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Ecological Considerations in Victim Reporting to the Police

NCJ Number
80971
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 9 Issue: 6 Dated: (1981) Pages: 419-430
Author(s)
J H Laub
Date Published
1981
Length
12 pages
Annotation
In this paper, the National Crime Survey victimization data show that, contrary to theoretical expectations, the extent of victim reporting does not vary across the urban-rural dimension for the crimes of rape, robbery, assault, and personal larceny. Characteristics of the offense, notably seriousness, are shown to be more important in victim reporting than the extent of urbanization. In addition, these data indicate that victim residence in conjunction with type of crime and victim-offender relationship has an influence on the reasons selected by victims for not reporting the crime to the police.
Abstract
A review of recent criminological literature suggests that different systems of social control operate across the urban-rural dimension. Specifically, it is expected that victims in urban areas will report crimes to the police at a higher rate than victims in suburban and rural areas. Moreover, it is anticipated that urban, suburban, and rural victims will have different reasons for not reporting the crime. (Author abstract)

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