A concern with crime and crime stories pervades society. Every day, the public is bombarded by print media, television news, the Internet, video games and films with an enormous amount of depictions of crime: from murders and kidnappings to drug trafficking and financial fraud. Crime is therefore inseparable from modern society. Our civilization is saturated with depictions of criminality, a form of behavior, in sociological terms, that conflicts with moral codes and practices prescribed by society. Cinematic depictions of crime have materially influenced modern conceptions of crime. People are both attracted and repelled by the criminal on screen. Watching crime has become a staple of our cultural diet, and this immersion in crime both supports and contradicts dominant social perceptions of crime. It is through gender codes and techniques of representing narrative and stereotypes that society produces notions of criminality. Crime films have had an enduring presence since the dawn of cinema. Genres are imaginary worlds but do not remain within the confines of fiction; instead their conventions creep into critical and cultural discourse and can be seen as an alternative public sphere (Gates, 7). Although the crime film genre has evolved over time, many of its thematic conventions have persisted (Todd, 2000). Allen et al (1998) define crime films as having at the center of the narrative the commission and/or investigation of a crime, with the protagonist being an offender or a professional working in the criminal justice system. A distinctive archetype of the crime or gangster film is the normality of criminal behavior and violence. Crime is... in the center of the paper... on the screen. These conceptions derive from the popular cinematographic technique that is unconsciously digested by the masses. While media coverage, crime shows and other forms of virtual crime provide entertainment, escape and even learning opportunities, they also play a huge role in behavior and attitudes towards crime. Public knowledge and consumption of crime influence what society fixates on, which in this case is fear, punitive measures, and judicial effectiveness. The relationship between what is seen on screen, how it is portrayed, and ultimately how audiences process the images influences the conversations we engage in and our perceptions of both crime and the justice system. Therefore, it is imperative to critically address our consumption of not only the media, but also the ways in which crime stories are told..