LOOKING FOR LAURA

David Wilson is one of the UK's best-known and most innovative criminologists.
An 'insider' view of the construction of a news agenda for crime and punishment.

This superb read from Professor David Wilson looks at how the "news" agenda for crime and punishment is constructed. It also contains analysis of media stereotypes, narratives and depictions together with insights connecting these to real life.

Media portrayals set the agenda for public discourse and popular debate. Academics in their 'ivory towers', professionals and other crime experts ignore this at the risk of seeing their more informed understandings side lined.

The book builds on the author's experiences of covering high profile cases and populist issues for TV, radio, newspapers and other media. It also contains telling inside accounts of police-media relations at murder scenes in Gloucester, Soham, Whitehaven, Rothbury and Ipswich. A must in grasping the equally 'hot topic' of Public Criminology

With a Foreword by the award-winning investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre.

Reviews

'This book is hard to categorise. It is part academic criminology, part autobiography and part true crime. Such a deeply personal and unconventional publication is likely to illicit different reactions for readers. However, it is full of observations and insights that reward careful reading, but more than a source of reflection, it is also an attempt to inspire, incite and provoke criminologists into action': Prison Service Journal

'David Wilson draws together a variety of spheres that presents as a contemporary review of the changing medias and technologies in the area of crime news. An excellent addition for those students studying subjects with a focus on cultural criminology. Where this book differs from others is in its exploration of the subject from a range of perspectives. Chapter three in particular profiles the experiences of a senior police officer and their experiences and observations of the influence of the media in and on their work and beyond.
An interesting and engrossing text and an excellent addition for the discipline': Paul Taylor, University of Chester

'An inspiring and intelligent read. For journalists, the Police and citizens alike there is so much to take from David's work. The joy is in its accessibility. There is meat and weight in these pages and for me the chapter dealing with the Raul Moat case-The Righteous Slaughter of Some Shootings-shows David Wilson at his best: open, truthful and wise. In a time of frenzied observation there is always room for smart analysis that transcends the intelligentsia and permeates the lives and minds of ordinary people. There is never a better time to write a book like this and never a better and more appropriate writer to do the job': Donal MacIntyre (from the Foreword)

Author

David Wilson is professor of criminology at Birmingham City University where he is Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology. A former prison governor, he is the editor of the Howard Journal and well-known as an author, broadcaster and presenter for TV and radio, including the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky. He has written a number of books for Waterside Press, including: The Longest Injustice: The Strange Story of Alex Alexandrowicz (with the latter) (1999), Prison(er) Education: Stories of Change and Transformation (with Ann Reuss) (2000), Images of Incarceration: Representations of Prison in Film and Television Drama (with Sean O'Sullivan) (2004), and Serial Killers: Hunting Britons and Their Victims 1960-2006 (2007).