Briefly explain the consequences of unreported crime
AC1.3 Explain the consequences of unreported crime:
Ripple Effect:
The ripple effect is where crime going unreported creates secondary victims and spreads to more people being
affected as the offender is not caught. A child that witnesses their farther committing domestic violence towards
their mother can be considered as the secondary victim; they grow up believing that this behaviour is acceptable
and the correct way to behave which this learnt abuse can be spread to their girlfriend. The ripple effect has a
negative consequence on society because it makes crime seem acceptable meaning more people will commit
leading to a wider group of people being affected.
Cultural: (the effects on religious groups and culture bound crime)
Different cultures sometimes see the same actions differently, some acts committed may appear acceptable even
though they are seen as unacceptable and illegal in the UK. More than 20,000 girls a year are thought to be at risk
of FGM in the UK, this destructive operation is difficult to identify. Not reporting cultural crime has a negative
consequence on society because of the low levels of reporting, it means the crimes can continue to happen within
communities.
Decriminalisation:
Decriminalisation describes the process of making an act that is currently illegal, legal. This may happen due to
reports of the act being reduced, changing societal norms, campaigns or even new medical knowledge or
technology that presents it as something that should be legal. For example, less prejudice in society at the time
meant that homosexuality became legal through legislations like the legislation of Gay Marriage 2013.
Decriminalisation of homosexuality is shown as a positive consequence because it has potentially lead to less
homophobic hate crime due to the visible acceptance of the law.
Police priorities:
Police prioritisation is where the police give priority to some crimes rather than others, if crime is not reported to
the police, there is only a 10% chance that it will be discovered on a patrol. If a crime has a low level of reporting it
is unlikely to be given high priority, for example, Durham police no longer actively pursue cannabis smokers and
small-scale growers in order to prioritise its resources against more serious crime. Police prioritisation can be both
negative and positive for society. People can feel more protected as police prioritisation means that the police can
actually focus on serious crime, however, people may start committing the crimes that are known to be low priority
as they know they will most likely not be caught.
Unrecorded crime:
In order for crime to be recorded, there must be clear evidence of it happening. If crime is unreported than its
unlikely for there to be evidence. This links to the dark figure of crime: all the crime that is not in the official
statistics. For example, if a gang gets attacked by a rival gang, its unlikely to be reported on both sides as both
gangs wouldn’t want to be caught. Unrecorded crime is negative for society as it means people are less aware of the
actual crime going on in there area, which can be unsafe and dangerous for people to live or be in that area.
Cultural change: (the effects on the culture of an area and the broken window theory)
Cultural change refers to a culture of an area improving or declining, the environment of the area depends on how
much crime is being committed. This can be explained by the broken window theory: where visible signs of disorder
and misbehaviour in an environment encourages further disorder and misbehaviour. For example, an area with litter
scattered and broken windows has had a decrease in culture, this is a place that would encourage more crime. Not
reporting crime in areas like this will make people feel like they can get away with it and that it is acceptable, this is
a negative consequence because it means inevitably crime will just keep happening.
AC1.3 Explain the consequences of unreported crime:
Ripple Effect:
The ripple effect is where crime going unreported creates secondary victims and spreads to more people being
affected as the offender is not caught. A child that witnesses their farther committing domestic violence towards
their mother can be considered as the secondary victim; they grow up believing that this behaviour is acceptable
and the correct way to behave which this learnt abuse can be spread to their girlfriend. The ripple effect has a
negative consequence on society because it makes crime seem acceptable meaning more people will commit
leading to a wider group of people being affected.
Cultural: (the effects on religious groups and culture bound crime)
Different cultures sometimes see the same actions differently, some acts committed may appear acceptable even
though they are seen as unacceptable and illegal in the UK. More than 20,000 girls a year are thought to be at risk
of FGM in the UK, this destructive operation is difficult to identify. Not reporting cultural crime has a negative
consequence on society because of the low levels of reporting, it means the crimes can continue to happen within
communities.
Decriminalisation:
Decriminalisation describes the process of making an act that is currently illegal, legal. This may happen due to
reports of the act being reduced, changing societal norms, campaigns or even new medical knowledge or
technology that presents it as something that should be legal. For example, less prejudice in society at the time
meant that homosexuality became legal through legislations like the legislation of Gay Marriage 2013.
Decriminalisation of homosexuality is shown as a positive consequence because it has potentially lead to less
homophobic hate crime due to the visible acceptance of the law.
Police priorities:
Police prioritisation is where the police give priority to some crimes rather than others, if crime is not reported to
the police, there is only a 10% chance that it will be discovered on a patrol. If a crime has a low level of reporting it
is unlikely to be given high priority, for example, Durham police no longer actively pursue cannabis smokers and
small-scale growers in order to prioritise its resources against more serious crime. Police prioritisation can be both
negative and positive for society. People can feel more protected as police prioritisation means that the police can
actually focus on serious crime, however, people may start committing the crimes that are known to be low priority
as they know they will most likely not be caught.
Unrecorded crime:
In order for crime to be recorded, there must be clear evidence of it happening. If crime is unreported than its
unlikely for there to be evidence. This links to the dark figure of crime: all the crime that is not in the official
statistics. For example, if a gang gets attacked by a rival gang, its unlikely to be reported on both sides as both
gangs wouldn’t want to be caught. Unrecorded crime is negative for society as it means people are less aware of the
actual crime going on in there area, which can be unsafe and dangerous for people to live or be in that area.
Cultural change: (the effects on the culture of an area and the broken window theory)
Cultural change refers to a culture of an area improving or declining, the environment of the area depends on how
much crime is being committed. This can be explained by the broken window theory: where visible signs of disorder
and misbehaviour in an environment encourages further disorder and misbehaviour. For example, an area with litter
scattered and broken windows has had a decrease in culture, this is a place that would encourage more crime. Not
reporting crime in areas like this will make people feel like they can get away with it and that it is acceptable, this is
a negative consequence because it means inevitably crime will just keep happening.
