Personal reasons
People commit crimes due to personal reasons such as; fear, shame, disinterest or not
affected
The reason as to why crime goes unreported is because of fear. By this I mean if the victim
knows the offender then the offender could take their actions further and cause harm or
distress to the victim because they do not want to get caught for what they have done and
the victim could fear that their families will be involved and get harmed- this is most common
in many domestic abuse cases and a high percentage of individuals who are involved in
rape records that victims of rape are at fear of how the justice system will treat them. This
may correlate to failure from the police in the past.
A reason as to why crime may go unreported is because of shame. An example, which
covers shame is prostitution. This is when two consenting adults commit to sexual acts for
personal gain- including money. Women or men could feel shame if they were to ever report
this incident as it is not a thing to be proud of. Many individuals involved in prostitution may
feel as if they will be humiliated by society so they try to avoid speaking about the situation.
Many regret this action too.
Another reason could be disinterest. An example of a scenario which shows disinterest is for
example, a group of underage children drinking. If a family was to walk past this then it is
likely they will not report this because they do not want to be involved with something. The
family may be concerned for the children as they are illegally drinking under the age of 18
but feel as if they are not too concerned to the point they will report it. Whereas, if the
drinking was to get too out of hand to the point where the children are being loud,
intimidating or using action which affects the environment then maybe a family or an
individual will report it. Also, other reasons of disinterest could be because it is a victimless
crime- examples of victimless crimes could be speeding and antisocial behaviour. The
individuals who have seen these actions may assume the police will not be interested to
waste their time as it is not a serious crime and they have more to think about and do.
However, If a car was broken into and a family saw this they would be concerned but
because they are not affected by the situation they feel as if they do not need to report the
offence- some may report it but others do not want to get involved or they may not have time
to get involved. Whereas, if it was their property to be broken into then they would be
affected, therefore, they would report the crime themselves and expect others who saw the
incident to report it too. Other examples of crimes which are unlikely to be reported becasue
the individual who have seen is is not personally or directly affected; prostitution, underage
smoking/drinking, drug taking and vandalism.
Social and cultural reasons
People commit crimes due to social and cultural reasons such as; lack of knowledge,
complexity, lack of media interest, lack of current public concern or culture bound crime.
People commit crimes due to personal reasons such as; fear, shame, disinterest or not
affected
The reason as to why crime goes unreported is because of fear. By this I mean if the victim
knows the offender then the offender could take their actions further and cause harm or
distress to the victim because they do not want to get caught for what they have done and
the victim could fear that their families will be involved and get harmed- this is most common
in many domestic abuse cases and a high percentage of individuals who are involved in
rape records that victims of rape are at fear of how the justice system will treat them. This
may correlate to failure from the police in the past.
A reason as to why crime may go unreported is because of shame. An example, which
covers shame is prostitution. This is when two consenting adults commit to sexual acts for
personal gain- including money. Women or men could feel shame if they were to ever report
this incident as it is not a thing to be proud of. Many individuals involved in prostitution may
feel as if they will be humiliated by society so they try to avoid speaking about the situation.
Many regret this action too.
Another reason could be disinterest. An example of a scenario which shows disinterest is for
example, a group of underage children drinking. If a family was to walk past this then it is
likely they will not report this because they do not want to be involved with something. The
family may be concerned for the children as they are illegally drinking under the age of 18
but feel as if they are not too concerned to the point they will report it. Whereas, if the
drinking was to get too out of hand to the point where the children are being loud,
intimidating or using action which affects the environment then maybe a family or an
individual will report it. Also, other reasons of disinterest could be because it is a victimless
crime- examples of victimless crimes could be speeding and antisocial behaviour. The
individuals who have seen these actions may assume the police will not be interested to
waste their time as it is not a serious crime and they have more to think about and do.
However, If a car was broken into and a family saw this they would be concerned but
because they are not affected by the situation they feel as if they do not need to report the
offence- some may report it but others do not want to get involved or they may not have time
to get involved. Whereas, if it was their property to be broken into then they would be
affected, therefore, they would report the crime themselves and expect others who saw the
incident to report it too. Other examples of crimes which are unlikely to be reported becasue
the individual who have seen is is not personally or directly affected; prostitution, underage
smoking/drinking, drug taking and vandalism.
Social and cultural reasons
People commit crimes due to social and cultural reasons such as; lack of knowledge,
complexity, lack of media interest, lack of current public concern or culture bound crime.
