Topic 1.3

 Topic 1.3 - Explain the consequences of unreported crime

The ripple effect- Based on the idea of a pebble being dropped into a pond and causing a ripples on the surface. In crime it means the unreported crime may affect not just the immediate or primary victim, but it will spread across the whole community or society and then affect secondary victims. It can affect in may types of crimes. An example of this is hate crimes they can be used to get a point across to multiple people.

Cultural consequences- People of different cultures may view the same action differently. So, it may mean some practices are seen as unacceptable and against the law in the UK are acceptable from some people of other cultures. An example of this is female genital mutilation. It is illegal in the UK but in other countries it is allowed. Haroon Siddique stated "More than 20,000 girls a year are thought to be at risk of FGM in the UK. Medical groups, trade unions and human rights organisations estimate that there are 66,0000 victims of the practice in England and Wales." Some member of the community have spoken against FGM as a violation of girls and women's human rights. Professional's such as doctors and teacher's have been vigilant to identify victims and girls at risk.

Decriminalisation and legal change- Some actions are spreading in society even though they are against the law. An example of this is the large numbers of people who have used cannabis. But, due to many members of the public seeing it as relatively harmless, victimless crime, it goes unreported. When a particular crimes the public stop reporting it because people no longer see it as a 'real' crime, campaigners may demand a change in the law. Cannabis, in a number of countries and the US have responded to the public pressure by decriminalising the possession of it.

 Decriminalisation means it is treated as a misdemeanour- a minor offence where the penalty may be a warning or a small penalty.

Legalisation, Some countries and the US have gone further and legalised cannabis for recreational and medicinal use. Some countries have decriminalised possession of 'hard' drugs such as heroin.This is because they argue that it reduces the amount of violent crime that is associated with the drugs trade as well as saving money on imprisoning offenders and reduces the spread of HIV infections caused by needle sharing.

Police prioritisation- The police prioritise some crimes for many reasons;

They have limited resources and cannot investigate all crimes due to government spending cuts.

The local population may have concerns about certain types of crimes or anti social behaviour that they want the police to deal with it.

The media may focus on a particular type of crime and ask for action from police.

The home office has particular priorities that it wants police forces throughout the country to tackle, such as human trafficking.

So in all honesty it means some crimes receive less priority like the case of cannabis possession where police will most likely turn a blind eye. If they were to enforce the law against large numbers of offenders would be unpopular and very costly in the sense of police resources. They may prefer to spend that on tackling more serious crimes. Moreover, once the public are aware certain crimes are not being prioritised they are less likely to report these crimes as they believe the police will not be able to deal with them.

Case study - Child sexual abuse

In 2012 the police set up an operation called operation Yewtree after a documentary was released by ITV regarding the sexual abuse by the radio and TV broadcaster Jimmy Savile. This operation as originally set up to investigate Savile but further along the line it widened and began to include other celebrities such as Gary Glitter and Mac Clifford. The operation was set up in response to members of public reporting historical cases of sexual abuse by different celebrities following the documentary. These cases began to emerge, increasing the media coverage of Yewtree, more so because the suspects were celebrities.

Unrecorded crimes- In order for the crime to be recorded by the police and then prosecuted and investigated, they have to know that the crime has actually occurred. Even though the police detect some crimes, most of the crimes - up to 90% are brought to attention due to the public reporting them. However, if people choose not to report the crime, then they obviously cannot be recorded or investigated. Although, sometimes when crimes are reported they may have some discretion may choose not to record it;

They may not believe the story or may not have enough evidence to secure a conviction

The victim may refuse to press charges

They may not wish to investigate - like because they may believe the crime is too trivial pr not a priority to them, or to save resources and increase the clear up rates

The dark figure- If the police do not record a crime then it will not appear on the police statistics. The unrecorded crimes are known as the dark figure crime. This includes all the other crime - crimes no one has witnessed, crimes which were witnessed but not reported and crimes that were reported to the police but not recorded by them. The absence of unrecorded crimes from the official police statistics means that the government and the criminal justice system get a distorted picture of patterns of crime in the country, this leads them to focus on crimes that appear important from the statistics whilst neglecting others that may be more common or serious.

Cultural change- Multiple kinds of cultural change can cause consequences for the reporting of crime. The following changes-

Norms and values- When society goes through periods of change, this then leads to the changes in its norms and values however laws may not change change as quickly. This behaviour that was once unacceptable and against the law may not be acceptable but still against the law like the case of cannabis possession. Criminal behaviour like this is less likely to be reported.

New technology- It can also bring new opportunities for crime. An example of this is we now have instant access to a wide range of media. Therefore, it gives us a rise to new cyber crimes like illegal music downloads. They are commonly know as not 'real' crimes which means they go unreported. This then reinforces the idea that it is acceptable and then this behaviour becomes a part of society's culture.

Acceptance of disorder- Another cultural change may occur in neighbourhoods with high rates of petty, silly crime like vandalism, graffiti, begging, drug dealing, prostitution and drunkenness. The residents may come to terms and accept this situation, they may feel helpless to do anything about the situation so they do not report the crimes. So, this means the police fail to record it and tackle the crime. So the crime becomes norm in the area and other criminal become attracted to this. This causes a downward spiral due to it becoming increasingly crime ridden, run down and neglected.

Wilson and Kelling came up with the 'broken window' theory. They argue that if minor crimes go unreported and are not tackled by the police it will lead to more serious crimes in the long run. They use broken windows to stand for different disorders and lack of concern for other people in the neighbourhood. They say by leaving broken windows not repaired, and tolerating aggressive begging etc  it would send out the impression that no one cares and the area falls into decline. 

They argue in order to stop this decline a twofold strategy should be followed;

An environmental improvement strategy - e.g broken windows must be repaired immediately

A zero tolerance policing strategy- Police must proactively tackle even if it is the slightest bit of disorder - even if its not criminal

Procedural change- Concerns about under reporting of crime may lead to the police making changes in how crimes can be reported. In the past, crimes that were usually reported meant you were either visiting the police station or dialling 999 to report the crime. But in recent times the police as well as voluntary organisations have introduced new procedures to make reporting easier.

TV programmes such as crime watch

Telephone Hotlines like child line and crime stoppers allowing anonymous reporting

Voluntary organisation like victim support, stone wall and TellMAMA which offer support to individuals that wish to report a crime. 

Posters and recorded announcement like at stations 'see it, say it, sorted' these types of messages encourage people to report suspicious behaviour. 

Phone apps that allow rapid contact with police in an emergency.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unit 2.1

 Unit 2.1 - Compare campaigns for change Policies - the plans and actions of government departments and agencies, such as the police and courts, schools and colleges, the welfare system, the NHS, social services, local authorities and other public bodies. Laws - policies are usually based on laws introduced by government and passed by Parliament Laws provide the framework within which government agencies operate. They set out the standards, procedures and principles that government agencies operate. They set out the standards, procedures and principles that government agencies must follow to carry out the governments policies. For example, the law lays down the circumstances under which the police can legally carry out a stop and search policy Campaigns to change policies - These campaigns will often be directed at political parties and at the government, but also at other organisations. By influencing the view of political parties, campaigners will hope to bring about change more ...
Read more

Unit 2.2

 Unit 2.2 - How campaigns use the media to bring about change Blogs: They have risen in popularity with increased use of internet. Blogs usually contain information or discussions. People write blogs on a large range of topics. Normally a blog would be written by an individual person, but improvements in technology and the increase of popularity for this type of information exchange has led to the development of multi author blogs (MABs). They are now produced by businesses, media groups and campaigns as well as by individuals. An example - Unlock This is the organisation that campaigns to help people who have a criminal conviction, uses a blog to promote their work. The blog is like a diary that gives regular and detailed updates on the progress of the current campaigns. This can be useful for people who are already aware of the organisation and would like to be kept up to date with the newest developments. Campaign directors can also provide information directly to anyone who acc...
Read more
  1. For how long had adultery been a crime in India?​ 158 years 2. How was the crime of adultery defined? ​ 'Married women are not a special case for the purpose of prosecution for adultery. They are in any way situated differently than men' Mr shine said 'Indirectly discriminates against women by holding an erroneous presumption that women are the property of men' 3. Why do you think there is no data for prosecutions under this law? ​ ...... 4. Summarise who challenged the law and why. ​ Joseph Shine who is a 41 year old Indian business man living in Italy petitioned the Supreme court to strike down the law. His argument was that it discriminated against men by only holding them liable for extra marital relationships, while treating women like objects. In his 45 page petition, Mr Shine liberally quotes from American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, women rights activist Mary Wollstonecraft and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on gender equality and the rights of ...
Read more