AC1.3: The consequences of unreported crime
Ripple Effect:
The ripple effect is an experience that affects most of the people involved in a crime, and
spreads beyond the immediate victim; not only the offender and victim get involved, but also
people they know or loved ones, such as family, friends, and partners. A situation that was
supposed to affect the initial victim, ripples out wider to other people. For example, a victim
of domestic abuse could repeat the behaviour thrown towards them and continue the cycle
of abuse within the family, specifically their children. Furthermore, studies have shown that
people who had suffered abuse within childhood tend to lean towards abusive partners in the
future, due to that cyclical abusive behaviour they are familiar with. Ultimately causing that
ripple effect.
Cultural:
Cultural differences often function as barriers that prevent us from recognising what is a
crime and what is not, causing them to go unreported. Individuals who might witness a crime
that they are not familiar with, which is outside of their culture, might not take any action to
report it due to their unfamiliarity surrounding the crime and their lack of experience in
dealing with it. For example, honour killings that specific type of crime may not be unfamiliar
to other cultures outside of Western society. Other cultures who participate in such crime
often see it as a necessary action to prevent their community from getting a bad reputation
due to the victim partaking in behaviours that are deviant for that culture. Whereas in
Western culture, killing a family member because they did not align with society's
expectations is illegal.
Decriminalisation:
Decriminalisation is the process of a law changing from illegal to legal. This often happens
when a lack of reporting is taken seriously on a specific crime, this could be due to society's
views altering around the subject the crime indulges in, and therefore could be seen immoral
if such subject were illegal. For instance, participating in same-sex relationships was illegal
until it became societally acceptable for a person to do so, such as gay marriage being made
legal in 2013. Another reason crimes can be decriminalised is because of the lack of control
surrounding it, due to the government not being able to regulate every aspect of it, such as
the downloading of illegal music or copyrighting films. Punishments for these crimes are
often reduced.
Police Prioritisation:
The police often prioritise certain crimes to ensure that local issues are met. This means that
specific crimes, such as domestic abuse or sexual abuse are often not taken as seriously as
they should be causing a rise in such crimes. This could be because of the lack of funds the
police force receives and their inability to tackle every crime they receive. Recently, police
have started to take smaller crimes less seriously to make sure that the more serious crimes
are being dealt with, such as smoking cannabis. Which can also lead to the decriminalisation
of the crime they are not taking as seriously as they used to. But it also means that the
police will now have more time to take larger and organised crime more seriously with the
correct finances and facilities. For instance, hate speech online has developed into a crime
that should be prioritised by the police in 2016, due to the rise in technology.
Ripple Effect:
The ripple effect is an experience that affects most of the people involved in a crime, and
spreads beyond the immediate victim; not only the offender and victim get involved, but also
people they know or loved ones, such as family, friends, and partners. A situation that was
supposed to affect the initial victim, ripples out wider to other people. For example, a victim
of domestic abuse could repeat the behaviour thrown towards them and continue the cycle
of abuse within the family, specifically their children. Furthermore, studies have shown that
people who had suffered abuse within childhood tend to lean towards abusive partners in the
future, due to that cyclical abusive behaviour they are familiar with. Ultimately causing that
ripple effect.
Cultural:
Cultural differences often function as barriers that prevent us from recognising what is a
crime and what is not, causing them to go unreported. Individuals who might witness a crime
that they are not familiar with, which is outside of their culture, might not take any action to
report it due to their unfamiliarity surrounding the crime and their lack of experience in
dealing with it. For example, honour killings that specific type of crime may not be unfamiliar
to other cultures outside of Western society. Other cultures who participate in such crime
often see it as a necessary action to prevent their community from getting a bad reputation
due to the victim partaking in behaviours that are deviant for that culture. Whereas in
Western culture, killing a family member because they did not align with society's
expectations is illegal.
Decriminalisation:
Decriminalisation is the process of a law changing from illegal to legal. This often happens
when a lack of reporting is taken seriously on a specific crime, this could be due to society's
views altering around the subject the crime indulges in, and therefore could be seen immoral
if such subject were illegal. For instance, participating in same-sex relationships was illegal
until it became societally acceptable for a person to do so, such as gay marriage being made
legal in 2013. Another reason crimes can be decriminalised is because of the lack of control
surrounding it, due to the government not being able to regulate every aspect of it, such as
the downloading of illegal music or copyrighting films. Punishments for these crimes are
often reduced.
Police Prioritisation:
The police often prioritise certain crimes to ensure that local issues are met. This means that
specific crimes, such as domestic abuse or sexual abuse are often not taken as seriously as
they should be causing a rise in such crimes. This could be because of the lack of funds the
police force receives and their inability to tackle every crime they receive. Recently, police
have started to take smaller crimes less seriously to make sure that the more serious crimes
are being dealt with, such as smoking cannabis. Which can also lead to the decriminalisation
of the crime they are not taking as seriously as they used to. But it also means that the
police will now have more time to take larger and organised crime more seriously with the
correct finances and facilities. For instance, hate speech online has developed into a crime
that should be prioritised by the police in 2016, due to the rise in technology.
