Foundational Concepts
Dark Figure of Crime
Also Known As Crime Iceberg A widely used metaphorical alias for the concept, from the image of recorded crime as only the visible tip of a larger hidden mass.
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The volume of crime that is never reported, detected or recorded, and so never appears in official statistics. The concept goes back to Adolphe Quetelet's nineteenth century statistical work, and modern criminology measures it by comparing official records against victimization surveys such as the National Crime Victimization Survey and against self-report studies.
Facts
DomainSourced to the subject's own account Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Victimization surveys are the primary tool used to measure the dark figure of crime.
Informed By
Quetelet's statistical work established that recorded crime understates real crime.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Dark Figure of Crime
Lead sectionQuote, Lead section
The amount of unreported, undetected, or undiscovered crime.
1. Wikipedia: Dark Figure of Crime
1. Wikipedia: Dark Figure of Crime
Associated With: Victimology, lead section, victimology sentenceQuote, Associated With: Victimology, lead section, victimology sentence
The dark figure of crime is the amount of unreported, undetected, or undiscovered crime, and is a central concept of victimology.
tutor2u: Revising Official Statistics and Crime
iceberg metaphor discussionQuote, iceberg metaphor discussion
As with icebergs, a small proportion of crime is visible, but the bulk remains hidden from our view.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do crimes go unreported in the first place?
Crimes may go unreported for reasons including a victim being unaware a crime occurred, personal dynamics with the offender, perceived social stigma, distrust of the police, or fear of retaliation.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
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