Violence in our society, perpetrated by criminals, mentally unstable and easily influenced individuals produce effects that are more far-reaching and destructive to society than the physical damage they produce. It has been proposed that the media, through news reports and fictitious depictions of violence, directly influence others to commit such acts themselves. It is proposed that, similar to a contagious disease, witnessing or reading about a violent crime often can pass the idea of such behavior along to individuals who may never have conceived of such a thing on their own. Human behavior reporting influences future human behaviors (Jennings, 2005).

The purpose of this paper is to discuss and analyze the factors of media influence on the phenomena of violence in our increasingly "wired" society, and to discuss the effect of that influence in term

s of psychological and behavioral outcomes affecting law enforcement and criminal deterrence. A better understanding of these factors and their outcome allows for the proposition of solutions and interventions having the potential to manage violence and the way it is handled by police, community leaders and lawmakers.

Media are our main suppliers of information and images about events and people outside our immediate environment. By promoting various aspects of social reality, media also influence individuals' judgments about how to deal with important social problems (Iyengar, 1991). Unfortunately, journalists and reporters, writers of fiction and non-fiction shows, creators of video games and writers of popular songs, are encouraged to produce creative work addressing not social responsibility, but rather the public's perceived desire for constant titillation and increasingly shocking material. This almost always precludes media self-control by those who realize the long-term impact of their product. Journalist Claudia Dowling noted, "Generally, I must write what the market demands, and today that seems to be unambiguous stories that display tensions, historic context, "color," resolution--all wrapped up neatly with a clear beginning and a definite ending... perhaps the examination of a childhood shadowed by violence can inform our understanding of why, as they grow up, some such children strike out at others or turn their rage on themselves (1998).

The behaviors chosen and exhibited by individuals are the result of personal judgments they make based on their subjective perception of what constitutes appropriate responses and actions within that environment. These judgments arise from highly personal reactions to, and perception of, the environment and its stimuli, based both on their own experience the learned efficacy of various past reactions. When a behavior results in a desired outcome, the individual processes the information, repeats the behavior in similar circumstances and thus developed a 'competency' that becomes a factor in subsequent behavior decisions. This competency also adds to the individual's inventory of behavior that results in identifiable traits. It is hypothesized that the gang participation and use of violent crime is driven by the perception that the world is a "tough" place, so it is best to use the type of absolute power violent action provides in that environment. Psychological theory suggests that immersion in the mean, dangerous, and violent world of prime-time entertainment television cultivates perceptions of the real world as mean and dangerous and so translates into heightened fear among viewers (Sotirovic, 2001).

Some variables affecting the behavior of individuals are "the social groups, subcultures and social institutions that provide perceivers with stable norms, values and motives" (Turner et al., 1994, p. 460). Environmental influences such as the mass media, peers, dominant influences or socioeconomic status affect self-concept development, as well as the individual's perception of what he or she can accomplish in society and in the environment in which s/he finds him or herself.

Media violence can lead to imitation;

"Technology always moves ahead of society's moral and ethical judgments, giving rise to a cultural lag," according to Richard Gelles, director of the Family Violence Research Program at the University of Rhode Island, in Kingston (Shrum, 1995: 402). The underlying assumptions about the effects of violence are no longer debated by most scholars. They are

Many of the violent "copycat"-type crimes rising from media are anecdotal and difficult to qualify and quantify, simply from the fact that the affected criminal population is difficult to isolate and study. However, some affects

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