My notes for Changing Awareness of Crime AC 1.2 - explain the reasons that certain crimes are unreported. In the controlled assessment, I achieved 96/100 (100/100 UMS marks).
explain the reasons that certain crimes are unreported
ac 12
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A/AS Level
WJEC
Criminology
Changing Awareness of Crime
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Explain the Reasons that Certain Crimes are Unreported
What is the dark figure of crime?
The amount of unreported or unknown crime. It is estimated that only about 30% of all
crime is known about and recorded by the police.
Reasons for unreported crime
Crimes can only be investigated and solved if the public are aware that they have occurred.
This requires members of the public to record them. 90% of crime is not reported to the
police by the public. There can be a range of reasons why people may not report a crime.
Personal reasons
Fear – the victim may be fearful of reprisals if they report, especially if they know the
offender.
Shame – being a victim of a crime may cause embarrassment or shame.
Disinterest – a crime may go unreported due to witnesses being unconcerned or
disinterested about the offence.
Not affected – a person may not be personally affected by a particular crime and so may not
feel the need to report it.
Social and cultural reasons
Lack of knowledge - a person may not realise that something is a crime, such as underage
drinking, or a person may not know how to report a crime.
Complexity – some crimes are very complex, and it can be difficult to tell whether a crime
has been committed.
Lack of media interest – crimes such as murder, racism and theft appear more in the media
than other crimes, which means these types of crimes are reported. Social media has
enabled the #MeToo campaign to encourage the reporting of a crime.
o People have shared their stories, so others feel less alone and are encouraged to
report it.
o More people can be reached.
o Changed the perceptions of victims.
Lack of public concern – public attitudes have changed towards crimes such as hate crime
and white-collar crime. This has led to an increase in reporting, but these crimes are still
considered underreported.
Culture-bound crime – as a multicultural society, the UK will have some laws which are not
accepted by other cultures and therefore within that culture, they may not report it as they
do not see it as wrong.
o FGM – occurs in Middle Eastern cultures. People who are not part of this culture
may not be able to report.
o Forced marriage – people within the cultures that practise this may be reluctant to
report because it could bring shame to the family. People outside of these cultures
may be reluctant to report because it does not concern them.
o Witchcraft case – Kristy Bamu was tortured by her sister’s boyfriend, Eric Bikubi,
because he became obsessed with the idea that he was practising witchcraft. Kristy
was deprived of water and sleep and punched and kicked repeatedly. Floor tiles
were smashed over his head and his teeth were hit out with a hammer. Kristy
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