Reporting incidents to the police

The nature of the crime and the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator may also affect reporting. For example, cybercrime and fraud are crimes where victims have indicated a reluctance to officially report to law enforcement. In individual cases, to have ‘fallen’ for what in hindsight appears an obvious fraud can be seen as embarrassing. In corporate cases, some companies are reluctant to report the crime for reputational reasons and often pay the fraudsters so as not to lose business or customers. Likewise, if a person is a victim of a crime committed by a person they are close to, they may also be more reluctant to report them. The cultural and institutional context may also be relevant, as this issue varies, sometimes drastically, by country (Figure 2).