AC 1.3 Consequences of unreported crime Unit 1 Changing awareness of crime
Ripple effect – Describes how the impact of crime can spread beyond the
immediate victim throughout their family, friends and community. It ripples
out much wider than the victims.
Domestic abuse
Offender Abusers are often abused as children or
Victim have witnessed the abuse of parents as
children. If this goes unreported it can
Children in house appear as acceptable, or children are
Victims family and friends socialized into this behaviour which goes
Classmates of children unpunished and then repeating it as
adults. It can also affect the people who
Future partners of children
hear the incidents of work collages if the
Grandchildren victim is absent.
Cultural
Sometimes there are cultural differences that make actions criminal in one
country and not another. Cultural differences mean crimes are very under-
reported or not recognized. It can be difficult to understand cultures very
different from your own, often people will ignore or turn a blind eye to actions
or customs that are alien to ours. They may feel it is not their place to interfere
and therefore criminals and potential criminals may believe they can proceed
without consequences.
E.g. FGM (Female genital mutilation) is illegal in the UK but culturally there are
some communities who believe it is an acceptable thing to do. Similarly, with
honour killing, while alien to a Western society, there are many cultures that
believe it is appropriate to take such drastic action.
Case study – Kristy Bamu
The case of Kristy Bamu saw a 15-year-old boy being accused of involvement in
witchcraft and then killed by members of his own family. The family were
originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where witchcraft is
practiced, and exorcisms are carried out in some churches. Kristy was tortured
over the course of several days before being drowned in a bathtub during an
exorcism.
Ripple effect – Describes how the impact of crime can spread beyond the
immediate victim throughout their family, friends and community. It ripples
out much wider than the victims.
Domestic abuse
Offender Abusers are often abused as children or
Victim have witnessed the abuse of parents as
children. If this goes unreported it can
Children in house appear as acceptable, or children are
Victims family and friends socialized into this behaviour which goes
Classmates of children unpunished and then repeating it as
adults. It can also affect the people who
Future partners of children
hear the incidents of work collages if the
Grandchildren victim is absent.
Cultural
Sometimes there are cultural differences that make actions criminal in one
country and not another. Cultural differences mean crimes are very under-
reported or not recognized. It can be difficult to understand cultures very
different from your own, often people will ignore or turn a blind eye to actions
or customs that are alien to ours. They may feel it is not their place to interfere
and therefore criminals and potential criminals may believe they can proceed
without consequences.
E.g. FGM (Female genital mutilation) is illegal in the UK but culturally there are
some communities who believe it is an acceptable thing to do. Similarly, with
honour killing, while alien to a Western society, there are many cultures that
believe it is appropriate to take such drastic action.
Case study – Kristy Bamu
The case of Kristy Bamu saw a 15-year-old boy being accused of involvement in
witchcraft and then killed by members of his own family. The family were
originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where witchcraft is
practiced, and exorcisms are carried out in some churches. Kristy was tortured
over the course of several days before being drowned in a bathtub during an
exorcism.
