Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
11th December 2024 Issue no. 733

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Survey finds 27.7% of crimes weren't reported to the police last year

Of these unreported crimes, 58.3% went unreported due to the respondent not believing that anything would be done – by far the most common reason given in the survey. From the 28,909 people who took part, there were 16,177 crimes that respondents had witnessed or experienced themselves, meaning that a staggering 16.1% of crimes were not reported for this reason.

This idea of reporting crimes being perceived as fruitless is followed by the third most popular response, being that the respondent started the process but didn’t finish it. 10.3% of the unreported crimes were due to this - but the worrying figures don’t stop there. 1.9% of crimes went unreported because the respondents “couldn’t be bothered”, making an unbelievable 70.6% of unreported crimes effectively boil down to the perception of it not being worth it. 

The second most common reason for not reporting a crime to the police, accounting for 12.9% of unreported crimes, was due to the crimes being reported to another agency, e.g. Crimestoppers. While there are a few reasons someone might go through an agency other than the police, the main one is that going through an agency allows you to report anonymously, avoiding the need for further police contact, interviews etc. that some may not want to get involved with.

Another disheartening statistic is that 7.3% of crimes went unreported due to the response “as the crime didn’t happen to me I didn’t think it was my responsibility”. A sense of community spirit is something that many feel has been in decline in the modern day, and this statistic would certainly seem to indicate that.

John Hayward-Cripps, CEO of Neighbourhood Watch Network, said that “We find that people often want to do something when they witness a crime, but don’t know what to do, or feel it would be unsafe to intervene. At Neighbourhood Watch, we encourage people to be active bystanders when witnessing a crime, when it is safe to do so, and want them to know that a small action, such as calling out inappropriate behaviour or offering support to a victim of crime, can have a huge positive impact. Being an active bystander includes disrupting or reporting crimes when it is safe to do so, when they are witnessed, as well as offering immediate support to victims of crimes such as hate crimes or assault. When people are active bystanders, they help build resilient communities where crime struggles to flourish, makes public spaces safer and helps other people feel more confident in preventing crime.”

Meanwhile, “I was too scared” accounted for 5.3% of the responses, highlighting the potential need for further protections to be put in place for those wanting to report a crime, or even just making the protections already in place more known. It seems that the reporting process in general needs more awareness, as 3.7% of crimes went unreported due to respondents not knowing how to report crimes in the first place. While these may not have been serious crimes where calling 999 would be your first port of call, these unreported crimes can easily stack up, and so knowing how to contact the relevant authorities is vital in preventing further victims.

Stats are taken from National Crime & Community Survey 2023.

28,909 respondents:

• 28% Neighbourhood Watch members
• 62% non-members

17th July 2024