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Local Media Framing of Scrap Metal Collection as Crime

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Abstract

The presence of discarded metals in the back alleys of cities is a ubiquitous feature of contemporary urban life. To many, this metal is waste to be forgotten. To some, it is the basis of scrounging to survive. Based on a qualitative content analysis of news reports, we reflect on media framing of scrap metal collection in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Our analysis reveals that news media adopt a crime frame to depict metal collecting that emphasizes dangerousness and destruction of culture and history, while individualizing the actions of collectors and ignoring questions of urban poverty, racism and other contextual factors linked to crime. We contrast media representations with data from interviews with local scrappers and observations of the scrap metal industry in Winnipeg to illustrate what is absent in this media framing. We also reflect on the conundrums apparent with proposed metal crime regulations.

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Article Open access 21 February 2023

Sarah Monod de Froideville & Andrew Gibbs

Notes

  1. While the moral panic framework (Cohen 1972) has been used to analyze overblown mediated reactions to relatively harmless criminal activity and social deviance, we do not find compelling analytical reasons to warrant the application of this model in our analysis of media framing of scrap metal collection as crime. Indeed, we note a number of key conceptual weaknesses in the moral panic framework that makes its application fraught in our analysis. For example, Garland (2008) points out several, including the issue of proportionality (how can we know if there is truly an overreaction?), the symptomatic, sublimated character of the panic reaction (it is not really about “this,” but about something else at much deeper, subconscious level), and the idea of consensus (is there a moral panic if there is no broad societal agreement about the nature of the problem and the need for urgent action?). Consequently, we find the signal crimes perspective a more analytically useful conceptual tool to interrogate the mediated construction of scrap metal collection as crime and its broader cultural significance in the local community.

  2. A notable feature of news media reporting of scrap metal crime is the frequent use of a humorous or ironic rhetorical framing. In fact, eighteen news items drew on humor or irony as a primary or secondary framing device. For example, one story reported that a dump in a small town was a frequent target of break-ins. Officials wryly noted that the metal thieves could help themselves to anything in the dump, but they needed to visit during regular business hours rather than the middle of the night (Brandon Sun, December 18, 2017, “Hartney landfill break-ins upset Reeve”). Similarly, a story noted the irony of a British courthouse falling victim to metal theft (Globe and Mail, October 26, 2007, “Irony abounds as bold-as-brass metal thieves strip U.K. courthouse roof”).

  3. CBC Manitoba reported the theft of several metal objects from an inner-city little league baseball team, including aluminum bats and plumbing fixtures (CBC Manitoba, October 22, 2018, “Thieves swipe metal equipment, even water tap, during break-in at Elmwood Giants Field”). Another story in the Portage Daily Graphic reported the theft of aluminum goalposts from community sports fields in the greater Vancouver area (Portage Daily Graphic, January 30, 2003, “Thieves Steal Aluminum Goalposts For Scrap”).

  4. It was reported that Habitat for Humanity had been victimized repeatedly by theft of building materials to the point where a spokesperson lamented that crime was “killing” the organization (CBC Manitoba, September 21, 2018, “Spike in thefts at Habitat for Humanity sites ‘killing us,’ charity says”).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Criminal Justice, The University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B2E9, Canada

    Steven Kohm & Kevin Walby

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  1. Steven Kohm
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Correspondence to Steven Kohm.

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Research Involving Human Participants

The research project protocol was reviewed and approved by the University of Winnipeg Human Research Ethics Board. Research Office file No. HE11394.

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The research project protocol, including provisions for free and informed consent by all research participants, was reviewed and approved by the University of Winnipeg Human Research Ethics Board. Research Office file No. HE11394.

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Kohm, S., Walby, K. Local Media Framing of Scrap Metal Collection as Crime. Crit Crim 28, 613–629 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-020-09527-z

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