unit 1 questions

Question 1

reasons why crime goes unreported

Answer 1

fear - e.g. domestic abuse, fear of the abuse getting worse
shame - e.g. male victims of domestic abuse
lack of knowledge - e.g. white collar crime
not affected - e.g. vagrancy, moral crimes

Question 2

consequences of crime being unreported

Answer 2

• ripple effect: impact of crime spreads beyond the immediate victim e.g. other family members and wider society
• decriminalisation: laws may not be reported by the public as they feel actions shouldn’t be illegal, becomes decriminalised e.g. certain drug use
• legal change: crimes that go unreported for a long time can be perceived as a human right e.g. attitudes to homosexuality

Question 4

impact of media’s representation of crime on the public perception of crime

Answer 4

• moral panic: media overrepresents something that has happened leading to excessive public concern, exaggerate crime statistics e.g. mods and rockers
• perceptions of crime trends: often crime trends are viewed as increasing due to reporting by the media, this isn’t the case
• changing priorities and emphasis: reporting may see a shift in what is viewed as a priority crime e.g. incidents of terrorism