The Ripple Effect
Unreported crime leads to the ripple effect as not reporting a crime can lead to many
offenders thinking they can go without punishment, which leads to a spread of harm
throughout a community. This leads to the impact of a crime spreading from the
primary victim to the secondary victims. An example of this is if a murder occurs, not
only the victim who was murdered is affected, their family members, friends or co
workers also become secondary victims. This is a negative consequence of
unreported crime as it leads to a negative impact on communities and family
members of victims, affecting their everyday life.
Cultural Consequences
Unreported crime can lead to cultural consequences. This is because people from
different cultures have different views on certain crimes, meaning some actions that
are unacceptable and against the UK law, are seen as acceptable in certain cultures in
the UK. An example of this is FGM as it is a common practice in certain minorities in
the UK and cultures around the world, it is against the UK law but some cultures
believe the crime is acceptable. This is a negative consequence of unreported crime
as it leads to offenders in these communities believing they can commit these crimes
without being punished, meaning it could lead to a high amount of offending for
certain crimes.
Decriminalisation
Unreported crime can lead to decriminalisation as some crimes are committed widely
throughout society even though they are against the law because many members of
the public don’t report a certain crime as they believe it shouldn’t lead to prison
sentences. An example of this is cannabis, as many people in society believe
possession of cannabis shouldn’t lead to prison sentencing, instead it should be tried
as a minor offence like fines or a warning. This means decriminalisation could be a
positive consequence, as it could lead to drug users getting medical and mental help
when caught using, rather than prison sentencing.
Legal Change
Legal change is where a crime gets such low reporting from the public as the crime is
perceived to just be human rights. An example of this is homosexuality, as it used to
be a crime to be in a gay relationship. So many people didn’t report seeing
homosexuality so eventually a law was passed which made it legal to be homosexual
in public. This means legal change can have a positive consequence, as it allows
people to live freely, without being put in prison for basic human rights.
Unreported crime leads to the ripple effect as not reporting a crime can lead to many
offenders thinking they can go without punishment, which leads to a spread of harm
throughout a community. This leads to the impact of a crime spreading from the
primary victim to the secondary victims. An example of this is if a murder occurs, not
only the victim who was murdered is affected, their family members, friends or co
workers also become secondary victims. This is a negative consequence of
unreported crime as it leads to a negative impact on communities and family
members of victims, affecting their everyday life.
Cultural Consequences
Unreported crime can lead to cultural consequences. This is because people from
different cultures have different views on certain crimes, meaning some actions that
are unacceptable and against the UK law, are seen as acceptable in certain cultures in
the UK. An example of this is FGM as it is a common practice in certain minorities in
the UK and cultures around the world, it is against the UK law but some cultures
believe the crime is acceptable. This is a negative consequence of unreported crime
as it leads to offenders in these communities believing they can commit these crimes
without being punished, meaning it could lead to a high amount of offending for
certain crimes.
Decriminalisation
Unreported crime can lead to decriminalisation as some crimes are committed widely
throughout society even though they are against the law because many members of
the public don’t report a certain crime as they believe it shouldn’t lead to prison
sentences. An example of this is cannabis, as many people in society believe
possession of cannabis shouldn’t lead to prison sentencing, instead it should be tried
as a minor offence like fines or a warning. This means decriminalisation could be a
positive consequence, as it could lead to drug users getting medical and mental help
when caught using, rather than prison sentencing.
Legal Change
Legal change is where a crime gets such low reporting from the public as the crime is
perceived to just be human rights. An example of this is homosexuality, as it used to
be a crime to be in a gay relationship. So many people didn’t report seeing
homosexuality so eventually a law was passed which made it legal to be homosexual
in public. This means legal change can have a positive consequence, as it allows
people to live freely, without being put in prison for basic human rights.
