2
Aug
2016
By Calvin at 10:11 GMT, 9 years ago
Thanks to Modern Policing (based in the US) for bringing the following article to my attention.
As law enforcement agencies, community organizations, and public health officials work to develop effective crime-prevention strategies, new research from the University of Iowa finds that individuals who report being victims of crime to police are less likely to become future victims of crime than those who do not report their initial experiences. The University of Iowa reports that the study examined a nationwide cohort of more than 18,000 people who were victims of crimes such as interpersonal violence — including sexual assault, robbery, threatened rape, and threatened assault — and property crimes like theft and burglary. Data were drawn from the National Crime Victimization Survey, a database of non-fatal crime reports, and covered a period from 2008 to 2012.
Overall, the study found that those who filed police reports about their initial experience were 22 percent less likely to experience repeat victimization. Future interpersonal violence victimizations were 20 percent lower, and future thefts were 27 percent lower. Future burglaries did not decline with police reporting.
Read the rest at Homeland Security News Wire
Comment: I suspect that a repeat study in the United Kingdom would return similar results. This report very much confirms our UK police’s stance on crime reporting, which is not to suffer in silence, but to report incidents immediately. It’s about keeping your local police in the picture. If they don’t know the true level of victimisation then they won’t invest the correct level of resources to deal with it. It then follows that if a part of police funding is based upon the quantity of crime then areas that have a high level of unreported crime are not getting the funding they deserve.
One interesting finding of this study shows us that police reporting did not result in a decline in burglary. I found this to be surprising and wonder whether the police are giving the victims the right messages about repeat victimisation and also providing them with the right sort of prevention advice. With burglary it is essential not only to report the matter to the police, but to take measures to reduce opportunity for a repeat and to inform neighbours so that they too can do something about reducing their chances whilst a burglar is active in the neighbourhood – something an active Neighbourhood Watch can help to do.
This study once again reinforces the fact that effective policing relies on a close partnership between the public and the police.
Source: Homeland Security News Wire http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20160729-crime-victims-should-call-the-police
