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Film At Eleven: Recent Developments In The Commodification Of Crime, Kenneth Tunnell

Kenneth Tunnell

Recent increases in the number of crime-related commodities (e.g., burglar alarms, security systems, private security forces, and crime-related television news programs) are critically examined in relation to mildly fluctuating national crime rates. Increasing sales of crime-related and target-hardening products during the time when crime oscillated only slightly are explained as capitalism's ability to create commodities from both social problems and unfounded needs. Using secondary data, I describe these crime trends and the consumption of crime-prevention goods. Although the media apparently contributed to increasing concerns about victimization while crime was fairly stable, the process of commodity exchange for crime goods is …