Many crime victims decide not to file a report with police

Over 40 percent of recent crime victims did not file a report with the police. Most of them feel that the police can’t help them, and many don’t trust the police, EenVandaag reports based on a survey of over 7,000 people on its opinion panel who have been victims of a crime in the past two years.

Of the 42 percent of crime victims who didn’t go to the police, 48 percent said they don’t trust the police. Victims are also skeptical that the police will catch the criminal. Only 16 percent of recent victims generally expect someone to be arrested if they commit a crime. And only 20 percent think that the perpetrator of a crime will get an appropriate punishment.

Their doubts don’t seem unfounded. Just over half (51 percent) of the respondents did file a police report. Most of them (54 percent) were unsatisfied with how the police handled their reports. 41 percent didn’t hear anything back after they filed their report. The same goes for serious crime victims - 40 percent didn’t hear anything from the police after filing a declaration.

Despite this, most crime victims are open to the idea of filing a police report if they experience a crime again. What else can you do, one respondent said. “It is the only chance for justice. If we don’t do that anymore, the end will lost, and we’ll be a banana republic.”