1.2 Explain the reasons that certain crimes are unreported
In the brief, there are many crimes that may go unreported. This includes domestic abuse
and white-collar crime.
Someone may not choose to report domestic abuse due to shame and fear of reprisal. This
could include personal reasons and social and cultural reasons. Personal reasons may be
due to the fact that the victims of domestic abuse often are too scared to speak out about
their story, as well as the fact that they do not have anyone to contact who may be able to
support them. A victim of domestic abuse may feel shame that they are being domestically
abused, and this factor is more likely to be seen in men who are being domestically abused
by women. This may be due to the fact that men may feel less masculine if they are seen to
be being abused by women, and may result in them feeling shame, and being less likely to
report the crime. Furthermore, victims may also feel a fear of reprisal from their offender,
which may likely be a punishment, harm, abuse, etc. This leads victims to be unable to
report domestic abuse due to fears of worse punishment for speaking out about their case.
As well as this, there may be some people who witness domestic abuse, but do not speak
out due to the bystander effect. This may be due to the fact that the domestic abuse does
not involve them, and they do not want to get involved with a complex case which may take
up a lot of time and resources. Some social and cultural reasons why someone may not
choose to report domestic abuse is lack of knowledge of domestic abuse, as some victims
may not acknowledge or know that they are being domestically abused. Some people may
not know it is a crime, and this may lead to offenders carrying on to abuse victims, leading to
victims being unable to get help. Furthermore, there may be a lack of public concern towards
domestic abuse as it may be seen as complicated and too in-depth to try and resolve.
Someone may not choose to report white-collar crime due to a lack of knowledge and the
complexity of the crime. A personal reason as to why a crime may go unreported is the fact
that they are not aware of the crime, and so cannot report the crime as they do not know
they are a victim. This leads to the crime being able to carry on and stay hidden from the
general public. Furthermore, there may be a fear of reprisal if a victim knew that they were a
victim of white-collar crime. This may be due to the fact that the offenders of white-collar
crime often have high power and status, and this may be threatening towards a victim. Some
social and cultural reasons why crimes may go unreported are lack of knowledge and
complexity. A lack of knowledge of the crime may be due to the fact that the crime is at a low
level of public awareness and interest, and it is not reported in the media often. This may
lead to the crime being unreported as many people do not know about the crime, and will not
report it if they do not acknowledge it. Furthermore, someone may not report white-collar
crime due to the complexity of the crime. This is due to the fact that white-collar crimes often
involve highly respected individuals, which may lead to the case being covered by the news,
as well as this being hard to prosecute due to the offender's social standing.
In the brief, there are many crimes that may go unreported. This includes domestic abuse
and white-collar crime.
Someone may not choose to report domestic abuse due to shame and fear of reprisal. This
could include personal reasons and social and cultural reasons. Personal reasons may be
due to the fact that the victims of domestic abuse often are too scared to speak out about
their story, as well as the fact that they do not have anyone to contact who may be able to
support them. A victim of domestic abuse may feel shame that they are being domestically
abused, and this factor is more likely to be seen in men who are being domestically abused
by women. This may be due to the fact that men may feel less masculine if they are seen to
be being abused by women, and may result in them feeling shame, and being less likely to
report the crime. Furthermore, victims may also feel a fear of reprisal from their offender,
which may likely be a punishment, harm, abuse, etc. This leads victims to be unable to
report domestic abuse due to fears of worse punishment for speaking out about their case.
As well as this, there may be some people who witness domestic abuse, but do not speak
out due to the bystander effect. This may be due to the fact that the domestic abuse does
not involve them, and they do not want to get involved with a complex case which may take
up a lot of time and resources. Some social and cultural reasons why someone may not
choose to report domestic abuse is lack of knowledge of domestic abuse, as some victims
may not acknowledge or know that they are being domestically abused. Some people may
not know it is a crime, and this may lead to offenders carrying on to abuse victims, leading to
victims being unable to get help. Furthermore, there may be a lack of public concern towards
domestic abuse as it may be seen as complicated and too in-depth to try and resolve.
Someone may not choose to report white-collar crime due to a lack of knowledge and the
complexity of the crime. A personal reason as to why a crime may go unreported is the fact
that they are not aware of the crime, and so cannot report the crime as they do not know
they are a victim. This leads to the crime being able to carry on and stay hidden from the
general public. Furthermore, there may be a fear of reprisal if a victim knew that they were a
victim of white-collar crime. This may be due to the fact that the offenders of white-collar
crime often have high power and status, and this may be threatening towards a victim. Some
social and cultural reasons why crimes may go unreported are lack of knowledge and
complexity. A lack of knowledge of the crime may be due to the fact that the crime is at a low
level of public awareness and interest, and it is not reported in the media often. This may
lead to the crime being unreported as many people do not know about the crime, and will not
report it if they do not acknowledge it. Furthermore, someone may not report white-collar
crime due to the complexity of the crime. This is due to the fact that white-collar crimes often
involve highly respected individuals, which may lead to the case being covered by the news,
as well as this being hard to prosecute due to the offender's social standing.
