Should there be a duty to report crime?
A number of studies have examined why people do or do not respond when they observe criminal activities. Traditionally, the legal system has not punished the failure to report a crime. This study sought to ascertain whether a sample of college students and public citizens thought there should be legal punishments for the failure to report crimes. Respondents (N = 301) were presented a list of illegal acts and asked to select from a list (no punishment, fine, or prison sentences) what type of punishment should be enforced for failure to report that crime. Analysis indicated that the sample thought there should be punishments for most of the crimes, with a fine as the modal response. For more serious crimes, more serious punishments were selected, and there were some sex differences. It appeared that public support for such laws might be strong.
Veneziano
L
L
Department of Psychology, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau 63701, USA. cveneziano@semovm.semo.edu
Veneziano
C
C
D000328:Adult; D003415:Crime / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004989:Ethics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires