Table of contentsIntroductionResearch questionTheoryPhenomenonAbout risk and media portrayalsSocial reactionsConclusionIntroductionThe UK has gone through many difficulties and transformations over the last decade with terrorism to the Manchester and London attacks, the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union and the consequences and challenges the country will face when we leave. The UK is well known for its tourist attractions, including London, Manchester, Birmingham and the Lake District, to name a few. Nevertheless; Since January 2018, there has been a re-emergence of gang culture and knife crime in the UK, which has led to an increase in the number of cases, particularly in London, reported not only to the police but also by the media . Being from the UK, I enjoy visiting London for work or as a tourist looking to explore its history. For me personally, it is scary to see the reports of knife crime. For my part, I won't let the fear of what's happening stop me from coming, but I will be more hyper-vigilant of those around me in the future. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'?Get the original essayResearch questionThe problems with knife crime in the UK are not a new problem that emerged in 2018, they have been around for a long time many years ago. However; media representation of the issue has been raised and more highlighted in recent years and with this in mind, my research question aims to explore these issues further. How does the media portrayal of knife crime in London create moral panic among British citizens? TheoryFor this research, theories such as Stanley Cohen's (1972) Folk Devils and Moral Panicory and the theory of Howard Becker's labeling (1963) can be used to assess and explain how the media reports the stabbings taking place in London and the reactions of the British public in response to these attacks. Ulrich Beck's (1996) theory of risk society will be used briefly to determine what risk society means in relation to this research question and, in this case, risk society will be the people who commit knife crimes and media reports on the problem. Phenomenon About Risk and Media RepresentationsKnife crime as a topic is very difficult to explore because there is no clear classification to describe it, making it difficult to define which crime falls into the category of knife crime . This can be demonstrated by Eades et al (2007:9) in their book on 'knife crime', a review of evidence and policy, which states that 'knife crime potentially encompasses a very wide range of offenses and therefore poses problems both in the definition and determination of its prevalence. They further claim that much of the reporting of knife crime by politicians and the media is misleading to the public due to the unreliability of the information and the failure to present the "facts accurately". As I mentioned in my introduction, knife crime is not a new phenomenon in the UK or particularly London, it has been prevalent for over a decade and beyond. The Serious Violence Strategy Report (2018), which is a report produced by the government. of the United Kingdom forinvestigating knife and firearm offenses, shows over a four-year period, from 2013 to 2017, police figures for knife crime increased by 39%. However; Since January 2018 we have seen an increase in the number of cases of knife crime reported to the police and the media. Figures from an Office for National Statistics report show that there was an increase in reported cases between March 2017 and March 2018, and that violence with a weapon such as a knife increased by 40,127 per year. compared to March 2016-17. . - However, one criticism of the report is that it does not account for the race, ethnicity or age of the offender who committed the crime. According to Hall (1981), "the media help to 'integrate' society, we must simply say that they maximize knowledge and contact between different and varied groups in society". An example of this would be if the British government had important news to announce to the public, they would use the media to broadcast it. The media can also influence the public through the language they use, not just in the body of their article. but also as the title of their article. The Telegraph (2018) begins its article with the headline “Cases of child stabbings rise by 63% amid “worrying trend of young victims of knife crime”. Another article from the Guardian (2018) begins with “Streets of Fear” or from the Guardian (2018) “Knife crime is an epidemic. Do we care enough to seek a cure? 15-year-old boys hospitalized with stab wounds. All these newspaper articles start with punchy and bold headlines that stand out and are the first thing that is sure to catch the imagination of readers. However, it is not only headlines that can spark people's imagination, but also the language and images used in articles that can cause more panic in society. Knife crime is currently a major problem in the UK; however, most of the press articles viewed appear to only depict attacks that took place in London. This means we don't get a real reflection on the scale of the problems with knife crime in the UK. In this research paper, the risk society affected by knife crime is the public and the streets around which the knife crime took place. Beck (2002: 631) in World Risk Theory argues that “risk intrinsically contains the concept of control” and “presupposes decision-making”. If we relate this to knife crime we can see that the people who commit knife crime have control and power. They used their decision-making skills to weigh the risks, benefits, and harms of committing these attacks on others and continued with their crimes. Cohen's moral panic (1972) and the popular devil theory states that "societies seem to be subject, every now and then, to periods of moral panic." Cohen goes on to say that if a person; or a group of people, the condition is seen as a threat to society, it is natural for the media to inform the public in a way that will suit politicians and the elite. If we relate moral panic and popular devil theory to the media's portrayal of knife crime areas as a risk society, it is easy to understand why people may choose to stay away due to of the fear that has been created. It could happen to them, then it could happen to me, or it could be a child who was killed in knife crime, so to ensure their.