AC1.3 Write-Up
The ripple effect is the impact of the crime that can spread beyond the immediate victim.
This normally spreads to the victim’s family and friends, and sometimes to the wider society.
An example of this would be a case of domestic abuse affecting the children in the
household. A child could be watching their parents argue or get abused but are helpless as
there is a huge power difference between a child and an adult. This could lead to kids
normalising the type of behaviour that they’ve seen in the household and then replicate
certain offences when they are older to their loved ones. This is a negative consequence
because even more people will be affected which can spread and create trauma throughout
a whole family/friend group.
Cultural consequences are when individuals might not know what they’re doing is a crime
due to cultural differences. They might turn a blind eye to certain crimes because they don’t
affect them or don’t want to oppose their culture or they simply may not want to interfere. An
example of this would be honour-based crimes such as FGM or forced marriages as some
believe that it is improving the victim’s lives rather than harming it. This may lead to more of
these crimes occurring as the offenders keep getting away with them. This is a negative
consequence because, in actuality, these crimes are putting restraints on an individual’s free
will which is a God-given ability to choose what they want or what they could do outside of
their culture. Most people have to endure this so as to not bring shame or dishonour to the
household name or out of fear of what people will do to them.
Decriminalisation is when something is no longer treated as a criminal offence. This could be
due to a lack of police enforcing the law, little police time, money or effort to find the
perpetrators, or a reduced punishment for the crime. This can lead to legal changes. For
example, decriminalising homosexuality has impacted thousands or even millions of
homosexuals. The 1967 Sexual Offences Act permitted homosexual acts between two
consenting adults over the age of 21 years old which led to fewer hate crimes in society as it
became a more and more accepted thing. This is a positive consequence as lots of laws are
outdated and aren’t up to date with society that many class as a ‘norm’ and therefore makes
a more inclusive community.
Police prioritisation is when the police cannot investigate every crime that has been reported
to them because they might not have time or money or it may not be a local or national
public concern at that point in time. The police also face pressure from the public to act upon
certain publicised crimes in areas and in general and people won’t report crimes that won’t
be prioritised. For example, shop owners might not report petty theft crimes or how scam
calls don’t get reported and followed up often as it isn’t really of public concern. This will
affect the crime trends as certain crimes are reported more often than others which leads to
dark figures of crime. This is a negative consequence as some people can be affected quite
badly by a crime and the police won’t chase it up because they don’t have enough funds or
time.
The ripple effect is the impact of the crime that can spread beyond the immediate victim.
This normally spreads to the victim’s family and friends, and sometimes to the wider society.
An example of this would be a case of domestic abuse affecting the children in the
household. A child could be watching their parents argue or get abused but are helpless as
there is a huge power difference between a child and an adult. This could lead to kids
normalising the type of behaviour that they’ve seen in the household and then replicate
certain offences when they are older to their loved ones. This is a negative consequence
because even more people will be affected which can spread and create trauma throughout
a whole family/friend group.
Cultural consequences are when individuals might not know what they’re doing is a crime
due to cultural differences. They might turn a blind eye to certain crimes because they don’t
affect them or don’t want to oppose their culture or they simply may not want to interfere. An
example of this would be honour-based crimes such as FGM or forced marriages as some
believe that it is improving the victim’s lives rather than harming it. This may lead to more of
these crimes occurring as the offenders keep getting away with them. This is a negative
consequence because, in actuality, these crimes are putting restraints on an individual’s free
will which is a God-given ability to choose what they want or what they could do outside of
their culture. Most people have to endure this so as to not bring shame or dishonour to the
household name or out of fear of what people will do to them.
Decriminalisation is when something is no longer treated as a criminal offence. This could be
due to a lack of police enforcing the law, little police time, money or effort to find the
perpetrators, or a reduced punishment for the crime. This can lead to legal changes. For
example, decriminalising homosexuality has impacted thousands or even millions of
homosexuals. The 1967 Sexual Offences Act permitted homosexual acts between two
consenting adults over the age of 21 years old which led to fewer hate crimes in society as it
became a more and more accepted thing. This is a positive consequence as lots of laws are
outdated and aren’t up to date with society that many class as a ‘norm’ and therefore makes
a more inclusive community.
Police prioritisation is when the police cannot investigate every crime that has been reported
to them because they might not have time or money or it may not be a local or national
public concern at that point in time. The police also face pressure from the public to act upon
certain publicised crimes in areas and in general and people won’t report crimes that won’t
be prioritised. For example, shop owners might not report petty theft crimes or how scam
calls don’t get reported and followed up often as it isn’t really of public concern. This will
affect the crime trends as certain crimes are reported more often than others which leads to
dark figures of crime. This is a negative consequence as some people can be affected quite
badly by a crime and the police won’t chase it up because they don’t have enough funds or
time.
