The Role of Media in Crime Prevention

In today's world, when we speak of prevention, the first thing that comes to the mind is media. The media are considered the major source of the creation and dynamism of culture. The power of these intellectual tools is so great that without them a society with dynamic culture cannot be formed. Media are tasked with spreading information through society and have many overt and covert functions in the fields of education, information and entertainment. In addition, the media play an effective role in both crime emergence and crime prevention, because general knowledge about crime and justice is learned to great extent from the media. In mediacracy, an emphasis is placed on the power of media in inspiring and affecting the audience. According to this view, the audience who receive the messages of mass media has a passive role. Therefore, the aim of prevention can be reducing and preventing crime. This article argues that the media in addition to their different functions, play a preventive role through educating citizens and sensitizing target groups and the society at large.