CSI Effect: The Role Of Violent Crime In The Media

Violent crime in America has always been a problem, but as a result of the media citizens think it is a bigger issue than it actually is. The media would rather focus on violent crime, specifically murder, rather than the more common crimes such as: burglary assault, etc. This helped create what is known as the ‘CSI Effect,’ which is the idea that viewers think crime is exactly like crimes portrayed on television. As a Criminal Justice major I am able to see how the ‘CSI Effect’ affects members of society. Murder rate changes from state to state, but when comparing rates from 2002 and 2012 you will realize many states have only had a slight increase in murder rates during this ten year time period. There are also some states whose rates have decreased. Also some people may think that states with a higher population will have a higher murder rate, but with my second and third maps I will be able to show that that is not always the case. My first map will show the percent change in murder rates by state between 2002 and 2012. My second map will show the percent change in population between 2002 and 2012. Finally, my third map will show which states had an increase in murder rate and population, a decrease in both murder rate and population, an increase in only population and
Census Burrow website which will be used as my spatial data source. I received the population and murder rates from 2002 and 2014 from the U.S. department of Justice, which will be my non-spatial data source. These were pulled from the Uniform Crime Reports, which are completed annually. The Uniform Crime Report is a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of nearly 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies voluntarily reporting data on crimes brought to their attention. These include all minor and major crimes committed throughout the