Between Victimisation and the Police, the Victim as an Underestimated Social Actor

"This article examines what determines crime victims reporting the incident to the police. For most victims, reporting is no more than an occasional task; however, it is mostly the way by which crime control agencies are informed by direct victims about offences such as thefts, burglaries and assaults. Based on victimisation data collected in theGreater Paris Region, the paper combines logistic regression, path analysis and typologies. It explores beyond the international consensus about the weight put on the seriousness of the damage done, showing the complexity of this notion. Seriousness sometimes gives way to other determinants, or conceals other mechanisms. There are alsoparadoxical cases where seriousness is allied to non-reporting. Finally, the article stresses the decision to turn to insurance as a determinant of the morphing of reporting intothe filing a formal complaint."