58 3 Police and Law Enforcement—Civil Forensicsconducted examining the effect the media and its influence on popular culture has
had on public views of criminal justice. For example, Newman (1990) describes how
a variety of popular cultural mediums provide a framework for public perception of
the criminal justice system. More specifically, lie describes the history and role of
television detectives, soap operas, nonfiction television, advertising, popular/rock
music, comics, movies and their detectives, and westerns in shaping this public
perception. He concluded that the content and media of popular culture are ways
of understanding the kind of consciousness it represents and that various themes
involved in this medium should be understood since we are all, in essence, elements
of criminal justice, particularly that of criminal punishment.
In keeping with the theme of popular culture, media, and criminal justice, per-
haps no better example exists which exemplifies the positively growing relationship
between these forums as do television shows such as "Cops" and "Real Stories of
the Highway Patrol." Series such as these are the epitome of the blending between
police practice and media portrayal of law enforcement work. In fact, in one case
(United States v. Sanusi, 1992), a suit was initiated involving nine defendants who
were charged with credit card fraud. In preparation of his defense, the defending
attorney subpoenaed a CBS videotape filmed during a search of one of the defen-
dant's apartment; CBS refused to turn over the videotape. In turn, a variety of issues
were brought into the public eye involving First and Fourth Amendment issues and
controversies. In other words, had the press' rights been violated when asked to
return the tape or had the defendant's rights to privacy been violated when a media
source obtained a copy of his personal affairs? As a result of this case, a number of
legal controversies were clarified. Most of these related to policy matters that are
discussed in the following pages.
A review of the discussion thus far, however, may lead the reader to believe that
all public perception of crime and legal control have been through the influence
of the mass media; this is not necessarily the case. Ericson (1991), for example,
describes a series of other sources that are also influential in the establishment ot
this process. He cites research that has shown that the mass media are only one of
many sources in which the public obtains its views on police and criminal justice.
Further, he states that there are certain types of approaches, one of which is termed
the "effects" approach, that holds certain assumptions regarding the public influence
of the mass media and crime, law, and criminal justice. Some other assumptions of
this view include the notion that the mass media transmits distorted information
about crime and legal control. He goes on to describe how the effects of the
mass media as agency, technology, and institution interact with the criminal justice
system.
Naturally, public perception of law enforcement may come from the psycho-
logical underpinnings of how officers tend to view themselves. In other words,
the officers attitudes regarding themselves and their profession may elicit certain
psychological sets which manifest behaviorally. The public views these behaviors
and consequently makes its own judgments regarding police and their practices.