Crime victims’ perceptions that they will be treated unfairly or not taken seriously by the police reduce the probability of them reporting offenses to law enforcement by 11 percent, according to a new study appearing in the Journal of Criminal Justice.
The study was authored by Hyounggon Kwaka, a criminal justice professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; Rick Dierenfeldt, a social, cultural and justice studies professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; and Susan McNeeley, a research analyst at Minnesota Department of Corrections.
The authors analyzed a portion of the Seattle Neighborhoods and Crime Survey (SNCS) that centered on crime victimization, which was conducted in 2002–2003. The sample for the current study was limited to the 687 respondents who identified as being victims of non-sexual violent crime within two years prior to taking the survey.
Participants were asked if they had been “physically attacked, beaten up, or threatened” in the past two years.If they had, they were asked a series of questions about the most recent assault victimization.
They were also asked to indicate whether they agreed that police treat wealthy people better than poor people, white people better than African Americans, Asians and Hispanics, and English-speaking people better than non-English speaking people.
Approximately 40 percent of the assault victims reported the incident to the law enforcement, and according to the researchers’ analysis, perceived that procedural injustice had a negative impact on participants’ decision to report the crimes. Black victims were especially less likely to report crime when their distrust of police effectiveness was higher.
“It is possible that vicarious experiences with the police acquired from family, peers, and neighbors resonate among black residents, exacerbating negative views of police,” the researchers write.
Furthermore, non-injured victims with greater perceptions of procedural injustice were less likely to report their victimizations to the police. However, injured victims were more likely to call the police, despite maintaining heightened perceptions of procedural injustice.
The researchers say their findings have practical and theoretical implications.
“First, police agencies should focus on policies and practices that lend themselves to procedural fairness,” the researchers write. “Simply stated, police practices should be designed to avoid potential negative consequences during police-citizen interactions, including conflict/resistance, violation of citizens’ constitutional rights, and police use of excessive force.”
The study supports previous studies indicating that crime victims don’t report offenses because they don’t trust police. A recent study, for example, found that though hate crimes are surging globally, they remain underreported in part because victims lack trust in law enforcement.
A full copy of the current study can be downloaded here.
J. Gabriel Ware is a TCR contributing writer.
1 Comment
you cant trust those pigs they pretend to care only about themselves back in my day it used to be about badge wear that badge meant you gave fuck enough help people been victimized protect serve community but now its all about criminal scum defending them giving them human rights DONT deserve not about victim this why cops don’t deserve our trust or respect why cant trust them for help why people take matters in own hands don’t blame them i was molested once takes ever ounce my fiber not want to. they call them vigilantes or people disrespect law not right wrong call them i call them heroes have balls to serve justice. Our justice system is fucked up I blame this lazy ass overpaid police cant get off assess do job that our taxes pay fucking salary why pay them done shitty job honor badge they wear you might as well spit on it step on it that what their doing refusing protect serve all not just lazy ass wealthy. I used ad mire police thought about joining till one day I was molested came police hoping get help they did not so that feeling i had thinking of them as heroes was gone the trust i had them gone saw them beat up innocent black it made me hate them to point taught my kids to hate them not trust them. police no longer got my respect if makes me vigilante so be it I rather be maced beaten killed them see my daughter have to go though injustice going on in my childhood. I proudly say DEFUND POLICE all police are bastards and racists pigs in a blanket.