A.C.1.2—Explain the reasons that certain crimes are unreported
Personal reasons
Fear—A victim may not want to report a crime due to fear. This could be due to the
fact they are worried about revenge for further crimes being committed against them
or people close to them if the offender finds out it was reported. It could also be fear
for the people around them as if the offender finds out it’s been reported they could
make their family or friends victims of the crime as well.An example of this could be
domestic abuse, as the victim may fear that reporting their partner could lead to
further violence towards them as the offender may feel anger towards the situation
and want to commit further crimes against their victims. As the crime is usually at
home, the victim may fear that the offender will also commit crimes against other
people in the household such as family.
Shame—another reason crimes may go unreported is shame. The victim may not
want to admit what happened due to embarrassment. They may feel insecure about
the crime that has happened against and do not want others to know about what has
happened to them. The victim may also feel humiliated that they have been a target
to the crime, especially if it has severely affected them. This is mainly the case with
sexual offences, where the victim may feel humiliated and worry that people will
judge them. This makes the victims want to keep the incident private, meaning the
offence is not reported.
Disinterest—another reason crimes go on reported is disinterest. People may
recognise that crime has taken place, but they will not see it as serious enough to
report. Also, if they feel nothing will happen if report it. Witness’ and victims may feel
a lack of interest of the crime. For example, underage drinking is seen as harmless
by certain people rather than a criminal offence. This lack of concern means it is
unlikely to be reported, leading to the crime being ignored.
Not affected—another reason crimes are unreported is when people feel they are not
directly affected by the crime. If the crime does not cause them personal harm,
people may see no reason to be involved. This is due to witnesses not wanting to be
involved as the crime has not affected them personally or others around them so
they do not see a need to report it as if the offender gets a conviction, it will not make
their life any easier. For example, if someone weakens a person breaking someone
else’s car, they may choose not to report it as the car is not there and does not affect
them personally. This causes crimes to become ignored and leaves offenders
unchallenged.
Social and cultural reasons
Lack of knowledge—certain crimes make it and reported as people have a lack of
knowledge about if the action is against the law or not. People who see or are a
victim of the crime may not know if the action is only deviant or criminal. Also, people
may not know how to report a crime that they have seen. Many also struggle with
who to report it to. For example, people may not know the laws around online fraud
as there is not much awareness on it, so they may not realise when they have been
Personal reasons
Fear—A victim may not want to report a crime due to fear. This could be due to the
fact they are worried about revenge for further crimes being committed against them
or people close to them if the offender finds out it was reported. It could also be fear
for the people around them as if the offender finds out it’s been reported they could
make their family or friends victims of the crime as well.An example of this could be
domestic abuse, as the victim may fear that reporting their partner could lead to
further violence towards them as the offender may feel anger towards the situation
and want to commit further crimes against their victims. As the crime is usually at
home, the victim may fear that the offender will also commit crimes against other
people in the household such as family.
Shame—another reason crimes may go unreported is shame. The victim may not
want to admit what happened due to embarrassment. They may feel insecure about
the crime that has happened against and do not want others to know about what has
happened to them. The victim may also feel humiliated that they have been a target
to the crime, especially if it has severely affected them. This is mainly the case with
sexual offences, where the victim may feel humiliated and worry that people will
judge them. This makes the victims want to keep the incident private, meaning the
offence is not reported.
Disinterest—another reason crimes go on reported is disinterest. People may
recognise that crime has taken place, but they will not see it as serious enough to
report. Also, if they feel nothing will happen if report it. Witness’ and victims may feel
a lack of interest of the crime. For example, underage drinking is seen as harmless
by certain people rather than a criminal offence. This lack of concern means it is
unlikely to be reported, leading to the crime being ignored.
Not affected—another reason crimes are unreported is when people feel they are not
directly affected by the crime. If the crime does not cause them personal harm,
people may see no reason to be involved. This is due to witnesses not wanting to be
involved as the crime has not affected them personally or others around them so
they do not see a need to report it as if the offender gets a conviction, it will not make
their life any easier. For example, if someone weakens a person breaking someone
else’s car, they may choose not to report it as the car is not there and does not affect
them personally. This causes crimes to become ignored and leaves offenders
unchallenged.
Social and cultural reasons
Lack of knowledge—certain crimes make it and reported as people have a lack of
knowledge about if the action is against the law or not. People who see or are a
victim of the crime may not know if the action is only deviant or criminal. Also, people
may not know how to report a crime that they have seen. Many also struggle with
who to report it to. For example, people may not know the laws around online fraud
as there is not much awareness on it, so they may not realise when they have been
