My example write up for Changing Awareness of Crime AC 1.3 - explain the consequences of unreported crime. In the controlled assessment, I achieved 96/100 (100/100 UMS marks).
AC 1.3 – Explain the consequences of unreported crime
The Ripple Effect
The ripple effect is a negative consequence of unreported crime. The ripple effect is where a crime
does not just affect the primary victim but will spread out across a whole community or society to
affect secondary victims. The ripple effect can be easily demonstrated by house burglary. If a house
is burgled, the houseowner is/residents are affected because they have lost possessions and may no
longer feel safe in their home. Neighbours are also affected because they may be fearful that the
same will happen to them. A longer-term consequence is that the area will be seen as less desirable
to live in and house prices in the area in which the burglary took place will go down.
Cultural Consequences
Cultural consequences of unreported crime are also negative. One example of an unreported culture
bound crime is Asian hate crime, something that occurred more frequently since the COVID-19
pandemic. In 2011, an estimated 103,000 women aged 15-49 who had experienced FGM were living
in England and Wales, even though it was outlawed in 1985. Honour crimes often go unreported
because they are limited to specific cultural groups and sometimes people within these cultures do
not see it as wrong.
Decriminalisation and Legal Change
Decriminalisation and legal change are a positive consequence of unreported crime.
Decriminalisation is when a particular crime becomes widespread and the public stop reporting it as
they no longer view it as a crime. Legalisation is the process of something being made legal through
a change in the law. One of the biggest acts that is no longer seen as deviant in society is
homosexuality. Homosexuality was decriminalised in England in 1967 after many campaigns and
protests. On the whole, our society is more accepting than it was 50 years ago, therefore acts that
were previously seen as deviant are no longer regarded in this manner.
Police Prioritisation
Police prioritisation is both a positive and negative consequence of unreported crime. Some factors
that affect the prioritising of the policing include the level of danger to the public, the frequency of
the certain type of crime and social awareness of the crime. Police prioritisation is a positive
consequence of unreported crime because it allows the police to focus on more severe crimes such
as murder. Police prioritisation is a negative consequence of unreported crime because if a crime is
mistakenly given a low priority, reporting decreases and people will not come forward unless they
are the victim of a more serious crime.
Unrecorded crime
Unrecorded crime is a negative consequence of unreported crime. Not all reported crime gets
recorded as a crime by the police – victims are not always believed and in some cases, the crime is
not viewed as serious enough to be recorded. As a result of this, the government and the criminal
justice system may not have an accurate idea of the patterns of crime in the country. For example, in
August 2021, there were 51 crimes relating to violence and sexual offences recorded in the local
area. This may not be entirely accurate because, especially in the case of sexual offences, the victims
are not always believed.
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