Three strikes and you're out in the west: A study of newspaper coverage of crime control in Western Australia

Abstract

An analysis is presented on a newspaper reporting on three strikes in The West Australian, which is Western Australia's only daily state metropolitan newspaper. In Western Australia, a three strikes law targeting repeat residential property offenders was introduced just prior to a state election in 1996. While The West Australian did not manufacture the debate on three strikes, it responded to three strikes in a way that was consistent with themes already entrenched in its reporting of crime.