AC 1.2 - Explaining reasons certain crimes are unreported

Question 1

give the 4 personal reasons for not reporting crime

Answer 1

fear
shame
disinterest
not affected

Question 2

give the 5 social/ cultural reasons for not reporting crime

Answer 2

lack of knowledge
complexity
lack of media interest
lack of current public concern
culture-bound crime

Question 3

fear

Answer 3

-most people are afraid of retaliation
- don’t want to go to court and testify/ have involvement
- links to domestic abuse

Question 4

shame

Answer 4

-don’t want police, relatives to discover what they or someone else has done
- would rather it was left untold to avoid tarnishing their reputation
-links to moral crimes: under-age drinking

Question 5

disinterest

Answer 5

-want no involvement
- something that has not happened directly towards them

Question 6

not affected

Answer 6

• some people don’t realise they have been victimised
• they rely on the police and other agencies to take responsibility for reporting and discovering
• links to white-collar crimes: bernie madoff case

Question 7

lack of knowledge

Answer 7

-where many individuals may be unaware that a particular action is criminal or don’t know the procedures for reporting it successfully
- may not know that an ‘insignificant’/’minor’ crime is mistaken for an important crime worthy of law enforcement attention
-links to moral crimes, white-collar crimes

Question 8

complexity

Answer 8

-some offenses (particularly white-collar crimes) are intricate and difficult for the average person to understand and detect

Question 9

lack of media interest

Answer 9

when the media may only prioritise sensational crimes over more common ‘less dramatic’ offenses
- certain crimes are not considered a social problem eg: prostitution, under-age drinking

Question 10

lack of current public concern

Answer 10

if an individual is not directly affected by a crime or perceives it as insignificant so they may choose not to report it

Question 11

culture bound killings

Answer 11

crimes that may not be considered as unacceptable based on different cultural beliefs/ tradition
those uninvolved may fail to report as:
- lack of knowledge/ understanding
- may feel that cultural diversity is mystifying and choose to avoid reporting it, to avoid interference