Getting the message right: What are the impacts of counter-serious and organised crime awareness-raising strategies?

Nic Cheeseman, Caryn Peiffer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

Abstract

Counter serious and organised crime (SOC) strategies often include an awareness-raising element. Such messaging aims to build support for counter-SOC efforts, and intolerance for organised criminal activity. However, a growing body of research suggests that raising awareness to ‘social bads’ like SOC may risk backfiring by encouraging pessimistic attitudes about whether they can be controlled and could even nudge people to agree with populist narratives which argue that political outsiders represent the only hope for tackling systemic problems. A nationally representative survey experiment in Albania was conducted to test, for the first time, the impact of messages about SOC. Typical of counter-SOC messaging in practice, the first message emphasised the harms SOC causes. The second was more positive, highlighting high levels of social disapproval of SOC, a theme that social norms research suggests may be effective. We find that the first message backfires by reducing confidence in law enforcement and encouraging support for populist ideas. The second message is unexpectedly found to also encourage support for a populist sentiment, while having no positive impact on attitudes about law enforcement. This suggests that even positive messaging about ‘social bads’ can risk triggering unwanted responses.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages21
JournalBehavioural Public Policy
Early online date30 Apr 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 30 Apr 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Research Groups and Themes

  • SPS Centre for Urban and Public Policy Research

Keywords

  • Serious and organised crime
  • awareness raising
  • social norms
  • survey experiment
  • populism
  • Albania

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