Explain the consequences of unreported crime.
Cultural relativity is the cultural differences that mean the consequence of an individual's
actions could be viewed differently in different countries. This can lead to crimes being
underreported because they are seen as acceptable because of culture. This is a negative
consequence as if they are underreported it means that social norms are more important
than the country’s laws. An example of this is Kristy Bamu (15) who was murdered by his
sister who believed that his brother was a witch and also got her siblings into contributing by
torturing him for a couple days which then made him drown in a bath.
Police prioritisation is when police decide to prioritise a crime over another. This could be
because of the lack of resources they have so they may concentrate on crimes that the
public is concerned about like rape or what media is sharing. This is in my opinion is not
good because the public may be concerned about crimes such as the use of drugs but they
don’t have the expertise to make a decision such as telling the police to prioritize certain
crimes; however, I also agree that some crimes are more important than others like anti-
social behaviour and murder there is a massive difference so murder would obviously be
prioritised. Also, the media could also influence police if they are sharing a case about child
abuse parents may get angry which could cause the police to prioritize crimes. For example,
Jimmy Saville he was accused of child abuse which got people's attention as he did good
things like donating to a charity but then doing things that are unacceptable so therefore this
crime was prioritised as even after Jimmy’s death police were trying to bring justice for the
victims.
Procedural change which includes concerns about the underreporting of crime which can
lead to police making changes to how crimes can be reported. These types of crimes might
actually be underreported because of how people are not able to access a way in which a
crime could be reported. If the police make changes in how crime can be reported it may
raise awareness of how there is more than 1 ways of reporting crimes (only if the police
make new ways in which it can be reported.) however it can also turn out the opposite way if
police do decide to change the ways in which crimes are reported it can cause less people
being able to report crimes depending on what changes the police had made. An example of
procedural change is Childline they made it for children so that they can access reporting
crimes like rape, self-harm and sexting easier. They have many ways in which young people
can get in touch with professionals by emailing them or calling them (which is free). This
shows a positive consequence of under-reporting crime as new methods of reporting can be
developed to try to improve reporting rates.
Decriminalisation is when a behaviour becomes normalised and legalised. If these types of
crimes are underreported it is because people no longer see it as a ‘real crime’ so they do
not report it.This can be good and bad, good if it's about giving homosexual people the same
rights as heterosexual but bad if people are not reporting a crime like drugs, then that means
it is ‘normal’ and acceptable when it is against the law. A consequence of this is that if a law
that is seen as not acceptable but in an area people do it anyway and becomes normalised it
can cause other issues with the public in a different area. For example, stonewall is a
pressure group working on equal rights for people who are homosexual like making it equal
for couples in both categories being able to adopt a child. It could lead to secondary crimes
such as hate crime occurring and people may feel that they cannot report this type of crime
as the original crime has been legalised and is no longer seen as an issue in society which is
a negative consequence of crimes not being reported.
Cultural relativity is the cultural differences that mean the consequence of an individual's
actions could be viewed differently in different countries. This can lead to crimes being
underreported because they are seen as acceptable because of culture. This is a negative
consequence as if they are underreported it means that social norms are more important
than the country’s laws. An example of this is Kristy Bamu (15) who was murdered by his
sister who believed that his brother was a witch and also got her siblings into contributing by
torturing him for a couple days which then made him drown in a bath.
Police prioritisation is when police decide to prioritise a crime over another. This could be
because of the lack of resources they have so they may concentrate on crimes that the
public is concerned about like rape or what media is sharing. This is in my opinion is not
good because the public may be concerned about crimes such as the use of drugs but they
don’t have the expertise to make a decision such as telling the police to prioritize certain
crimes; however, I also agree that some crimes are more important than others like anti-
social behaviour and murder there is a massive difference so murder would obviously be
prioritised. Also, the media could also influence police if they are sharing a case about child
abuse parents may get angry which could cause the police to prioritize crimes. For example,
Jimmy Saville he was accused of child abuse which got people's attention as he did good
things like donating to a charity but then doing things that are unacceptable so therefore this
crime was prioritised as even after Jimmy’s death police were trying to bring justice for the
victims.
Procedural change which includes concerns about the underreporting of crime which can
lead to police making changes to how crimes can be reported. These types of crimes might
actually be underreported because of how people are not able to access a way in which a
crime could be reported. If the police make changes in how crime can be reported it may
raise awareness of how there is more than 1 ways of reporting crimes (only if the police
make new ways in which it can be reported.) however it can also turn out the opposite way if
police do decide to change the ways in which crimes are reported it can cause less people
being able to report crimes depending on what changes the police had made. An example of
procedural change is Childline they made it for children so that they can access reporting
crimes like rape, self-harm and sexting easier. They have many ways in which young people
can get in touch with professionals by emailing them or calling them (which is free). This
shows a positive consequence of under-reporting crime as new methods of reporting can be
developed to try to improve reporting rates.
Decriminalisation is when a behaviour becomes normalised and legalised. If these types of
crimes are underreported it is because people no longer see it as a ‘real crime’ so they do
not report it.This can be good and bad, good if it's about giving homosexual people the same
rights as heterosexual but bad if people are not reporting a crime like drugs, then that means
it is ‘normal’ and acceptable when it is against the law. A consequence of this is that if a law
that is seen as not acceptable but in an area people do it anyway and becomes normalised it
can cause other issues with the public in a different area. For example, stonewall is a
pressure group working on equal rights for people who are homosexual like making it equal
for couples in both categories being able to adopt a child. It could lead to secondary crimes
such as hate crime occurring and people may feel that they cannot report this type of crime
as the original crime has been legalised and is no longer seen as an issue in society which is
a negative consequence of crimes not being reported.
