2.5 The Dark Figure of Crime
What does crime data have in common with an iceberg? Figure 2.15 is an incredibly useful illustration of crime and what our data sources are able to tell us about it. So far, we have talked about the two primary official sources of information on crime in the United States. The UCR provides us with data about crime that is reported to police, documented, and submitted to the FBI. The NCVS provides us with data about crimes that victims are willing and able to tell us about. In other words, these sources provide a picture of crime that we can see—the tip of the iceberg that sits above the water. What about everything else that is not reported or documented? This is known as the dark figure of crime and is represented by the majority of the iceberg that is under the surface and out of sight.
Why Crimes Go Unreported
Have you ever been the victim of a crime that you did not report or committed a criminal offense that no one found out about? Consider what circumstances could lead someone to not report a crime they witnessed or experienced. Let me give you an example. I used to live in an apartment complex where my car was stolen twice and broken into more times than I can count. Both times it was stolen, I reported the crime, the police found my car, and I eventually got it back. However, I only reported the first time it was broken into. Why? I learned very quickly that nothing good came of reporting the break-in. Reporting the break-in caused my insurance rate to increase and, because my insurance deductible was higher than the cost of having the locks fixed, I had to pay for the repairs out of pocket anyway. Furthermore, even if I didn’t report it directly, if there was a police report, the insurance company would find out about it and charge me more. Since they were not paying to fix the car, I did not want them to know about it. Plus, I knew the police were too busy to chase down whoever had stolen my cassette tapes (yes, cassette tapes!). I saw no point in involving the police or the insurance company, and I got to know the locksmith. That means for my car alone, although there were more than 10 break-ins, only one would ever have made it to the UCR and into our official crime statistics.
Choosing not to report something like someone stealing my Metallica tape may seem insignificant, but more severe crimes go unreported too, and the reasons for this go far beyond insurance rates (figure 2.16). The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reports that possibly more than half of violent crimes (nearly 3.4 million violent victimizations per year) went unreported to the police between 2006 and 2010. Reasons why a crime could go unreported include:
- The victim may not know what happened to them was, in fact, a crime.
- The person who committed the offense is a member of the family, a friend, or an acquaintance.
- The victim thinks what happened to them is not worth reporting.
- The victim fears retaliation.
- The victim also