AC1.2 Explain the Reasons that Certain Crimes are Unreported
Assessment Criteria Mark Band 1 Mark Band 2
Reasons for the two unreported Clear and detailed explanation of the
AC1.2 Explain the reasons why crimes are limited in reasons for the two unreported
certain crimes are unreported explanation. crimes.
(1-2 marks) (3-4 marks)
Reason Explanation of reason
People have fears of the consequences that reporting a crime may lead to for themselves or
their families. They may have fears of having to undergo legal processes such as giving a
police statement or attending court. It is typical in cases of domestic abuse, honour or hate
crimes for these crimes to go unreported due to fear.
Fear
(Personal) On average, domestic abuse victims will have been assaulted 68 times before reporting it
to the police.
For the year ending March 2018, only 18% of women who had experienced partner abuse
in the last 12 months reported the abuse to the police. (According to CSEW data).
People may feel embarrassed or shameful about what they have experienced, particularly
in cases involving sex crimes. For example, if someone was sexually abused, they may
feel uncomfortable telling someone and feel like they may embarrass themselves. Shame
is a common reason why moral crimes go unreported, such as alcohol consumption and
drug use, because people may be ashamed of their actions. Rape and sexual abuse also are
commonly unreported due to shame.
Shame 5 in 6 women who are raped do not report it, and 4 in 5 men who get raped also do not
(Personal) report it.
For women, 45% said they didn’t report it due to ‘embarrassment’, 38% said they didn’t
think the police could help and 34% said they thought that it would be humiliating.
Only 310 out of every 1000 sexual assaults are reported to police- meaning over 2 out of 3
go unreported.
If a person feels they are not impacted by a crime, they may think that it has nothing to do
with them and is none of their business, which results in them being unreported. Many feel
as though it is someone else's job to report it. In addition, victimless crimes are commonly
unreported such as taking drugs, as it isn’t affecting anyone else or impacting them
personally. Key examples of crimes where this happens are car theft, criminal damage and
vagrancy.
Not affected
(Personal) It is estimated that bystanders are present in 70% of assaults and 52% of robberies.
Kitty Genovese was brutally murdered in 1964 by Winston Moseley who stalked, raped
and killed her in a prolonged knife attack in New York, while neighbours failed to act on
her desperate cries for help. It was reported that 38 bystanders watched or heard the attack
but relied on others to intervene or call the police. Witnesses to her murder gave excuses
such as, “I didn’t want to get involved” and “I thought it was just a lovers’ quarrel”.
Lack of On some occasions, people may be unaware that a crime is being committed or unaware of
knowledge how to go about reporting a crime. This particularly happens with crimes such as hate
(Social and speech and cyberbullying. Also, people may have a lack of knowledge surrounding
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