AC1.3 Explain The Consequences Of Unreported Crime Flashcards
Explain the ripple effect
When crimes goes unreported, it can lead to a knock on effect which can extend a passed the immediate victims just because of perpetrator was gotten away with a crime doesn’t mean they’re not going to recommit. It is actually more likely that they will recommit because there is no deterrent because they were not convicted. This goes on to affect the community as a scale of the crime the perpetrator commits will begin to increase due to the crime, not being reported.
The victim has no support system to rely on and the authorities have no idea the crime has been committed. This would affect the community negatively. This concept comes from a pebble being dropped into the water and creating a ripple effect on an impact on the whole body of water.
Explain cultural consequence
Due to the variety of cultures in today’s society, it is difficult to determine which group finds what socially acceptable. Some crimes take place within a community and go unreported because the crime is either seen as a social norm or because of fear that they may be in danger. For example, FGM hitting children. Some people also turn a blind eye to things they don’t understand.
Summarise the case study of Kristy Bamu
He was killed by his sister and partner because they accused him of being possessed and a witch. They tortured him, breath him and he finally died in the bath tub after they attempted to perform an exorcism. He had 130 injuries and his parents could reach him because of the snow.
Explain decriminalisation
People may believe that certain crimes are low-level and aren’t worth reporting as they use resources and waste money. They also suggest that there are more urgent matters to attend to however, the laws can’t be enforced without people reporting them. The decriminalisation of cannabis means that they can make sure less criminals profit off it, and instead use it to fund the states. Less crimes will be reported that relate to cannabis.
Explain police prioritisation
Police have to make choices on which crimes to compromise and solve first because they have limited resources and officers. When crimes are not reported the police have no idea how severe the crimes are and how many of the recur. This also creates an illusion that police aren’t taking action crimes because they believe the police will listen to them.
Police funding was cut, 19% between 2010 and 2018, and officer numbers fell by 20,000
They now focus on commonly reported crimes, high-profile stories on the media and government influences plus additional serious crimes
Explain unrecorded crime
Due to lack of reporting crime cannot be recorded and as a result, it leads to a large amount of primes been committed because they aren’t stopped and there is no deterrent 90% of recorded crime is from public records
The dark figure of crime is used to show the number of unreported crimes been committed, and never discovered. This creates a shadow of doubt on the effectiveness of crime data and how much we don’t know what happened.
When someone is prosecuted, they are given a sentence and that crime is recorded, however not all arrests are sentenced due to factors such as lack of evidence. The crime may be reported but might not be acted on because they are believed to be low priority. Many crimes still go unreported.
Explain cultural change
As crimes become decriminalised, culture may change because it considers a social norm. For example, graffiti will spread if not reported and has become normalised.
Another example is downloading media because it is difficult to prosecute. Additionally, the Holocaust is another example of how murder and rape became ‘normal’ during the war
Killing and Wilson, in 1982, suggested a broken window theory, they said ‘unchecked and unreported minor crimes lead to further and more serious crime ‘.
Explain legal change
Leaving crime reported means that legal changes need to happen because of our constantly and forever changing society due to moral attitudes changing so frequently. It’s difficult to keep up to date, but people believe that sound crime should not be reported because they are personal choices that should be chosen by the person, and there is a basic human right, e.g. legalising Homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
Smoking is a good example, because it’s portrayed in the movie is and in the adverts but after learning all the medical research side. We now know they are dangerous and smoking kills as a result in 2001, smoking an enclosed public spaces was banned and illegal .
Explain procedural change
Police procedures can be affected by concern of underreporting. They may introduce : crime-stoppers, victim support, websites, apps and 111 phone lines
