Statistics and 'Why Kids Kill'

The documentary on channel 4, Why Kids Kill, was broadcast on 8/2/08. It was very usefull as it raised a lot of questions, though there are some flaws that i must bear in mind. In particular, i have to bear in mind that it is coming from the perspective of the reporter, or channel four. I therfore must be critical when watching it. It uses a lot of statistics in order to back up its points, however these are a mixture of official statistics interspersed with dispaches own research stats. This appears to make their research more credible. I would be interested in writing to the researcher in order to find out more about the research they carried out. This may help me with my own primary research.

The statisics given in this section of the program are:

• In 2006-07 there were 15 homocides and 8344 violent crimes (met police)
• 1 in 4 of violent crimes in Lambeth were commited by teengers (london borough of Lambeth crime and disorder audit 2004)
• 1 in 10 youths aged 11-15 has carried a knife (2004 survey of 11000 school children for government office for london)
• Knives were used in 2 out of 3 of teenage killings in the uk in 2007, (dispatches own research)
• 1 in 5 teenage killings in UK involved guns (dispatches own research)
• 1 in 17 london youths 11-15 has fired a hand gun (2004 survey of 31000 school children for government office for london)
• 1 in 4 london gun crimes commited by a youth ages 17 or under in 2007 (metropolitan police)
• A MAC-10 submachine gun is 'believed' to have been used by teenagers in 4 london killings in the past 14 months (press and police reports)
• 3 out of 5 teenage killings in the UK in 2007are believed to be gang related (dispaches own research)
• Youth gang members are 2 or 3 times more likely to be victims and perpertraitors of violent crime (average figures from current academic research)
• 1 in 10 london youths ages 11-15 belong to a gang with it's own territory (2004 survey of 11000 school children for government office for london)
• 8 years ago there were aprox 5 gangs in Lambeth, now there are aproximately 30
• It is thought that each large housing estate in Brixton has its own gang
• Robbery is the most common trigger for serious violence in 56% of cased (dispaches own research)
• Lambeth has more robberies thatn any other london borough
• 3 out of 5 teenage killings took place in 20% of the most deprived areas (dispaches own research)

I will conclude this later, i need food now :-)

Detailed Proposal

1. Topic Area

Crime and the media

2. Proposed title, question, hypothesis

Perception of youth crime in the media

3. Teacher approval granted, in principal?

yes

4. Principle texts (if text based study)

5. Reason for choice

Interest in topic area, some knowledge of crime from a sociological perspective, lends itself well to primary research, lots written about crime, acessible through press, film, news etc,

6. Academic context for this study (similar research, relevant theory, named theorists)

to follow

7. Institutional context for this study (industry focus, other texts for comparison, named practitioners, relevant theory, issues, questions)

News/documentary/the press

to follow

8. Identify the audience context for this study (audience profile, access to audience, potential sample)

Potential audience groups that i could consult include:

• the elderly
• parents
• youth
• gang members
• victims of youth crime
• police officers

9. How will the 4 key concepts be relevant to your study (audience, institution, forms and conventions, representation)?

The four topics are completely interconnected...

• Audience groups/general public are involved in 'creating' the stories and consuming the news stories
• The different institutions choose how to present this in their coverage of the topic within the news and newspapers
• This coverage creates a certain representation of crime and youth which is consumed by the audience

10 Potential research sources (secondary): secondary academic books and websites, secondary industry books and websites, secondary popular criticism. Please identify specific examples you have come across.

To follow

11. Potential research sources (primary): audience reception research, your own content/textual analysis etc

• analysis of a news bulletin or documentary
• questionnaires about general perceptions of groups and peoples consumption of the media and news
• follow up interviews with different audience groups about how their news consumption contributes to their perceptions
• perhaps see if there are any correlations between media consumption and attitudes to groups or crime
• discussion with gang members or victims of crime about their experiences, motivations, feelings about their representation and whether it is accurate.

12. Modifications agreed with your lead teacher

??

13. Potential limits/obstacles/problems?

accessing people could be a problem, however i don't think it will be too difficult to find people as it isn't a very niche topic and affects almost everyone.

14. Teacher concerns

15. Teacher approval

Initial Proposal

When preparing an initial proposal, please answer the following questions:

1. Which topic area is this proposal for?

Crime and the media

2. What is the suggested focus?

Gang Culture and youth crime. I'd like to find out how they are represented and portrayed in the media, with a particular emphasis on how different audience groups view youth as a group, as a result of the media coverage.

3. Do you have an idea for a question/problematic?

not yet, :-)

4. Why would you choose this?

I'm studying crime and deviance in sociology at the moment, and i'm finding the topic really interesting. I think the knowledge i have from this will help me get a more rounded picture and will give me a head start. I also think this topic will lend itself well to doing a range of primary research methods, such as interviews, questionnaires, as well as allowing me to investigate a wide range of audiences. This will be usefull particularly as it can be difficult to find willing participants for interviews and questionnaires.

5. Do you have any concerns or are there any limitations to this proposal?

I'm not sure at the moment how to fins a specific title for my research, but i think that as i look more into it and perhaps talk to different people, i will find a particular area to research/

6. Can you rate it on a sliding scale 1- 5 (5 being great proposal, 0 being lousy proposal)

4