AC1.2 Writeup Explain The Reasons That Certain Crimes Are Unreported
There could be many reasons why crimes go unreported. There could be personal reasons or social
and cultural reasons.
Personal Reasons: fear, shame and not being affected.
Social and cultural reasons: culture bound crime, lack of knowledge and lack of concern.
Personal Reasons
Fear
Fear of potential consequences from the criminal, for themselves or their family, can be a reason for
unreported crime. Examples of unreported crimes include domestic abuse, honour crimes, hate
crimes.
Shame
Shame or even embarrassment, especially if it involves a sexual act such as rape or indecent assault,
can prevent someone from reporting a crime. This could be because the person might not want
others to know they were vulnerable and unable to defend or protect themselves. They could also
blame themselves: deserved it, encouraged it, or were responsible or feel humiliated.
Disinterest
People do not always care about what has happened or feel upset about the crime that has been
committed. For example, someone could walk past a homeless person who is drinking and high on
drugs but not report it because they are disinterested.
Not affected
If an incident does not concern a person, people may feel it has nothing to do with them and that
they should leave it to someone else to report. For example, criminal damage/vandalism may not
concern people if it is not their property. Another example would be vagrancy. Homeless people can
be ignored by members of society as it does not really affect them.
, Social Reasons and Cultural Reasons:
Lack Of Knowledge
Lack of knowledge could be the reason why people do not report a crime. They may be unaware it is
a crime or do not have knowledge of the procedures involved. A person may also not know how to
report a specific type of crime such as cyberbullying.
Complexity
The general public might not understand that a crime has been committed as it is too difficult to
understand or follow. For example, white-collar crime is a complex crime where fraudulent
transactions are hidden or carried out in private and are difficult to trace. Another reason being it
may be difficult to distinguish if a crime has been committed.
Lack of media interest
Some crimes are not widely promoted by the media as they believe there will be little public
interest. For example, a murder will take precedence to being reported in preference to many moral
crimes such as under-age drinking or prostitution.
Lack of current public concern
Lack of current public concern may occur if an offence is not considered an actual crime.
Downloading illegal music, for example, is something that many people will do so they can listen to it
free of charge. There is no real concern about it being an illegal act. Likewise, smoking of cannabis
fails to attract the interest of many people and they may be reluctant to report it to the police on the
basis that the offender should be allowed to smoke it if they so desire.
Culture-bound crime
Culture-bound crime can be acceptable in certain sections of society. For example, honour killings
are accepted in some cultures or religions as they follow a certain tradition within family life. People
who see different cultures as something mystifying may ignore this type of crime and not report it as
they do not want to interfere.
There could be many reasons why crimes go unreported. There could be personal reasons or social
and cultural reasons.
Personal Reasons: fear, shame and not being affected.
Social and cultural reasons: culture bound crime, lack of knowledge and lack of concern.
Personal Reasons
Fear
Fear of potential consequences from the criminal, for themselves or their family, can be a reason for
unreported crime. Examples of unreported crimes include domestic abuse, honour crimes, hate
crimes.
Shame
Shame or even embarrassment, especially if it involves a sexual act such as rape or indecent assault,
can prevent someone from reporting a crime. This could be because the person might not want
others to know they were vulnerable and unable to defend or protect themselves. They could also
blame themselves: deserved it, encouraged it, or were responsible or feel humiliated.
Disinterest
People do not always care about what has happened or feel upset about the crime that has been
committed. For example, someone could walk past a homeless person who is drinking and high on
drugs but not report it because they are disinterested.
Not affected
If an incident does not concern a person, people may feel it has nothing to do with them and that
they should leave it to someone else to report. For example, criminal damage/vandalism may not
concern people if it is not their property. Another example would be vagrancy. Homeless people can
be ignored by members of society as it does not really affect them.
, Social Reasons and Cultural Reasons:
Lack Of Knowledge
Lack of knowledge could be the reason why people do not report a crime. They may be unaware it is
a crime or do not have knowledge of the procedures involved. A person may also not know how to
report a specific type of crime such as cyberbullying.
Complexity
The general public might not understand that a crime has been committed as it is too difficult to
understand or follow. For example, white-collar crime is a complex crime where fraudulent
transactions are hidden or carried out in private and are difficult to trace. Another reason being it
may be difficult to distinguish if a crime has been committed.
Lack of media interest
Some crimes are not widely promoted by the media as they believe there will be little public
interest. For example, a murder will take precedence to being reported in preference to many moral
crimes such as under-age drinking or prostitution.
Lack of current public concern
Lack of current public concern may occur if an offence is not considered an actual crime.
Downloading illegal music, for example, is something that many people will do so they can listen to it
free of charge. There is no real concern about it being an illegal act. Likewise, smoking of cannabis
fails to attract the interest of many people and they may be reluctant to report it to the police on the
basis that the offender should be allowed to smoke it if they so desire.
Culture-bound crime
Culture-bound crime can be acceptable in certain sections of society. For example, honour killings
are accepted in some cultures or religions as they follow a certain tradition within family life. People
who see different cultures as something mystifying may ignore this type of crime and not report it as
they do not want to interfere.
