AC1.2 – Explain the reasons certain crimes are unreported.
Meaning of unreported crime:
An incident or offence of criminal nature that remains not reported to police by either witnesses,
victims or the media.
Personal Reasons:
Fear:
Victims of the crime may be concerned that there will be severe consequences involving them and
their family if they report the offence to authority. Some victims are threatened by the offender into
keeping quiet, such as in domestic violence. Some victims also fear the court process and police
process that follow reporting the incident to the police because it can be re-traumatising especially
in cases of sexual assault which can be very graphic and difficult for the victim to experience as they
must re-live their trauma. They also may fear the reactions of the people close to them, which can
also lead into shame, or could even fear not being believed by the police or the people around them.
Connecting crimes:
Domestic Violence
Gang Activity
Sexual assault
Shame:
Victims can often feel shame or embarrassment because of the offence that was committed against
them. They may fail to report the crime to the police because of the shame of how they will appear
towards others around them after they have reported the crime, such as being shameful that their
family will view them differently especially in crimes like sexual assault because of the privacy
invasive nature that they have. Men are common in un reporting crimes of abuse because many of
them are told to man up after experiencing an abuse crime, and because of this patriarchal issue
many men are ashamed to report their abuse in fear it will make them appear to weak or not manly
enough.
Connecting crimes:
Sexual Assault/Abuse
Men’s abuse.
Disinterest:
Witnesses towards the crime can become disinterested with what happened, leaving a crime to go
unreported. They may consider the crime not significant enough, or just have a general uncaring
nature towards the crime. If they witness a crime and perceive it to not be hurting anyone or posing
a threat, they will not report the crime.
Connecting crimes:
Underaged drinking
Underaged smoking
Not affected by the crime:
, This reason is like disinterest, the person, witnesses may feel unaffected by the crime and not report
it because the crime didn’t happen to them, for example seeing a car be broken into if it isn’t their
car, or seeing someone being robbed and being unphased because it isn’t you being attacked and
losing your money.
Connecting crimes:
Underage smoking/drinking
Being a witness of a crime not involving you
Social and Cultural:
Lack of Knowledge:
People may not be aware a particular action is against the law and therefore may not report it.
Similarly, they also may not have the knowledge on how to report the crime, especially if it was a
technological crime that occurred.
Connecting crimes:
Abusive Messages Online
Downloading music/film illegally
Complexity:
Many crimes are very complex to the point it can be difficult to detect whether the crime has been
committed, this is extremely prominent in White Collar Crime.
Connecting crimes:
Ponzi Schemes like Bernie Madoff’s
Technological scams
Lack of media interest:
Many of people’s knowledge on crime is reached from media, who often only focus on large scale
shocking crimes like murder. If people aren’t familiar with crimes from the media’s spotlight, many
will not know of the crime they could have experienced and then will not report it was a result.
Connecting crimes:
Local Small-scale shoplifting
Underaged drinking or smoking.
Lack of public concern:
If a crime does not cause a public concern, many will not report the crime as they don’t believe that
it’s a big enough issue. An example of this is the use of cannabis, which has been normalised by
society over time and is often underreported by witnesses.
Connecting crimes:
The use of cannabis and other small illegal drugs
Small scale local shoplifting
Culture bound crime:
Meaning of unreported crime:
An incident or offence of criminal nature that remains not reported to police by either witnesses,
victims or the media.
Personal Reasons:
Fear:
Victims of the crime may be concerned that there will be severe consequences involving them and
their family if they report the offence to authority. Some victims are threatened by the offender into
keeping quiet, such as in domestic violence. Some victims also fear the court process and police
process that follow reporting the incident to the police because it can be re-traumatising especially
in cases of sexual assault which can be very graphic and difficult for the victim to experience as they
must re-live their trauma. They also may fear the reactions of the people close to them, which can
also lead into shame, or could even fear not being believed by the police or the people around them.
Connecting crimes:
Domestic Violence
Gang Activity
Sexual assault
Shame:
Victims can often feel shame or embarrassment because of the offence that was committed against
them. They may fail to report the crime to the police because of the shame of how they will appear
towards others around them after they have reported the crime, such as being shameful that their
family will view them differently especially in crimes like sexual assault because of the privacy
invasive nature that they have. Men are common in un reporting crimes of abuse because many of
them are told to man up after experiencing an abuse crime, and because of this patriarchal issue
many men are ashamed to report their abuse in fear it will make them appear to weak or not manly
enough.
Connecting crimes:
Sexual Assault/Abuse
Men’s abuse.
Disinterest:
Witnesses towards the crime can become disinterested with what happened, leaving a crime to go
unreported. They may consider the crime not significant enough, or just have a general uncaring
nature towards the crime. If they witness a crime and perceive it to not be hurting anyone or posing
a threat, they will not report the crime.
Connecting crimes:
Underaged drinking
Underaged smoking
Not affected by the crime:
, This reason is like disinterest, the person, witnesses may feel unaffected by the crime and not report
it because the crime didn’t happen to them, for example seeing a car be broken into if it isn’t their
car, or seeing someone being robbed and being unphased because it isn’t you being attacked and
losing your money.
Connecting crimes:
Underage smoking/drinking
Being a witness of a crime not involving you
Social and Cultural:
Lack of Knowledge:
People may not be aware a particular action is against the law and therefore may not report it.
Similarly, they also may not have the knowledge on how to report the crime, especially if it was a
technological crime that occurred.
Connecting crimes:
Abusive Messages Online
Downloading music/film illegally
Complexity:
Many crimes are very complex to the point it can be difficult to detect whether the crime has been
committed, this is extremely prominent in White Collar Crime.
Connecting crimes:
Ponzi Schemes like Bernie Madoff’s
Technological scams
Lack of media interest:
Many of people’s knowledge on crime is reached from media, who often only focus on large scale
shocking crimes like murder. If people aren’t familiar with crimes from the media’s spotlight, many
will not know of the crime they could have experienced and then will not report it was a result.
Connecting crimes:
Local Small-scale shoplifting
Underaged drinking or smoking.
Lack of public concern:
If a crime does not cause a public concern, many will not report the crime as they don’t believe that
it’s a big enough issue. An example of this is the use of cannabis, which has been normalised by
society over time and is often underreported by witnesses.
Connecting crimes:
The use of cannabis and other small illegal drugs
Small scale local shoplifting
Culture bound crime:
