AC 1.2 - REASONS FOR NOT REPORTING
CRIMES
For your assessment you will need 4 personal reasons:
- Fear
- Shame
- Disinterest
- Not affected
You will also need 5 social/cultural
- Lack of knowledge
- Complexity
- Lack of media interest
- Lack of public concern
- Cultural bound crime (e.g honour killing, witchcraft)
PERSONAL REASONS
Fear - Victims may be afraid of the repercussions of reporting a crime, they may be afraid
the criminal will suffer great consequences. Additionally, victims may be afraid that if the
criminal is not prosecuted, that the criminal will retaliate and hurt them.
Shame - Shame, especially to do with crimes of sexual nature, could result into the
underreporting of crimes such as rape and sexual assault. The victim may not want others to
know about how they were unable to defend themselves or were vulnerable.
Disinterest - Victims may feel disinterested about the crime committed against them and
may believe it is not severe or serious enough to report to the police. For example, if
someone gets verbally abused due to prejudice on their way to work they may not feel
bothered to report it.
Not affected - If an incident doesn't concern someone they may not feel bothered to report
it. For example if someone walks past a group of intoxicated teens drinking and smoking
cannabis, they may not feel bothered to call the police.
SOCIAL OR CULTURAL REASONS
Lack of knowledge - Being unaware that an action is a crime may be the reason a crime
goes unreported. For example, people may not report phishing to the police and instead just
block the user because they don't realise it is a crime.
Complexity - Someone may not report a crime because it is too complex for the general
public to comprehend. For example, white collar crime is a very complex crime where
fraudulent transactions are intelligently thought through and done in a private environment.
CRIMES
For your assessment you will need 4 personal reasons:
- Fear
- Shame
- Disinterest
- Not affected
You will also need 5 social/cultural
- Lack of knowledge
- Complexity
- Lack of media interest
- Lack of public concern
- Cultural bound crime (e.g honour killing, witchcraft)
PERSONAL REASONS
Fear - Victims may be afraid of the repercussions of reporting a crime, they may be afraid
the criminal will suffer great consequences. Additionally, victims may be afraid that if the
criminal is not prosecuted, that the criminal will retaliate and hurt them.
Shame - Shame, especially to do with crimes of sexual nature, could result into the
underreporting of crimes such as rape and sexual assault. The victim may not want others to
know about how they were unable to defend themselves or were vulnerable.
Disinterest - Victims may feel disinterested about the crime committed against them and
may believe it is not severe or serious enough to report to the police. For example, if
someone gets verbally abused due to prejudice on their way to work they may not feel
bothered to report it.
Not affected - If an incident doesn't concern someone they may not feel bothered to report
it. For example if someone walks past a group of intoxicated teens drinking and smoking
cannabis, they may not feel bothered to call the police.
SOCIAL OR CULTURAL REASONS
Lack of knowledge - Being unaware that an action is a crime may be the reason a crime
goes unreported. For example, people may not report phishing to the police and instead just
block the user because they don't realise it is a crime.
Complexity - Someone may not report a crime because it is too complex for the general
public to comprehend. For example, white collar crime is a very complex crime where
fraudulent transactions are intelligently thought through and done in a private environment.
