Dr. Jessie J. Norris
Dr. Jesse J. Norris’ article focused on a potential connection between newspaper closures and police reporting of crime statistics.
The article, “Newspapers as Capable Guardians? The Impact of Newspaper Closures on Police Misreporting of Crime Statistics,” was published in the American Journal of Criminal Justice, and was co-authored with Hoon Ha of SUNY Brockport and Joshua Khavis of the State University at Buffalo.
Among other findings, the article found that police departments in areas with recent newspaper closures had higher rates of classifying sexual assaults as unfounded. It was noted that since local newspaper journalists are typically the ones who uncover police manipulation of statistics, police may feel freer to “fudge” numbers when local newspapers close. In addition, the article suggested that print journalists play an important monitoring role in police accountability, serving as a check on police department's control over crime-related information.
Dr. Norris is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice in the Department of Social Work and Criminal Justice at SUNY Fredonia.
