AC 1.2- Explain the reasons that certain crimes are
unreported. [4 marks]
Hidden crimes are not reported to the police and hence not registered as crimes.
They are generally less visible in society and tend to go unnoticed by the public. State
crime, honour crime, cybercrime, and domestic abuse are some examples of hidden
crime.
The dark figure of crime refers to crimes that are not included in official statistics,
they are essentially all unreported by the victim or unrecorded by the police. Since it
is not included in official statistics, the crime rate is unclear.
Personal reasons crime can be unreported. Social reasons crime can be unreported.
Fear- when reporting a crime to the police, the victim Lack of knowledge- some victims are not even
could be concerned about reprisals or cats of violence. aware that a crime has been committed. Despite
If the victim knows the offender, they might be afraid knowing about the crime, they might not know
of the offender taking further action against them or who to report it to. This also holds true for
their family. This reasoning is frequently applied to cybercrime; victims of identity theft frequently
domestic honour, and hate crimes, because the victim have no idea that their personal information has
is well aware of the offender’s possible response if been taken or utilised. Some people are not aware
they disclose the crime. that online abuse is criminal as well. This is due to
the fact that these legal areas are still new, and
someone who does not use social media may not
be aware that they are being victimised there.
Shame- a victim may not report a crime if they feel Complexity- because some criminals are highly
ashamed or eve embarrassed, particularly if the crime technical in nature, a person may be discouraged
involves a sexual misconduct like rape or indecent from reporting one if they don’t comprehend the
assault. This can be the case because the person specifics. White collar offenders are affected for
doesn’t want other people to realise that they are this reason. For instance, accountants defraud
vulnerable and helpless. For male victims of domestic victims by taking advantage of their expert
violence, this is accurate. For example, honour crimes knowledge of complex finances.
might not be reported because doing so would further
embarrass the family.
Disinterest- people may not always bother to care Lack of media interest- the media’s coverage of
about what happened or be particularly upset about crime contributes significantly to our knowledge
the crime that was committed. For instance, if of it. By raising public awareness, this may
someone sees a homeless person drinking while high encourage witnesses and victims of the kinds of
unreported. [4 marks]
Hidden crimes are not reported to the police and hence not registered as crimes.
They are generally less visible in society and tend to go unnoticed by the public. State
crime, honour crime, cybercrime, and domestic abuse are some examples of hidden
crime.
The dark figure of crime refers to crimes that are not included in official statistics,
they are essentially all unreported by the victim or unrecorded by the police. Since it
is not included in official statistics, the crime rate is unclear.
Personal reasons crime can be unreported. Social reasons crime can be unreported.
Fear- when reporting a crime to the police, the victim Lack of knowledge- some victims are not even
could be concerned about reprisals or cats of violence. aware that a crime has been committed. Despite
If the victim knows the offender, they might be afraid knowing about the crime, they might not know
of the offender taking further action against them or who to report it to. This also holds true for
their family. This reasoning is frequently applied to cybercrime; victims of identity theft frequently
domestic honour, and hate crimes, because the victim have no idea that their personal information has
is well aware of the offender’s possible response if been taken or utilised. Some people are not aware
they disclose the crime. that online abuse is criminal as well. This is due to
the fact that these legal areas are still new, and
someone who does not use social media may not
be aware that they are being victimised there.
Shame- a victim may not report a crime if they feel Complexity- because some criminals are highly
ashamed or eve embarrassed, particularly if the crime technical in nature, a person may be discouraged
involves a sexual misconduct like rape or indecent from reporting one if they don’t comprehend the
assault. This can be the case because the person specifics. White collar offenders are affected for
doesn’t want other people to realise that they are this reason. For instance, accountants defraud
vulnerable and helpless. For male victims of domestic victims by taking advantage of their expert
violence, this is accurate. For example, honour crimes knowledge of complex finances.
might not be reported because doing so would further
embarrass the family.
Disinterest- people may not always bother to care Lack of media interest- the media’s coverage of
about what happened or be particularly upset about crime contributes significantly to our knowledge
the crime that was committed. For instance, if of it. By raising public awareness, this may
someone sees a homeless person drinking while high encourage witnesses and victims of the kinds of
