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ABSTRACT
This study tests assumptions implicit in many of the policy developments around hate crime reporting that concern the social context and some of the psychological processes behind decision-making on victim reporting. Results suggest that official concern over reporting all hate crimes for service planning requirements is not shared by the overwhelming majority of respondents and would not be feasible to deliver. If reporting is to be increased it needs to deliver a more tangible and personally experienced outcome for the individual.
KEYWORDS
victims; hate crime; reporting
Much of the research literature examining victims of hate crime has tended to focus on the impacts of hate crime, along with the appropriate practical and emotional support needs for victims. By contrast, little, if any, research attention has been given to understanding the actual decision-making processes of hate-crime victims in whether or not to report hate crime incidents and how available reporting methods and publicity materials impact on reporting decisions (something acknowledged in the earlier Victim Support Review, 2005). These gaps are even more noticeable in relation to offering either police or non-police reporting agencies a strategy for improving reporting levels across victimised groups.
This research gap is doubly curious when one considers the high levels of non-reporting of volume crime generally and hate-crime incidents specifically.1 While we lack reliable figures, it is widely accepted that hate-crime reporting is notoriously low, although this needs to be seen in context of the low level of volume crime reporting more generally. For instance, the British Crime Survey (BCS) 2006/07 shows that 59% of crimes are never reported to the police (Nicholas et al, 2007) and that the likelihood of a crime being reported varies considerably by the offence type, although overall reporting rates have demonstrated relative stability over the years.
In light of these considerations, our study set out to better understand the mechanics of hate crime reporting behaviour; what explains why some people report hate crime victimisation but most seem not to? It may be the case that there are alternative reasons for the non reporting of volume crime. These may also explain the low levels of hate crime reporting. This study is aimed at filling this gap in the existing literature.
RESEARCH BACKGROUND
The current approach...