Law and Order Society
Judging by the popularity of TV crime shows, many people appear to be fascinated by criminology and the criminal justice system! This could explain why you decided to take this class…or why you might decide at some point to major in criminology/criminal justice.
Why do you think people are fascinated by crime and criminal behavior? How does the popularity of so many TV shows reflect something about the American mindset towards crime and criminal behavior?
Some crimes fascinate us because they defy explanation – murder, serial killing, rape, mass shooting. While this sort of crime might lie far outside the realm of our individual experiences, the world of TV allows us to peer through the window so to speak; we now have a front row seat that permits us to get up close and personal with larger than life characters as well as other people and events that are removed from our day to day experiences.
It is only natural, as humans, that we seek to understand things that defy explanation. We look for reasons to explain that which appears to be unreasonable. This course will explore some of the theories and causative factors that underlie crime and will look at what might motivate people to commit crime. We’ll look at the different sources of data and other information available for researchers and students, who might want to assess the different patterns that are in evidence as part of an effort to explain crime.
What’s the Difference Between Criminology and Criminal Justice?
The academic differences between the study of criminology and criminal justice break down simply as follows:
Criminology is the study of the science of crime and criminals. Criminologists tend to be degree-holding academics, researchers, and policymakers, who study crime and criminals as well as associated social trends and patterns of activity that may apply to the former.
Criminal Justice is the study of the institutions that make up the criminal justice system: courts, police, and the law.
What is a Crime?
Simply put, a crime is any human conduct that violates the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or local jurisdiction that has the power to make and enforce the laws. But we will not only be concerned with what factually constitutes a crime in this course. We’ll also take a look at what may be considered as falling short of criminal behavior – what is deviant or abnormal – and the process by which human conduct may at some point fall outside of social norms, but not the law.
A youngster wears his pants with underwear showing in Riviera Beach, Florida (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Crime, Deviance, Delinquency
Pants “sagging,” for example, is for some people deviant, based on social norms, but not against the law. In some places, due to public outcry, jurisdictions passed local ordinances to prohibit the practice. Critics have pushed back, arguing that pants sagging is not only not criminal, it is not deviant, as the practice merely expresses a fashion statement. More important, the practice of sagging one’s pants ultimately hurts no one. Prohibition and sanctioning, they say, constitutes a form of racial profiling. What do you think?
This case is a classic example of how some communities, who decided to politically mobilize and redefine “bad behavior” to deviant behavior. This power to reclassify makes the behavior now subject to criminal sanction.
Deviance, however, is different from “delinquency,” a term that is used to refer to violations of criminal law and aberrant behavior committed by young people. The law typically defines “young people” as youth who have not yet attained 18 years of age (varies by state). After attaining the age of 18, youth are processed in the adult criminal justice system.
What Should Be Criminal?
There are two perspectives that help define the U.S. CJ system perspective on crime and criminality: 1) the consensus perspective; and 2) the pluralist perspective.
The consensus perspective emphasizes social homogeneity; it is an approach to understanding criminality informed by the idea that most members of society agree about what is right and what is wrong and that the various elements of society work together toward a common vision of the greater good. Put another way, this model assumes that the majority of citizens in a society share the same values and beliefs. Criminal acts are acts that conflict with these shared values and beliefs; this view, likewise, assumes there are values and morals that we all agree on and that they should be reflected in the law.
Multicultural societies like the United States, however, have found it difficult to achieve this model. Despite this, there are many residential areas in the U.S. that are less diverse. The people in these areas tend to value social conformity and are thus easily drawn to support the consensus perspective, assuming this is the “natural” way to think.
By way of contrast, the pluralist perspective emphasizes diversity; this way of thinking holds that a multiplicity of values and beliefs exist in any complex society. That is to say, diversity and different ways of thinking, being, and acted are more valued and tolerated.
Whatever position is taken, most people still agree on the usefulness of the law as a formal means of dispute resolution, even as it is also understood that in diverse societies with many different social groups conflict is perhaps inevitable. Both perspectives nonetheless agree that the legal system should be value-neutral and concerned with the best interests of society.
For Reflection & Discussion
Think about the crime shows that you have seen on television and reflect on which shows you found engaging. Why did you watch or like them? How do you think they have influenced what you know and how you think about the criminal justice system, police and the profession of policing, and who is/is not a criminal?
One crime show that really stuck with me was Criminal Minds. I started watching it because I found the psychological aspect of solving crimes really interesting. Unlike shows that focus mostly on action, Criminal Minds dives into the minds of criminals, which made it feel deeper and more thought-provoking. I liked trying to figure out the suspect’s profile before the team did.
Watching shows like this definitely shaped how I view the criminal justice system. They made me more aware of how complex criminal behavior can be, and that there’s often more going on than just “good guys vs. bad guys.” At the same time, I realize that these shows don’t always reflect reality; cases are often wrapped up quickly, and the police are almost always portrayed as the heroes. This can give a skewed perception that the system always works perfectly and that justice is always served, which isn’t necessarily true in real life.
I also think shows like this can influence how we see who is or isn’t a criminal. Often, the “bad guys” are portrayed as very extreme or mentally ill, which can create stereotypes. On the flip side, people in positions of authority are usually shown as trustworthy and competent, which isn’t always the case either. It’s made me more critical and aware of how the media can shape our opinions without us even realizing it.
I grew up watching Blood Blues with my dad every Wednesday night. It was his favorite show, and I wanted to be like my dad, so it eventually became my favorite show too. I really only watched it for the thrill and action, I never thought about pursuing something like law enforcement before. This show is about a family who grew up and raised into police work, who all work in different positions of law enforcement and work together to solve crimes in New York City. This show has taught me a little about each field they decided to pursue but since I was young, it really did not make sense to me. I also did not know who is and who is not a criminal but from what I understand now is that the criminal system can be very complicated and there are many opinions on what a criminal is. What I do know though, is that this show showed me that every bad decision will come with a price and that I always need to think twice before I speak and act out.
Criminology and Criminal Justice are two different things. Criminology focuses more on the why perspective of crimes, and also looks into how they are committed and what’s left behind. Now criminal justice is the application and enforcement of laws through police departments and courts. When I was younger, I loved watching criminal minds. My favorite parts were seeing the crime scenes and how they were able to break it down to figure out what happened.
Per your syllabus, word count minimum of 150-200 wds. was not achieved (this is 75 words). Half the words, so half the credit applies.
I’ve never really watched crime shows. I think my mom hid those shows from me as to not romanticize the realities of the criminal justice system and more specifically the police. I have watched some true crime episodes with my friend, and they were interesting. Like stated above in the blog post, I found myself interested in the show because I wanted to understand what felt unexplainable. Coming from a family who has only ever been misunderstood and harmed by the criminal justice system, I was looking to evaluate the police and their actions in the shows. Because of my previous influences, I always found it difficult to follow the narrative that the shows were trying to push. Now, I haven’t seen this show in a long time, but it always felt like the police were using excessive force on the “criminal.” Half the time the person just seemed extremely high with a few rocks in their pocket and they were getting dragged across a parking lot with no resistance. Seemingly, I was supposed to be cheering because the cop got the “bad guy,” but I never found it satisfying.
Criminal justice or crime shows were never my top choice when it came to TV shows. However, recently I have been obsessed with watching Dexter, and it absolutely represents flaws within the system itself. The show is extremely entertaining because watchers never know what will happen next, and there are plot twists. However, even though it is entertaining, I think it highlights the system’s flaws. For starters, the entire show is based on Dexter killing people the criminal justice system fails to convict. Most of the episodes are about a criminal killing someone, getting away with it, then Dexter steps in to take justice into his own hands. Although that is obviously not the solution to injustice, it shows how Dexter has to do what the system fails to do. The show also demonstrates how there are corrupt people in policing who abuse their power, which is accurate for our country. Overall, Dexter sheds a lot of light on corruption and mistakes in the criminal justice system.
I’ve always been interested in crime shows (Law and Order) because they are very interesting and I knew I always wanted to be some type of lawyer in the criminal field. I wanted to help the “criminals” that are innocent and don’t deserve the hatred they go through. I know how it feels to get accused of something I didn’t do and be nervous when it’s time to defend my name and I want them to have someone help them defend themselves. I liked the show because it shows every detail about being a lawyer and getting down to the point of every single case, they always helped people and that’s what I want to do. A person who is found “Not Guilty” is not a criminal.
I’ve watched a lot of crime television shows, both non-fiction documentary tv shows and fictional drama procedurals. Personally, I preferred the fictional drama procedurals, likely because it’s more comforting to know the source of the viewers’ entertainment isn’t someone’s real pain. When watching crime procedurals, I often stuck around for the dramatic plots and intriguing moral debates that could be brought up in those contexts. However, I think some other reasons people may consume these shows is out of an interest in learning or understanding more about crime or because they are seeking a sense of justice that they feel they can’t get from their real-life surroundings.
I think the portrayal of crime in fictional television deeply influences how the criminal justice system is perceived on an individual level and by the public. Some have accused shows based around those who work in the criminal justice system to be propaganda made to gain trust in the system from society. But a lot of shows have nuance too, and feature storylines that make people dig a little deeper into the social problems that could cause someone to be caught up in crime. I think assessing if a crime show has had a positive impact on my opinion of the criminal justice system really depends on the show and their attitude toward both sides.
In the case of non-fiction crime tv shows, I am much more likely to sympathize with the police if they are willing to admit which parts of their cases they could’ve made better choices (if applicable.) I am also often much quicker to be on the police’s side when watching these shows if it displays the personal effect the crimes have on the personnel working the case.
I never really watched any crime shows until my girlfriend showed me Criminal Minds. I was very quickly interested in that show for lots of different reasons. I think the show was so interesting to me because it will sometimes focus a lot on the psychological aspects of criminals and I am a psychology major. I also learned a good bit about what the FBI does, specifically the profilers. I was also very surprised by how they were simultaneously very talented on a psychological level and were able to understand the kind of criminals at their hands, as well as their physical abilities. They are very trained with guns and in very good shape. Some episodes will come right out and show you who the criminal is and others keep it a secret until the end, this keeps you guessing and on your toes. It also puts into perspective the fact that sometimes the criminals are right under their noses and there is no real set format for who is a criminal and who isn’t. A small detail I have noticed is the relationship between FBI and local police, the local police sometimes do not appreciate that the FBI have had to come in and they feel as if their job is being stolen or not done right.
I grew up watching famous crime tv shows such as Blue Bloods, Law & Order, and CSI. They are still my favorite type of shows to binge watch, but the one show that stood out to me was Law & Order SVU. The characters who played detectives and lawyers were interesting to me because of some of the cases they investigated. It gave an overall perspective of the criminal justice system and aspects of criminology which motivated me to get involved and earn my degree in criminal justice. The show tackles many of the most recent topics in today’s society whether that be police brutality, racial profiling, corruption within the police, cybercrime, etc. Although the tv show is fictional, they tried their best to portray the criminal justice system through real life situations where crimes take place. They also included everyone’s background and social structure to navigate where and how it led them to either the crime they committed or are accused of. Not everything was exact by actual law and order, but it did teach me a few terms known in the criminal justice dictionary as well.
I grew up watching “Law & Order: SVU”, “Criminal Minds”, “Forensic Files”, and a lot of different shows on the “Investigation Discovery” channel with my grandma. After watching them a few times, I realized I was very interested in crime solving. I liked how they could catch a killer just off one little clue that somebody happened to notice. The small things like that always made me enjoy watching these shows. I do admit that I used to think policing was all action from watching shows like “Criminal Minds.” After watching shows like “Forensic Files”, I realized that it takes months and sometimes years to solve these cases. They spend hours going through paperwork and evidence to find these little clues. The more action-packed crime shows made me think anybody could be a criminal, mostly because they would arrest anybody in the shows. Shows like “The First 48” made me think people of color were criminals because they were always arresting black and Latino people.
I have watched some crime shows on television when I was a little younger. I liked NCIS a lot and watched many seasons of it. I liked how detailed and how many people can get involved into an investigation. It takes not just one brain sometimes but can take 4 or 5 people to think and put everything together to figure out the crime. They have influenced me on what I know today about the criminal justice system and policing because of all the different crimes they have to figure out. Every situation is different and everyone has their own story. It could be something very simple like collecting blood on a crime scene or cross tracing through multiple other people to figure out who the murder or their accomplice could be. This has taught me a lot about how investigators go about doing their job and how they carry out play by play on how to solve the mystery. This has also taught me that there is potential for anything to happen at any time of the day and you never can expect crime to happen. It’s something that when it happens it happens and you just have to react to it to figure it out. This keeps people out of trouble and learning consequences of crime all around.
I grew up watching (and still love) crime shows like SVU, NCIS, and shows on investigation discovery. These shows definitely piqued a already strong interest in the criminal justice world for me. It honestly made me go more in depth into research, and although I realized that TV is nothing like the actual world of criminal justice, I enjoyed them for the thrill and trying to solve the cases before the cast did. I think for a while these shows had me believing that cops could do no wrong and were there to protect, but I realized the opposite was true as I grew up.
Per your syllabus, word count minimum of 150-200 wds. was not achieved (this is 105 words).
I have watched many different crime shows. Varying from different departments of our criminal justice field. The main shows I watched were criminal minds, north wood laws, and beyond scared straight. This showed two different aspects as in criminal minds you got to see what the criminal did and thought, how the forensic people handled their job, and also how the police handled their job too. North wood laws showed what it’s like to be a game warden. They deal with different problems in hunting and fishing. But what people don’t know is they can also respond to normal crime scenes and help police officers out with their job. Beyond scared straight showed juveniles who got into a lot of trouble going into prisons systems to see what they are like. These shows interest me because I like seeing how people figure out crimes and go through all the steps to see what the person did and how to catch them. These shows influenced me now to be able to know certain laws about our policing system. My father works in a juvenile corrections facility so I always found it interesting when he told me stories behind his job. These shows showed me what his job kind of entailed. I believe that our police systems are good but could be better. Some of the shows like beyond scared straight showed how our prisons are across the country. Sometimes the prisons are awful and treat the prisoners like garbage. Which most people would say is how they should be treated, but I believe that we should work to help people in jail and prison get help to possibly not be able to commit these crimes again or other crimes. When it comes to who the criminal is I believe it’s both the community and our police, like I said in last weeks post the police aren’t always innocent. That’s why I believe they should be held to a higher standard.
When discussing crime shows 2 come to mind. The first one would be watching NCIS with my grandmother, it was always something about the scenes that would not only be full of action but also build suspense and give you fractions of the information trying to figure out who it was from behind the scenes. So that sparked my interest from just planning to become a cop to setting my goal a step further and trying to become a behavior analyst. Secondly would be Criminal minds, I remember being introduced to the show through my sister and I didn’t think much of it until I realized that not only are they chasing down highly dangerous criminals but they are also dissecting the way they think and the reason/s behind their motives, I found it fascinating because growing up as much as I cared about hat someone did ( something they shouldn’t have done ) I was always more interested in why, wether it be from peer pressure to personal issues to even jut outright ignorance. Lastly is the show of all shows, the one that started it, COPS. Just seeing the behind the scenes of reality and coming to understand that its not always going to be some high speed chase or serial killers mind to try and pick at but the slow night cruises and the common traffic stops and even just being called to help in low risk situations, knowing that there are people out there who can call u even in the least amount of danger or even just being scared can rely on you ( or your team ) to show up. I believe that people o make mistakes some more serious than others and that needs to be taken into account when not only handling the situation but when deciding the consequences that will come along with it.
Growing up I watched a lot of crime shows, but the one that captured my attention instantly was criminal minds. One of my favorite episodes in season 4 was based off a real-life serial killer that targeted sex workers and fed their remains to his pig farm. This show goes into unsubs and how they figure out who committed the crime. It goes into very deep detail about what morals people have and psychological traumas. Criminal minds does not go into a consensus perspective, it goes more into sociological perspectives. This show along with The Rookie taught me to that the first person you look at is most of the time not the killer and can be a victim in the situation. These shows may not always accurately portray FBI work correctly, but they give you a sight into the profile and understanding the why the victim was chosen.
Growing up, I watched Criminal Minds with my mom. I didn’t really understand what the show meant until I was older, middle school age. I wasn’t really interested in the crime fighting, I was more interested in the criminals and the interviews that happened after the criminal was caught. As much as I was interested in this, it was equally terrifying, there were definitely episodes that left me sleepless and riddled with nightmares. I was in my late teens, early 20’s when I really began to question, “how could someone do this” or “what was going on in their mind at the time of the crime?” I would ask myself these questions and ultimately became fascinated with the Psychology behind these criminals. It wasn’t until I watched the series, How to get Away with Murder, that I became enthralled in the social/external and legal aspect of criminals. The show was based on a group of students going through Law school and they commit different crimes, and their professor inevitably keeps them from getting in any legal trouble. It was interesting how the series was written to show the events leading up to a crime and how it affected everyone, i.e. classmates, family, lawyers, etc. From a psychological perspective, the audience knew what the criminal was thinking and feeling. From a legal perspective, the audience could see the missteps and wrong turns that everyone took. Now, from a social aspect, the audience could also see the fear of the group. One person wants to tell the police, while the other is worried about the ramifications. Granted, the series would’ve ended after the first episode if the criminal had just admitted to what they had done. The biggest things to take away from this show are, don’t murder someone, if you do murder someone-don’t lie about it. I think that criminals are fascinating. I want to look at all of the breadcrumbs that lead someone to commit different crimes.
Reflecting on crime shows I have seen on TV such as Dateline, Criminal Minds, and Law and Order I find these shows very engaging. I love watching shows like this because said shows make me want to solve crime or reflect on the criminal’s mindset. One of my favorite parts about the show dateline is predicting whether or not the prime suspect will be convicted. Secondly Law and Order offers interesting comparison to real life court rooms. A fault of a lot of these shows is that it gives a false perspective into crime itself. Some ways it creates this said perspective would be how quickly DNA evidence is processed and making unrealistic arrests.
I believe these shows influenced my perspective by getting me interested in the criminal justice system itself. Whether I was watching dateline with my mom, or catching up on the new episode of law and order I was always very intrigued on how these systems and policing worked in real life. In conclusion I have crime shows in general to thank for my passion for criminal justice.
I watched a lot of crime shows growing up the one that I watched the most and still watch to this day is Hawaii 5-O. I found this show enjoyable since it was always different story’s and left cliffhangers on episodes to keep you on your toes. Shows like this help influence to me who I see as a criminal like the difference between minor and major offenses. With many in the shows being major offenses it tells me what all is considered major since some of the things are on the border on major and minor.
Per your syllabus, word count minimum of 150-200 wds. was not achieved (this is 97 words).
I watched a lot of crime shows on television and each of the shows I watched, I found interesting in their own way because of the plot of the story from that episode, and some of the times I found some episodes more interesting then others because of the people who would guest star and also the guest stars role that they would play. What I also liked was that the cases where stories that I had heard about, like the Trayvon Martin case. Watching that episode intrigued me more into the show because most of the episodes I watched were about rape, abuse, and kidnapping but seeing that episode brought more of my attention to the show because of course the show could say the cases are real stories from detectives and that be false but after watching that episode about a case that happened in current time verified that for me. Watching the shows gave me a little more insight on how the justice system works like for example, the jury determines really if you walk free or get your rights taken from you and face imprisonment and it is between the attorney and defendant to persuade the jury that the person being accused is either guilty of the crime he is in court for or innocent and I learned that sometimes the defendant tells there client to plead guilty in hope of shortening the sentence. As I continued to watch more and more shows I learned a lot of new terminology and jobs like the difference between a police officer and a detective, about the SWAT team and their job, the coroner the forensic scientist etc. Learning all the information I did it made me think the criminal justice system was fair but also it had a lot of flaws too it, like how detectives would think one person was the culprit of a crime but the person that was least suspected was the actual perpetrator and the person who they originally believed to be the one who committed the crime was the one scared to tell the truth because of how traumatized they were of what happened to them. That show is the reason I can believe that some police officers are actual good police officers, and they are just as scared, and they want to make it home to their family just like anyone in any job. I believe one of the causes of the problems is how they are trained. To really change anything, you must start at the root of the problem and once that step is taken people will just have to cooperate for there to be change. I feel as though one major issue of crime and punishment is that 2 men can commit the same crime and get two different outcomes whether it be the color of their skin or anything it is unjust. It is unfair that happens. I do not have a solution to that issue, but I know how I feel about it. I completely understand that if the evidence shown explains that the person who committed the crime is guilty, but the punishment should not be altered because a claim of a mental illness that no one paid attention to until people got hurt.
I have always been interested in how the crime system works. Also I always caught myself watching more and more crime shows and my interest grew towards the subject. Plus I have always wanted to help the community in some way or another. I want to learn about peoples hardships and also possibly be able to help people start a new chapter of their life.
I grew up watching Law and Order: SVU with my mom. I don’t know why she let me watch it at quite a young age but she did. I liked the show because it was exciting and something I’d never seen before especially when I was 12. I think this show allowed me to develop a lot of misconceptions about crime. The show was also very realistic at times, I remember an episode where a prison guard raped a woman. At the time I thought it was unrealistic but looking back that could be quite true. As an adolescent I didn’t think police could be bad or wrong and I didn’t think people were ever falsely convicted of crime. I didn’t think there was injustice in the criminal justice system but I have grown to realize that there is.
Watching TV crime shows is one of the many reasons I have decided to take this course. The criminal justice field has always been fascinating to me and TV shows like Homicide Hunter, Forensic Files, Dateline, and even Law & Order have reassured me that this would be a good major for me. Crime seems to have become more common in the US, but I think it has just become more televised. Watching many crime shows has determine how I feel about police and even detectives. These shows show how some police can be racists, crooks, and even understanding cops. These shows have also helped me to sometimes determine who is a criminal and who is not due to common sense but sometimes it is not easy to tell who a criminal is. Many stereotypes are made to put certain groups of people into certain criminal groups. I want to get involved in the criminal justice system to look into crime and look further into real criminals.
I’ve always been interested in crime since I was a child, I was always curious to know what was happening in the world and who was committing them. i watched Cops as a kid and it always was interesting because I had family members who were in and out of jail and I wanted to know what it was like. Honestly watching Cops a a kid helped me stay out of trouble because i was always scared of the consequences.
I’ve been watching crime shows since I was a little kid. Not because I was interested, but because my mom would watch it and I would be around to watch it as well. Of course, over time I realized how interesting it is, causing me to be interested in it as a career ever since. I like how real crime shows like First 48 and Dateline go into detail about all the evidence that they find on the scene and how the show interviews between suspects & witnesses. On fake crime shows such as Law & Order show detectives taking whatever risks they need to to accomplish their mission. This has caused me to constantly remind myself that a police man or detective will do whatever it takes to put the suspect behind bars. This can be a pro and/or a con in many ways. This could mean that detectives successfully put the suspect behind bars. Or as a con, can result in police officers racially profiling innocent people and putting them behind bars for a crime they did not commit.
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