Media, police shootings and mental illness: Is stigma a problem?
Courtney Waugh, Helen Han, Ed HeffernanObjectives:
Fatal police shootings in Australia have increased in recent years, with a substantial portion of these incidents involving individuals with mental illness and often attracting extensive media coverage. This study investigates whether mainstream newspaper reporting uses language that perpetuates stigma towards people with mental illness.
Methods:
A qualitative thematic and quantitative content analysis was conducted on newspaper articles covering 17 fatal police shootings between March 2023 and April 2024. Articles were assessed against Mindframe reporting guidelines.
Results:
Four overarching themes were derived from the thematic analysis: (a) Media construction of moral identity (criminal framing), (b) Questioning the legitimacy of police conduct, (c) Media construction of moral identity (victim framing) and (d) Rationalising police conduct. The findings revealed a notable difference in reporting based on presence or absence of mental health concerns.
Conclusions:
Media coverage of fatal police shootings involving individuals with a mental illness was more likely to use humanising language and victim framing, often accompanied by greater scrutiny of police actions. In contrast, those without mental illness were more commonly portrayed through a criminal lens, with greater justification of police conduct. While general adherence to reporting guidelines was observed, there were instances of sensationalised language in cases involving mental illness, which may still contribute negatively to stigma. These findings highlight the media’s influential role in shaping public perceptions of mental illness and underscore the importance of responsible reporting.