If it's so difficult to report crimes, wouldn't that mean that the crimes that are reported represent the most egregious, since the people who reported them overcame the difficulty in reporting to report the crimes? And, therefore, current policing strategy should -- indeed -- focus on the reported crimes while making it easier to report them?
You have it backwards. The current policing strategy is the cause of the reported crimes mix.
People will report crimes that:
- they think the police will do something about, and/or
- they need to report in order to file an insurance claim
If your car window gets smashed and you're not going to report it to your insurer lest it raises your premium next year, and if you know the police aren't going to investigate, why would you report it?
