The Victim's Decision to Report Offences to the Police in France: Stating Losses or Expressing Attitudes *

Abstract

Drawing upon several sets of victimisation surveys in France, this article examines for the first time for this country the variables associated with victims' reporting behaviour on the one hand, with their decision to file a formal complaint on the other. The seriousness of the effects of the offence — material or physical — is a determining variable which largely confirms previous internationally established knowledge. However, the specific contribution of this study is to highlight the role, a minority role to be sure but one that is clearly distinguishable, of certain attitudes such as punitiveness (among those who file formal complaints) and scepticism with regard to public institutions (among non reporting victims). In this sense, the study of reporting also informs us about the more or less confident relationship between the population and the institutions that bear the responsibility for its security. In order to consider these types of results it is necessary for surveys to include not only questions about the factual elements of victimisation but also to delve into the respondents' opinions, so as to allow the piecing together of attitudes and types of social representation.