Policing and Criminal Justice

Running head: POLICING AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
POLICING AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

POLICING AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE1
Introduction
Crime may be regarded as any particular act that is unlawful and which shall be
punishable by the respective authorities. A crime may be committed against any particular
individual or against the society as a whole. A particular crime shall be considered as an issue
that may be anti-social. The Crime and Disorder Act of the year 1998 provides a definition for
the term ‘anti-social behavior’. ‘Anti-social behavior’ may be referred to an act, which has
instigated or is expected to instigate distress, alarm, panic or harassment to any particular
individual or more than one individual who all may not belong to the same household. The
individual committing any particular crime shall be referred to as the perpetrator. This paper
discusses how any particular crime may be contained with the help of various academic theories
and the policing conceptions.
Vandalism
Vandalism shall be considered as any particular action that involves deliberate
destruction, devastation, annihilation or damage to private or public property. The term
‘vandalism’ includes graffiti, defacement and litter that is directed towards and executed in
relation to any particular property. Such act is done without the prior permission, consent or
authorization of the owner. Acts relating to vandalism are frequent in the neighborhood (Bhati
and Pearce 2017).
Public Disorder
A public disorder may referred to the conduct of any particular individual or any
particular association in public place, which may possibly cause or expects to cause nuisance,
alarm, aggravation, harassment or distress to the people present at the place. The offence in

POLICING AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE2
relation to public disorder may considered to be grave and serious if the intention is to cause
violence and harm to any person or provoke any person to cause violence and harm (Lewis et. al.
2017).
Relevant Theories
The interaction with the media is comprehended in relation to the policing concept that
may be applied to contain such acts of vandalism in the neighborhood. The policing concept may
be determined after understanding the media theory. The media theory relates to the relationship
between the society and the media. This theory relates to the effect that media has over the
society. The media theory specifies certain theories that are discussed below. They are as
follows:-
 Authoritarian Theory: As per this theory, communication regarding the public and
the media comes under the supervision and control of the governing power and any
particular opinion, manifestation or expression, which might demoralize or destabilize the
recognized political and social order, can be barred and prohibited. Even though the
Authoritarian Theory contradicts the right in relation to the freedom of expression, it may
be appealed under extreme circumstances.
 Social Responsibility Theory: As per this theory, the media is free to express,
however, the media should agree and follow the obligations, responsibilities or duties in
relation to serving the public good. This means that compliance with such obligations or
duties may be ensured, either with the help of professional self-regulation or with the
help of public intervention, or with the help of both (Hoggett and Stott 2015).