Award Date

1-1-2006

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Criminal Justice

First Committee Member

Randall Shelden

Number of Pages

80

Abstract

This study looks at the stereotypes of law enforcement in prime-time network television. This is done through a content analysis of a sample of television characters (N=40) from crime drama programs. To accomplish this, characters were scored on demographic, personality, and typological variables by a group of coders. The study found that there is not a single "superprofile" of officers but multiple stereotypes of law enforcement officers present in prime-time network television programming. This may be in part due to the corporate nature of mass media in general. Additionally, it concluded that these stereotypes have changed over time as officer, and are different for patrol officers and detectives. Overall the study found that police officers are portrayed in a positive manner.

Keywords

Enforcement; Law; Stereotypes; Television

Controlled Subject

Criminology

File Format

pdf

File Size

1781.76 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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