to determine any congruence with prior theory.…”

“…The social isolation from mainstream society experienced by these communities (Wilson, 1987;Anderson, 1999) may have implications for the ways in which the mainstream news media report violent crime (or not) in these areas (Leverentz, 2012).…”