Liamcrime

Day after day, the wider media issue reports on violent crimes, with a heavy focus on knife crime. It can be argued that the way in which violent crime is reported in the media focuses on pointing the blame on race, age, gender and the local communities in which they are immersed into. This blog aims to explore these narratives and to point out that the representation of violent crime, in the media is often misguided and does not truly reflect the reality as well as exploring central social structures and political philosophies which need to be held to account as well. On Monday April 1 st , 2019, BBC News published a headline on their website titled, - ‘Schools and NHS could be held accountable over Youth Crime’. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-477686 3 1 The article discussed the ways in which schools and the NHS have ‘failed’ to prevent youth groups falling into violent crime. First, this article is blatant evidence that the wider media are not willing to accept that the Pol...

Jack the Ripper strikes again in Whitechapel.  Picture this: an unknown assailant, prowls the dark, smoggy and dingy streets of Whitechapel in a top hat and leather apron. His victims? Vulnerable, desperate, and easily accessible women. Murdered, mutilated and dismembered in the most inhumane, degrading and violent way.  You would be forgiven for thinking that we have gone back in time to Whitechapel 1888, but the scene described above is in fact, the backdrop to the ITV Crime thriller series ‘Whitechapel’ set in 2008 onwards. It depicts violent crime focusing on spree killings and gangland crimes. By drawing upon the rich pool of folklore, history and genuine criminal history research, a copycat killer emerges in every episode. In this series, a copycat Ripper. This blog will be exploring Whitechapel’s media portrayal of crime, as a fascinating collusion between the key facets of policing practises, both past and present, when solving a murder case. The characterisation o...