Why victims dont report crimes




















Please see the original sources for more detailed information. These statistics are updated annually and as new information is published.

Skip to main content. Que es la Linea de Ayuda? The Criminal Justice System: Statistics. View statistics on additional topics. One particularly damning report released in by the U. One of the reasons provided by those who had reported such crimes was that often officers question sex victims in a way that lays the blame on victims themselves and suggests victims are lying by not reporting the assault immediately.

One Department of Justice report claimed that a mere 17 percent of rape cases reported to the Baltimore Police Department in resulted in an arrest — about half the national average of 38 percent. Hate crimes are also rarely reported. In fact over a year period from and more than , hate crimes in the United States went by unreported , according to a federal report released last year. Other times, victims will have a personal relationship with the offender and be reluctant to get them in legal trouble.

It appears unlikely. A common reason why hate crime victims do not report is their lack of awareness about what hate crime is. Research has shown that many victims who have experienced an incident of hate may not recognise it as such, especially when there was no physical violence involved.

Moreover, even knowing that something unfair has happened, victims of hate crime often do not report because of their scant understanding of discrimination laws and of their right to report incidents of hate. The scant awareness of hate crime also applies to non-victims and witnesses , which creates a barrier to the reporting of these incidents throughout the whole community.

For some communities, the terminology used to for the phenomenon i. For example, the term crime, which is commonly associated with violent acts, may communicate the wrong message that reporting a hate-related event is relevant only if it is a violent crime.

Additionally, some communities strongly identify with terms that describe specific forms of discrimination that affect them. For example, Aboriginal communities normally use the term racism rather than hate crime to describe discrimination affecting them. Members of other communities, too, may have difficulties with the term hate and may not feel their experiences reflected by such language.

We recommend this article by Wickes and colleagues about the impact of the new terminology of prejudice-motivated crime in Victoria. The lack of awareness about where to report also affects the chances that victims of hate incidents will report.

This includes lack of information about the formal procedures to report and about alternative third-party reporting schemes. When alternative reporting options are in place, confusion about how such mechanisms work may also discourage victims from reporting. Representative of an organisation that works with African communities. Even when victims are able to recognise a hate-related event as unfair and know how to report it, many feel discouraged to report it due to their direct or indirect knowledge about what typically happens when a victim decides to report a hate crime.

Some of the main reasons that prevent hate crime reporting come from these external factors. It is common that victims of hate-related attacks feel apprehensions and insecurity about reporting their victimisation; they fear that negative consequences may result from a report and bring grave personal harm. Although such apprehensions are usual among hate crime victims from different groups, the feared consequences may vary across different communities. This fear affects both willingness to report to the police and using online reporting mechanisms by these communities.

Some victims fear that reporting a hate crime may compromise their safety because it may lead to retaliation by the perpetrator. Other victims may also fear reprisals from the organisation where the victimisation happened that the perpetrator works for. This is the case, for instance, for people with disability who are care-dependant. These victims fear the withdrawal of benefits, rights, care, or supportive assistance if they make a complaint.

Some victims are afraid that reporting their experience of hate crime may result in them getting in trouble or may make matters worse. For example, some people may be concerned about losing their job if the incidents occurred at the workplace; new immigrants may fear jeopardizing their immigration status, being reported or deported if they complain.

They may not report in order to avoid being involved in a bigger conflict. For more information about reporting hate crime against immigrants and refugees, we suggest this article. Lastly, some victims fear that reporting a hate incident could affect an existing relationship , typically with the perpetrator.

This often occurs in the context of dependency and unequal power relations. For example, fear of affecting the relationship with the perpetrator, frequently a family member or carer, is common among victims with high care needs, such as people with communication impairments.

The fourth category of reporting barriers is considered the major obstacle for hate crime reporting. Distrust and low expectations of the response by justice agencies, particularly distrust in the police , prevent most hate crime victims from reporting to those agencies.

Many hate crime victims do not report because they think that reporting is pointless and a waste of time. This perception is based on the meagre outcomes and direct benefits for victims once they report. Victims rarely see justice soon after reporting or positive actions being taken after reporting e.

Moreover, the lack of support systems discourages reporting by victims who seek contention and protection. I have never heard about an experience of good results coming from someone who reported a hate incident.

Often, victims undertake a cost—benefit analysis when considering whether to report a hate incident. Victims often feel that the reporting process is time-consuming, emotionally draining, and unlikely to yield a positive outcome. Thus, the investment needed from the victim to report and the high personal costs far outweigh the benefits of doing so.

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