The reporting behavior among victims of crime remains relatively low despite the availability of critical infrastructure. According to Boateng (2016), satisfaction level in police operations is among the prominent predictors of crime reporting by the victims. For instance, where the degree of trust in law enforcement is low, the offended persons will be reluctant to divulge their victimization. However, a consistent pattern of primary determinants exists, which discourages the disclosure of wrongdoing. The declining degree of confidence in the criminal justice system has contributed to low incidences of reported crimes since the victims often feel the process fails to provide justice.
Many people refrain from reporting crimes to law enforcement due to several reasons. For instance, some individuals are afraid of retaliation when communicating with the police, especially when the culprit and the abused know each other. The offenders may still share attachments with their abusers, particularly in various domestic crimes, such as child abuse and marital violence (Middleton et al., 2017). In such scenarios, the victims may feel connected to their abusers and fear witnesses’ reluctance in supporting their claims. Thus, close associations with offenders and trust levels in law enforcement substantially discourage crime reporting decisions.
Moreover, some offenses are shameful and have profound psychological impacts on the abused. Victims often feel contaminated and humiliated, especially when they experience sexual crimes. Ultimately, such abuses go unreported as the offended choose to suffer in silence to escape public scrutiny and further humiliation. The reluctance or refusal to report may be informed by the victims’ vulnerabilities, the abuser-abused dynamics, and prohibitive institutional settings, which discourage disclosure of victimization. However, not knowing where to report or when one is a victim has little influence on reporting behaviors.
The nature of numerous crime and barriers, such as institutional setting, may discourage the abused from divulging their victimization. Comparatively, not knowing where to submit crime reports or when an individual has been victimized rank lowest in influencing the behavior. Conclusively, the absence of trust in law enforcement, fear of retaliation, and unique bonds with the perpetrators are the prominent factors that influence victim reporting behaviors.
References
Boateng, F. D. (2016). Crime reporting behavior: Do attitudes toward the police matter? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33(18), 2891-2916. Web.
Middleton, W., Sachs, A., & Dorahy, M. (2017). The abused and the abuser: Victim–perpetrator dynamics. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 18(3), 249-258. Web.