Bystander Effect : The Dark Figure of Crime

1382 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on the dark figure of crime

INTRODUCTION

In the year of 2012; 10,189,902 criminal offenses took place in the USA and were made known to law enforcement (FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2012). Another 3-3.4 million crimes were estimated to have been committed and not reported (Bureau of Justice Statics 2012), making for a total of around 13,189,902 crimes committed in the year of 2012. This figure of unreported crime is referred to as the dark figure of crime and will never truly be known. This figure exists for a number of reasons including, fear of the victim to come forward, lack of resources available to the victim, lack of understanding by the victim regarding his or her options, and lastly the lack of help from outsiders. This lack of help can best be referred to as the bystander effect. The bystander effect is the social psychological phenomenon that takes place when individuals do not offer any type of assistance to a victim of a crime or medical emergency. (Henslin 2005). Note, this theory does not only apply to victims of crime, but also to victims of medical or physical emergencies. This theory was originally tested in 1986 by John M. Darley and Bibb Latene in reaction to the famous rape and murder case of Kitty Gonovese in 1964 and has since been further examined. The key components that contribute to the bystander effect include diffusion of responsibility, personal cost of getting involved, type of crime, relationships and exposure to, or knowledge of crime.

DIFFUSION OF RESPONSIBILITY

The first, and perhaps biggest issue, when it comes to the lack of involvement by civilians who witness a crime, or emergence, is the diffusion of responsibility. This is the concept that some one else will help the victim because of the amount of other people arou...

... middle of paper ...

...ocial Issues 40(1):9-26.

Hart, Timothy C., and Terance D. Miethe. 2008. “Exploring Bystander Presence and Intervention in Nonfatal Violent Victimization: When Does Helping Really Help?” Violence and Victims 23(5):637-650.

Henslin, James M. 2005. Sociology: a down-to-earth approach. Boston: Pearson/A and B.

Katz, Jennifer, and Jessica Moore. 2013. “Bystander Education Training for Campus Sexual Assault Prevention: An Initial Meta-Analysis.” Violence and Victims 28(6):1054-1067.

Nicksa, Sarah C. 2013. “Bystander’s Willingness to Report Theft, Physical Assault, and Sexual Assault: The impact of Gender, Anonymity, and Relationship With the Offender.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 29(2):217-236.

Wenik, Jack. 1985. “Forcing the Bystander to Get Involved: A Case for a Statute Requiring Witnesses to Report Crime.” The Yale Law Journal 94(7):1787-1806

Show More
Related

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Senior Salute

    325 Words  | 1 Pages

    The trial of 19 year old Owen Laurie has brought into light the alarming rate in which Sexual assault is rising. The issue that rages on in Colleges is said to be making its way to high schools and primary school. In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Division of Violence Prevention, 19% of Undergraduate women experienced

    Read More

  • Understanding the Bystander Effect: A Psychological Analysis

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kitty Genovese case led to the development of the 911 emergency call system and inspired a long line of research led by psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley around the time of 1970 into what circumstances lead bystanders to help someone in need. They discovered that, the more people available to help, the less likely any individual person would help—a phenomenon they called the “bystander effect.” If you are the only one around when an elderly person stumbles and falls, the responsibility to help is yours alone, but, with more people present, your obligation is less clear. Latané and Darley called this the “diffusion of responsibility” (CSI). A more recent case of the bystander effect was when assault victim Marques Gains laid motionless in the street due to by a hit-and-run; traffic whizzed past along with a few people stopped and seemed to stand over Gaines, who was crumpled near the curb on North State Street. No one tried to lift him from the pavement or block traffic. The lack of action by passers-by cost the hotel cocktail server his life after a cab turned the corner and drove over him. Experts says that a traumatic or odd event occurring in a public setting triggers an array of social and cultural cues and, combined with human nature, often leads to the lack of action by witnesses

    Read More

  • We Are All Bystanders Analysis

    509 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” We are All Bystanders by Jason Marsh and Dacher Keltner is an article that reflects on the psychological and social phenomenon that refers to cases in which people do not offer any assistance or help to a victim. Studies say that a person's personality can determine how they react to a bystander situation. In a book called, The Heart of Altruism, author Kristen Monroe writes the altruistic perspective. Altruistic people are strongly connected to other humans and have a concern for the well-being of others. Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief exemplifies the bystander theory through Liesel and

    Read More

  • Men as Victims

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    As it is in the case of the majority of violent crimes, (Davies and Rogers, 2006) perpetrators of violent crimes, and especially sexual assault related crimes exert additional force by threatening the victim or their families. Male victims also must contend with an additional sense of shame and embarrassment in being identified with a crime that has been typically portrayed in the media as happening to women. This places men at a disadvantage in the reporting process, because their safety and the safety of others is compromised further if the crime is not reported. (Messerschmitt, 2009)

    Read More

  • Addressing Sexual Assault Prevalence on College Campuses

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    When it comes to sexual assault on college campuses there is also the question of what can colleges do to decrease the amount of sexual assaults. Bradford Richardson and Jon A Shields wondered the same thing, so they conducted an ...

    Read More

  • Police Force and Discretion

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    In police-invoked law enforcement police initiate action against crimes that usually do not have victims (Wilson, 1968).

    Read More

  • Sexual Assault Policies

    2155 Words  | 5 Pages

    Vladutiu, Catherine J., Sandra L. Martin, and Rebecca J. Macy. "College- or University- Based Sexual Assault Prevention Programs: A Review of Program Outcomes, Characteristics, and Recommendations." Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. SAGE, n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. .

    Read More

  • Sexual Victimization of Women

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to a statement addressing the sexual victimization of college women The Crime and Victimization in America states that, “ One out of four women will be sexually assaulted on a college campus.” This disturbing fact has not minimized throughout the years, instead it is continuing to worsen throughout college campuses. Sexual assault is not an act to be taken lightly. Society must stop pinpointing the individuals who commit these crimes one by one, but rather look at the problem as a whole and begin to understand the main cause of sexual assault and possible methods to reduce these acts of sexual coercion.

    Read More

  • Sexual Assault And Sex Assault

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    A survey from the Association of American Universities of 150,000 students found that more than one in four women experience sexual assault during their four years in college. Over the four year college period, 27.2% of female students are victims of unwanted sexual contact that ranges from touching to rape (6). Sexual assault is far too common and it is an epidemic that faces many students in college. Many students suffer from the consequences of sexual assault, which is a result of many social and cultural deficiencies, but it can be fixed through a multifaceted approach. The problem of sexual assault can be fixed through the education of the community, a positive and helpful school environment, and classes focused on prevention.

    Read More

  • Sexual Assault Case Study

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fear of their assaulter alone can affect if they decide to report a sexual assault omitted towards them. According to Adegoke O. Adefolalu, "The extent of this crime [sexual assaults] is grossly underestimated partly due to non-disclosure, which in turn is often attributed to the fear of not being protected adequately after reporting the incidents of sexual violence as the victims fear possible reprisal from their attackers." She mentions how the victims choose to keep quiet about the incident, since they fear their attacker will harm them for reporting the incident. Adefolalu mentions, "Victims who feared reprisal attacks from perpetrator were five times more likely to delay presentation than those who were not." My hypothesis is fear of their assaulter prevents an individual from reporting a sexual assault committed towards them. My null hypothesis is fear does not affect if an individual reports a sexual assault. My independent variable is fear of their assaulter and my dependent variable is unreported sexual assaults. According to U.S. Department of Justice, "when crimes are not reported to the police, victims may not be able to obtain necessary services to cope with the victimization, and offenders may go unpunished." The U.S. Department of Justice Office states a valid point, in order for victims to obtain the necessary services need, they have to disclose of the incident and seek

    Read More

  • How the Media Uses an Ideal Victim in Portrayals of Crime

    1988 Words  | 4 Pages

    Generally, the study of crime mainly focused on the offender until quite recently. In fact, Shapland et al (1985) described the victim as ‘the forgotten man’ of the criminal justice system and ‘the non-person in the eyes of the professional participants’. A new perspective was brought with victimology, an expanding sub-discipline of crimin...

    Read More

  • The Kitty Genovese Murder Case

    2234 Words  | 5 Pages

    On March 13, 1964 a woman by the name of Catherine “Kitty” Genovese was coming back to her apartment in Queens, New York at 3:00 a.m. when she was impaled to death by a serial killer. According to the news, the said attack was about 30 minutes long. During the attack, Kitty Genovese screamed for help numerous times. The killer left the scene when the attention of a neighbor was attracted. Ten minutes later, the killer returned to the scene and murdered Genovese. It came to attention that 38 people witnessed the attack and murder, but all thirty-eight failed to report it until after the murder. This ordeal got the attention of many people including scientists and psychologists who wanted to figure out why this occurred. Later, the events that were published by the news were found to be false. It seemed as if the news was experiencing the bystander effect as well, because their information did not contribute to the actual facts. There were not 38 witnesses to the crime, but several had heard the screams and a few calls were made to the police during the attack. But there was still talk about something that affected the minds of people during emergency situations. This phenomenon has become known as the Bystander Effect. There were several cases that are fairly similar to the Genovese one. As well as the Genovese case, these occurrences attracted the attention of many scientists and even the news had something to say about “apathy.” Is the bystander effect real? My hypothesis is that the bystander effect is in fact, a real everyday occurrence that limits the help offered by people. This is due to the number of bystander present during a given situation. The Bystander Effect is the social psychological idea that refers to cases in whi...

    Read More

  • Bystander Effect

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the strengths is providing a new insight into bystander effect. The study argued that researchers have previously neglected the potential benefit of bystanders and thus, the study provided a new horizon by proving reversed bystander effect through experiment. This allows us to be aware of the fact that someone may be providing help merely due to impression management. This arouses a doubt on whether the one who provides help is genuinely concerned about the needs of the victims, or one is just motivated by upholding his/her reputation when surrounded by a crowd. Besides, carrying out a manipulation check right after this experiment is beneficial to this study as well....

    Read More

  • Liability for Omissions in Tort Law

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    Darley, J. M. & Latané, B. (1968) Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 8, 377–383

    Read More

  • Implications Of Victim Precipitation And The Victims Of Crime

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Karmen, A. (2016). Crime victims: an introduction to victimology (9th Ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Retrieved March 27, 2018, from https://www.betheluniversityonline.net/cps/default.aspx?SectionID=6855&tabid=154#1

    Read More

More about Bystander Effect : The Dark Figure of Crime

Open Document