There's always been cop shows and lawyer shows. And now we have CSI and forensics shows (actually those date all the way to "Quincy" with Jack Klugman).

We also know that children are spending more time in front of the TV than they are doing more constructive things.

My thought was ...

If you assume that behavior on TV can influence children and we are showing them info on how criminals get caught (and don't get caught), then are we showing some children how to be better criminals ? If we are, how would we ever be SURE ? Isn't it possible that someone who could have been could (if they hadn't watched these shows) gets away with a crime because they watched and learned the error the were about to make ... and avoided making the error, thus allowing them to literally get away with murder.

No doubt.
I've heard of cases before where younger criminals had duplicated heists presented in movie plots, and now that they have weekly TV series detailiing in essence how not to get caught, plus the Internet as a source for more technical points, today's children have the capacity to become super-criminals. But I see these whiz kids escalating crime mostly in the electronic arena....identity theft, e-fraud and Internet terrorism. What concerns me to a much greater extent is that more and more stupid, impetuous kids are carrying guns and don't think twice about using them.

Yes, I think they can and do NJ. Also a child's brain can absorb more information than an adult's so what they are watching on TV can and does affect them later on in life.

There's always been cop shows and lawyer shows. And now we have CSI and forensics shows (actually those date all the way to "Quincy" with Jack Klugman).

We also know that children are spending more time in front of the TV than they are doing more constructive things.

My thought was ...

If you assume that behavior on TV can influence children and we are showing them info on how criminals get caught (and don't get caught), then are we showing some children how to be better criminals ? If we are, how would we ever be SURE ? Isn't it possible that someone who could have been could (if they hadn't watched these shows) gets away with a crime because they watched and learned the error the were about to make ... and avoided making the error, thus allowing them to literally get away with murder.
Yes, there's information on how the system works, however there's also a moral in every episode: the badguy always gets caught.

It's not promoting criminal activity in its message.

If you assume that behavior on TV can influence children and we are showing them info on how criminals get caught (and don't get caught), then are we showing some children how to be better criminals ? If we are, how would we ever be SURE ? Isn't it possible that someone who could have been could (if they hadn't watched these shows) gets away with a crime because they watched and learned the error the were about to make ... and avoided making the error, thus allowing them to literally get away with murder.

If you're dealing with the will to commit the crime, then the answer is no.

Children are smarter than adults. Teaching a child good and evil or right and wrong does not in and of itself make the will of the child.

Yes, there's information on how the system works, however there's also a moral in every episode: the badguy always gets caught.


Having TV teach morality is a dangerous thing to begin with; but even if you allow it to happen, then how can you be certain that the moral message ("The bad-guy always gets caught") is being absorbed by the children/ teen-agers?


It's not promoting criminal activity in its message.

Fortunately, enhanced criminal ability is not its intent; however, super-criminals might be an unintended result (or by-product, if you will).

Teaching a child good and evil or right and wrong does not in and of itself make the will of the child.


I agree with you ... to a point. Yes, there are some children who will commit crimes when they grow up. Yes, there are some children who will not commit crimes when they grow up.

There are also some children who fall in the middle ... those who have the desire to commit crime, but are fearful of being punished. Given information about how to commit crime without punishment, they just might commit those crimes.

you forget that forensic technology is always improving so what was in sense the "perfect crime" in 2004 may not be the perfect crime in 2014 when the child is old enough to commit the crime

you forget that forensic technology is always improving so what was in sense the "perfect crime" in 2004 may not be the perfect crime in 2014 when the child is old enough to commit the crime

Thank you for reminding me of that ... it does help to combat the unsettling effect of thinking we are training the next generation of super-criminals thru the TV.

This is why there are "parental contols" on these newer model telly sets, yes?

All the criminslas in jail love all these types of shows (Like McGiver, et. al.). But if you think your child would rather watch these shows than play a video game or MTV you are probably mistaken.