Explain the consequences of unreported crime
One consequence of unreported crime is that it leads to decriminalisation. Deciminalisation is when a
crime is accepted in society as people do not take notice of the law, so the government has no choice but
to decriminalise it. When there’s a lack of public concern and interest, that crime becomes a victimless
crime. This means that even though there are still laws against that crime, the punishments have
decreased and less time and money are spent trying to find offenders of that crime. Sometimes the
crimes even become legalised. This can be a positive consequence as now the police can put their
attention and resources into more serious crimes such as hate crime. However decriminalisation can also
be a bad consequence, as the crime has become decriminalised, people would use this to their
advantage and continue committing that crime and other more serious criminal acts, as they feel they
won’t get harsh punishments thus increasing the crime rate and laws getting out of control. In the UK the
use of cannabis can be used in some places because the police simply do not act to stop it anymore.
Another consequence of unreported crime is that it leads to police prioritisation. Police prioritisation is
when police prioritize certain crimes than other crimes. This is because police want to ensure that issues
in a local area are addressed. However this also many crimes are not investigated and forgotten as they
are not prioritised. For example, as there has been an increase in the number of sexual abuses, historic
offences and domestic abuse, police have started to respond to these crimes by investigating them. This
will mean that a lot of other crimes will not be investigated as it will be very costly and time consuming,
such as drug use e.g cannabis. Consequently, a lot of offences go unreported. Instead offenders will just
be given a swifter punishment instead of a whole trial. Although, some parts of police prioritisation can be
bad as many offenders will be let free easily and crime rate will increase, there are some aspects that can
be beneficial and positive. For example, this means the police can now investigate more serious crimes
such as organised crime and hate crime, especially if it is carried out on social media.
Another consequence of unreported crime is that it leads to the ripple effect. The ripple effect is when an
impact of a crime spreads beyond the immediate victim, e,g family. An example of this is when someone
has been abused in the past, most likely in their childhood, or witnessed someone getting abused, this
can have a long term effect on the individual as it can impact their mental health, relationships and family
life, and see it as acceptable and do it as well. This can be a bad consequence as it can affect a large
number of people mentally and physically.
Another consequence is cultural consequences. This means that criminal actions are accepted in some countries as
they have different cultural differences than another country. This can make crime unreported or not recognised, as
people do not understand the culture so would generally turn a blind eye towards it and not interfere. This means that
criminals will be able to continue as they believe they can get away with it without any consequences. For example,
honour killing, in some countries honour killings is acceptable as they think it’s the only way to gain back honour.
Honour killings are unknown to mainstream society. This is a bad consequence as many offenders are getting let off
easily without any consequences and would commit more crimes due to “culture”.
Another consequence is that it leads to social media hate crime. This is when individuals discriminate
against someone or a group due to their characteristics on social media. Social media hate crime has
increased rapidly in recent years and it has been a priority of the police since 2016. As part of a two year
project, the police will have to identify and filter hate crimes online then report it to regional police forces,
which will take action against these offenses. This is a positive consequence as it helps tackle social
media crime and prevent it from happening. Additionally, the offenders will have to face a punishment
against their actions.
One consequence of unreported crime is that it leads to decriminalisation. Deciminalisation is when a
crime is accepted in society as people do not take notice of the law, so the government has no choice but
to decriminalise it. When there’s a lack of public concern and interest, that crime becomes a victimless
crime. This means that even though there are still laws against that crime, the punishments have
decreased and less time and money are spent trying to find offenders of that crime. Sometimes the
crimes even become legalised. This can be a positive consequence as now the police can put their
attention and resources into more serious crimes such as hate crime. However decriminalisation can also
be a bad consequence, as the crime has become decriminalised, people would use this to their
advantage and continue committing that crime and other more serious criminal acts, as they feel they
won’t get harsh punishments thus increasing the crime rate and laws getting out of control. In the UK the
use of cannabis can be used in some places because the police simply do not act to stop it anymore.
Another consequence of unreported crime is that it leads to police prioritisation. Police prioritisation is
when police prioritize certain crimes than other crimes. This is because police want to ensure that issues
in a local area are addressed. However this also many crimes are not investigated and forgotten as they
are not prioritised. For example, as there has been an increase in the number of sexual abuses, historic
offences and domestic abuse, police have started to respond to these crimes by investigating them. This
will mean that a lot of other crimes will not be investigated as it will be very costly and time consuming,
such as drug use e.g cannabis. Consequently, a lot of offences go unreported. Instead offenders will just
be given a swifter punishment instead of a whole trial. Although, some parts of police prioritisation can be
bad as many offenders will be let free easily and crime rate will increase, there are some aspects that can
be beneficial and positive. For example, this means the police can now investigate more serious crimes
such as organised crime and hate crime, especially if it is carried out on social media.
Another consequence of unreported crime is that it leads to the ripple effect. The ripple effect is when an
impact of a crime spreads beyond the immediate victim, e,g family. An example of this is when someone
has been abused in the past, most likely in their childhood, or witnessed someone getting abused, this
can have a long term effect on the individual as it can impact their mental health, relationships and family
life, and see it as acceptable and do it as well. This can be a bad consequence as it can affect a large
number of people mentally and physically.
Another consequence is cultural consequences. This means that criminal actions are accepted in some countries as
they have different cultural differences than another country. This can make crime unreported or not recognised, as
people do not understand the culture so would generally turn a blind eye towards it and not interfere. This means that
criminals will be able to continue as they believe they can get away with it without any consequences. For example,
honour killing, in some countries honour killings is acceptable as they think it’s the only way to gain back honour.
Honour killings are unknown to mainstream society. This is a bad consequence as many offenders are getting let off
easily without any consequences and would commit more crimes due to “culture”.
Another consequence is that it leads to social media hate crime. This is when individuals discriminate
against someone or a group due to their characteristics on social media. Social media hate crime has
increased rapidly in recent years and it has been a priority of the police since 2016. As part of a two year
project, the police will have to identify and filter hate crimes online then report it to regional police forces,
which will take action against these offenses. This is a positive consequence as it helps tackle social
media crime and prevent it from happening. Additionally, the offenders will have to face a punishment
against their actions.
