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Summary Consequences of Unreported Crime
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Consequences of Unreported Crime
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Criminology Unit 1.3Explain the Consequences of Unreported Crime
The Impact of Unreported Crime:
Ripple Effect: Describes how the impact of a crime can spread beyond the immediate victim. If an
offender’s action is unreported, the offender will likely repeat the same offence, affecting more
people. Ex. Sexual abuse. (Negative)
Cultural Impact: Difference in attitudes towards the same action between people of different
cultures. People may ‘turn a blind eye’ to customs that they are unfamiliar with as they may feel it is
not their place to interfere, leading to unreported crime. An example of cultural impact is Kristy
Bamu, who was murdered after being accused of witchcraft, based on their Congolese cultural
beliefs. (Negative)
Decriminalisation: Ceasing to treat something as illegal or as a criminal offence. Decriminalisation
may occur when a certain crime is accepted due to many people engaging in the activity and/or very
few people report it. An example of decriminalisation is certain drugs, such as cannabis, no longer
being considered illegal in America. (Positive)
Police Prioritisation: The prioritisation of certain crimes, typically due to limited resources such as
funding, staffing and time. Certain crimes may be prioritised due to a local concern, e.g. burglaries,
while others that are difficult to prosecute may not be prioritised, e.g. historic child abuse or rape.
Unrecorded Crime: Crimes reported to the police but not recorded as offences. This may be because
they do not have enough evidence to secure a conviction, do not believe the story told by the victim,
the victim does not want to press charges or, they may not want to spend time/resources
investigating.
Cultural Change: Modification of a society through innovation, invention, or contact with other
societies. Cultural change can be a consequence of unreported crime in various ways. The crime can
become a way of life if they are accepted and unreported, e.g. illegal video downloading.
Additionally, norms and values held by a community may change faster than the law itself. As well as
this, when an area gets run down, the culture of an area changes and more crimes are committed.
This is referred to as the Broken Windows Theory.
Legal Change: Crimes may go unreported because they are not regarded as crimes, i.e.
homosexuality. Many see this as a human right as opposed to a crime. As the stigma towards certain
‘crimes’ reduces, legal change can occur. Homosexuality and abortion are both examples of legal
change, as they both had become legalised in the United Kingdom in 1967.
Procedural Change: Changes in the way the police and the criminal justice system work. Low
reporting encourages the police and the criminal justice system to make it easier for people to
report a crime. For example, making additions to how someone may report a crime, such as
anonymous reporting.
The Impacts of Unrecorded Crime:
On the Victim:
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