Context: The emergence of punitive segregation had as much to do with popular and political appeal as it did with a loss of confidence in criminal justice professionals.

Yet it was not until the 1960s that punitive segregation became an issue for electoral competition, gaining support and momentum at the state or local level and finding its way into national politics.

Evaluating crime policy through a political lens created a loss of confidence in criminal justice professionals and has created a significant shift in policy and practice as politicians gained, and continue to gain, a foothold in crime policy implementation.

The shift can be viewed as one between populism and professionalism in policy-making. Some argue this shift was and continues to be prompted by inflated media images and campaigns misrepresenting the true nature of crime and public sentiment.

Although it is true that media does play a part in public sentiment, it is difficult to conclude that the voting public is entirely persuaded by this medium.

Specifically, the media is reinforcing already underlying social and psychological conditions to generate the shift and promote the urge to evaluate the way that crime policy is managed.

Task Description

Review the article: Electronic Reserves: Setting the Public Fear Agenda

Using research done in this article as a springboard, conduct your own research to present a two-four page paper analyzing the impact of public influence on the evaluation of crime policy.