Reporting Crimes to the Police Depends on Relationship Networks: Effects of Ties Among Victims, Advisors, and Offenders

Abstract

A victim's decision to report a crime to the police is typically made after talking with someone else, usually a friend or relative, but sometimes a stranger. The advice this person gives depends primarily on the seriousness of the crime, and to some extent on the gender and age of the victim. The present research, which used experimental vignettes, examined the role of social networks in reporting: How do the relationships among a victim, the advisor, and the offender affect the advice to report or not to report a violent or nonviolent crime? Results from Study 1 indicated that relationships matter: Crimes are least likely to be reported if the offender is part of the same triad as the victim and the advisor, and crimes are most likely to be reported if the victim, the advisor, and the offender are all strangers. Study 1 also found that males are more likely to protect friends who are offenders (by advising against reporting), while females are more likely to protect friends who are victims (by advising them to report). Study 2 found that the effect of these relationships on reporting is conditioned by the nature of the organization to which the offender belongs, such that males are particularly likely to protect their friends in athletic organizations and fraternities when accused of minor property crimes. Both studies found that gender differences in the advice to report are moderated by characteristics of the crime and triad structure.

An exploration of theory of mind performance among men convicted of rape

“…Although undeniably small, our sample does not diverge from the population from which it is drawn when it comes to central background and crime characteristics, suggesting generalizability to prison populations. Still, imprisoned offenders constitute only a small fraction of those who have committed a rape, and several factors influence the likelihood of reporting a crime to the police (Knoth & Ruback, 2016), as well as the attrition processes in the criminal justice system which operate in relation to rape (cf. Daly & Bouhours, 2010).…”

Characteristics of Brazilian Offenders and Victims of Interpersonal Violence: An Exploratory Study

“…Social, environmental, and cultural factors seem to be related. Thus, understanding this dynamic could direct the efforts of managers to reducing violence and the impact of these events on the people’s quality of life through public policies focusing on risk groups (Knoth & Ruback, 2019).…”

Perceptions of Why Women Stay in Physically Abusive Relationships: A Comparative Study of Chinese and U.S. College Students

“…Gathering an understanding of the public perceptions of why women stay in abusive relationships is important as these perceptions reflect the actual response to victims by friends, family, the police, and service providers (García-Moreno et al, 2005; Lloyd & Emery, 2000; Rose, Campbell, & Kub, 2000; Tang & Lai, 2008) and affect victim’s self-construction of their abuse situation (Baly, 2010; Eckstein, 2011; Rose et al, 2000; Tang & Lai, 2008) and help-seeking behavior (Liang, Goodman, Tummala-Narra, & Weintraub, 2005). In other words, public perceptions affect victims both directly through influencing their interpretations of their situation (Eckstein, 2011; Tang & Lai, 2008) and indirectly from the responses they receive from others to whom they disclose or seek help (García-Moreno et al, 2005; Knoth & Ruback, 2019; Tang & Lai, 2008). In addition, college student perceptions in particular are important as they represent the beliefs of individuals that will be influencing policy and the values of representative society in future (Wu et al, 2013).…”