Model Answer for WJEC Criminology Unit 1: Changing Awareness of Crime, AC1.3. In my Unit 1 exam I got full marks. Please put into your own words to avoid being penalised/use to help you understand what the question requires or to plan your own answer. Any mention to the brief needs to be adjusted t...
One consequence of unreported crime is the ripple effect. This describes how the impacts of a crime can
not only impact the immediate victim/s, but their family, friends and the wider community. The ripple
effect is commonly seen with cases of domestic abuse. Children who have been abused or have regularly
witnessed the abuse of others often become bullies or abusers themselves due to growing up and not
being told how these actions are wrong and unacceptable. Domestic abuse can also affect any
neighbours who witness or overhear incidents. Colleagues can also be affected if the victim becomes
absent from work due any injuries they have sustained.
A second consequence of unreported crime is cultural. Between communities there can be cultural
differences that make actions criminal in one country but legal in another. Cultures that are different to
our own can be difficult to understand, and so interference is low which leads to criminals thinking the
can continue without consequences. This is frequently seen in cases of honour killings where despite it
being illegal in the UK, some communities believe that it is acceptable retaliation to behaviour they
deem dishonourable. An example of this is the case of Kristy Bamu, a 15-year-old boy who was
murdered by his older sister and her boyfriend while visiting them for Christmas after they accused him
of being involved in witchcraft. He was tortured for days before being drowned in a bathtub during an
exorcism. Female genital mutilation is another deep-rooted tradition within some communities as they
believe it preserves the virginity of their girls until marriage.
Thirdly, decriminalisation is another result of unreported crime. this is where the laws are altered due to
the police forces being unable to impose or enforce them and so the government has little choice but to
decriminalise the offence and put regulations and protection in place. These actions are widespread as
the majority do not see the offence as ‘real’ and so become publicly decriminalised. For example, the
use of cannabis is common in many parts of the UK, but there are little arrests for the offence of
possessing the drug. One of the main reasons for this is that the police choose not to act as they believe
to have more important things to do.
Additionally, unreported crime affects police prioritisation. Police often prioritise certain crimes above
others to ensure that the issues most prominent within their local area are addressed as they do not
have the capacity to deal with all crime. however, this does not consider unreported crime and so
despite the crime type being an issue, it isn’t being reported and so the police cannot put more funding
into acting on these crimes. An example of a crime that is currently requiring police prioritisation is hate
crime, especially cases that are committed through social media. In 2016, a new unit was creating in the
Metropolitan Police Force to investigate hate speech online.
A fifth consequence of unreported crime is unrecorded crime. unrecorded crimes are those that are
reported to the police but are not recorded by them as offences. This means that no official
investigation will take place into the supposed crime, resulting in the perpetrator not being punished, in
addition, it cannot help to prevent other crimes that are similar. This can cause other people to not want
to report crimes as they do not believe that the police with take their report seriously and record it so
that an investigation can be held. These unreported and unrecorded crimes will therefore fall under the
‘dark figure’ of crime and will not be included in any official statistics.
Cultural change is another consequence of unreported crime and this is where within a community, it
becomes part of the culture for crimes to frequently be committed because of a culture shift. The
Broken Windows theory as presented in 1982 by Kelling and Wilson, and stated that when an area
becomes run-down people turn to petty crimes such as vandalism, drug use and prostitution. The
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