Social and Cultural Factors
Lack of knowledge plays a huge role, especially for people from different cultural backgrounds who might not realise something counts as a crime in the UK. Take cyber-bullying - it's massive among teenagers using phones and computers, but not everyone knows it's actually illegal.
The complexity of modern crimes, particularly white-collar computer crimes, means ordinary people often don't even realise they're witnessing criminal activity. If you can't understand what's happening, how can you report it?
Media coverage and public concern shape what gets reported too. A murder in a busy area gets loads of attention, but crimes like prostitution barely register. People also don't report things they don't see as "real crimes" - like downloading music illegally, which most people do without thinking twice.
Culture-bound crimes create the trickiest situations. Some practices that are illegal in the UK might be accepted in certain cultures or religions, like honour crimes or witchcraft, making people reluctant to report what they see as normal behaviour.
Key insight: What counts as a "crime" isn't always obvious - it depends on your background, knowledge, and cultural perspective.