Crime Victims’ Decisions to Call the Police: Past Research and New Directions

Abstract

Over the past 50 years, researchers in the United States and abroad have debated the inherent inequities within justice systems that contribute to the underreporting of crime to the police. Our review summarizes existing knowledge about victim reporting and outlines new directions in theory and empirical research that situate this work within a broader perspective on victim help-seeking. We begin with a short review of the historical development of research on victim reporting and its implications for research and social policy. We then review and critique major explanations of victims’ reporting behavior and outline a new integrated multilevel framework. This model draws on the broader help-seeking literature to study police notification and other forms of victim help-seeking as interrelated systems that respond to social-contextual factors and feedback effects. We conclude by outlining the core empirical implications of this multilevel theoretical framework and illuminating the most significant data and research needs.

Intention to Formally Report Family Violence in South Korea: Based on Black’s Theory of Law

“…13 Following Black's theory, the literature has also explained that people living in places that lack informal social controls and support had difficulties in seeking formal police protection. 12 However, perceived neighborhood support was negatively associated with the intent to report in this Korean data. This result was consistent with a recent study conducted in Canada 21 in which survivors of partner violence did not feel the need to report the violence if there were police stations in their neighborhood.…”

“…So far, extensive research has been conducted to explain what influences people to report FV to the police. 12 In his theory of law, 13 Black described law from a more quantitative perspective. He argued that the quantity of law, including the actions of law mobilization and application (e.g., reporting), can differ, depending on the individual's characteristics.…”

“…Although Black's theory of law has been applied in various empirical studies to predict decisions to call police, 12,14 no studies, to our knowledge, have yet investigated the characteristics of an individual that predict the intention to report to police when experiencing or witnessing FV in South Korea. Thus, in this article, we explored those characteristics that predict the intention to report FV to police in South Koreans.…”

Examining the Paradox of Crime Reporting: Are Disadvantaged Victims More Likely to Report to the Police?

“…Findings on the relationship between race and class and reporting have been mixed, though the majority of research finds that females are more likely than males to report (Baumer Eric ; Berg et al ; Felson et al ; Tarling and Morris ; Wolitzky‐Taylor et al ; Zavala ). Recent studies have highlighted possible reasons for reporting among marginalized groups, including lack of other alternatives (Bell ; Xie and Baumer ; Xie and Lauritsen ). This research has also found that negative attitudes toward the police can be superseded by instrumental concerns such as immediate need for help (Hagan et al ; Slocum ).…”

Immigrant Sanctuary Policies and Crime-Reporting Behavior: A Multilevel Analysis of Reports of Crime Victimization to Law Enforcement, 1980 to 2004

“…This article has broader theoretical implications for the study of victims' help-seeking decisions (Xie and Baumer 2019a). A large body of evidence demonstrates that incident-and individual-level characteristics consistently shape decisions to report crime victimization to the police (Baumer and Lauritsen 2010;Felson et al 2002;Gottfredson and Hindelang 1979;Skogan 1984;Xie and Baumer 2019a).…”