Personal reasons refers to the reasons that individuals choose not to report crimes to the police. There are numerous reasons why individuals do not want to report crime, e.g., fear of retribution. This is when individuals are concerned that those that committed the crime against them may seek to punish the victim further for reporting the crime to the authorities. A second reason for not reporting crime is that some people may be ashamed of being a victim of crime (e.g., they feel that they may be judged negatively by society or to have in some way precipitated the crime). This is often the case in sexual assault and domestic violence cases. A third reason is that people may not see the point in reporting the crime. Finally, people are less likely to report crimes if they are not directly affected by the crime.