Going it Alone: The Reporting and Non-reporting of Criminal Victimization

• In Event: Perspectives on Schools, safe Spaces, and Reporting Criminal Victimization

Abstract

The existing literature on criminal victimization reporting has largely focused on whether the victims of crime report their experiences to the police, and to a lesser degree, other authority figures. This paper seeks to add to the extant literature on victimization reporting by exploring what distinguishes reporting to the police from reporting to school officials, parents and friends. We also explicitly examine individuals who keep their victimization experiences to themselves. Using a sample of Toronto high school students ,we identify both personal and contextual variables – including race, gender, type of victimization, nature of the victim-offender relationship, confidence in the police and quality of the parental bond -- that predict differential reporting practices. The data indicate that non-reporters are more likely to be the victim of a sexual or physical assault by a family member or close friend. They are also more likely to have low confidence in the police and a weak parental bond. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.

Authors

• Natasha Madon, University of Toronto

• Scot Wortley, University of Toronto