M-15 - What should you do if you witness a crime?

[Doggy]

You all know the whole thing: I have searched, but not found anything. If there's already a thread on this topic, go ahead and close this.. (etc etc etc)

I watched a documentary on TV the other night. It was about teenagers and youths who had been robbed and/or beaten on the street. Almost every time, there had been people of all ages around the teenagers, and even though the teenagers had cried for help, it was only in very few cases that people actually tried to stop the person robbing/beating the teenager.

Anyway, this got me thinking a bit... I've always felt myself safe when walking about as longs as there were lots of people around me, and not in the middle of the night. But now I'm not sure what would happen if I got attacked when out walking some time. It'd be interesting to know what others would do too..

If you've ever witnessed a crime of some sort, what did you do?

If you haven't, what do you think you'd do?

What is the best thing to do if you do witness a crime?

Of course, I realise that it depends on what's going on.. To rush up to a person threatening some one with a gun mightn't be the smartest thing to do.

[Schlubalybub]

report it. simple as. especially if you cant do anything about it.

[Sherlock Holmes]

It's a well-known phenomenon, that bystanders or neighbors will be aware that a robbing, beating, whateve is happening, but will be afraid to "get involved" themselves, or simply not want to.

That's a natural human reaction, especially if you haven't thought about it before at all. But it seems to me that if you were getting beat up, you'd want someone to step in and help you, right? But you can't expect anyone to help you if you're not willing to help them.

Having said all of that, I've been lucky to live in pretty safe areas all my life, and have never actually had to choose whether to protect someone else by putting myself in danger. I hope I'd help out, but I guess I shouldn't be too confident about my own reactions.

[Schlubalybub]

i couldnt do that. i would have to reprot it in the least.

[Jill]

I think the best thing to do if you see a crime is to phone the police. Its too dangerous to get involed directly you might get hurt, infact you probably will and could come off worse than the person being attacked. I have been in such situations and made the mistake of getting inbetween a fight, not a good thing to do. I have also tried to phone the police but got caught doing that and well was surprised as I was just called stupid and told to go outside and play. The thing is calling the police is the best thing to do if you witness a crime as they are trained to handle such problems and you are not...

i couldnt do that. i would have to reprot it in the least.

I think its more that there has to be enough evidence and the victim has to be willing to want the help given by those who report it. In some situations the evidence is just not there to support the victim or the victim is not willing to give that supporting evidence.

[Angora]

I'm really interested in all the information they've compiled on the Bystander Effect (when you're the only person there, you're likely to help someone, but if there's a crowd, you're likely not to).

I think one of the most helpful things to do is to think about what you would do in that situation before hand, but also when you're in the situation, imagine that it's a set-up and there are people watching you to see what you do. It sounds nuts, but I think it's a way to focus self-awareness and think about what you should be doing.

It doesn't just apply to violent crimes, but a lot of people will watch someone steal from a store while the clerk's back is turned and not say anything. And oddly enough that kind of behavior seems to be encouraged because you're not supposed to be a snitch. Seriously, if they were stupid enough to pocket it and walk out right in front of you, tell the clerk. If they're going to steal, they should at least have to be crafty about it.

I'm sure I've witnessed lots of crimes. But not major ones. I did witness someone fleeing the scene of a major crime once when I was little, and I had to give a statement to the police which was really intimidating.

[Quasi_EviL]

Interesting...we were just discussing this in Moral Ed class.

There've been so many cases where witnesses didn't do anything when they saw a crime. I think the most important reason was that they figured someone else would call 911 or whatnot.

We read about a case about this woman called Kitty Genovese who got stabbed in front of her New York apartment in 1964, and 38 people witnessed the crime, and it was only after her murderer had come back three times each time stabbing her that her neighbour called the police, and that only after he had finished a telephone call with a friend.

Apparently, if you're being brutally attacked, mugged, etc. you're better off calling out "fire!" because people will look around for a fire, in concern for themselves, and hopefully see what's happening to you. Depressing thought.

[ANDTORR]

I personaly would do something as it was happening if I could, even if it was a person with a gun, under the right circumstances I could deal with that. If however, someone was doing something that I could not interfere with, then I would summon help as quickly as possible, or report it.

[Magi]

There is no one whom you can rely for help. Not your neighbour, not your friends, not bystanders, and not the police.

Personal safety is your responsibility only.

I would generally intervene only if the victim is in immediate danger of bodily harm or death, or if the offender is in close proximity to me, or attempting to flee toward my location.
Otherwise, observe and report.

Pick and choose your fights. Will your intervention:
1. De-escalate the situation?
2. Legally justifiable?
3. Worth the risk of physical harm?

[Duxe]

Hmm, calling police would be helpful in USA. One but... It's not helpful where I live. Well, in Lithuania, police is quite corrupted :( You know, my classmate has his cell phones stolen 4 times. And guess, did police get the thief? Nope. Some people don't even call the police :( I find it very disturbing, but can't change it :(

[deathwish]

Personally, from the past when i have witnessed a crime, i either called the police depending upon the situation, or kept my mouth shut. When living in an area with a lot of gang violence i am probably not going to even bother calling the police, unless they are threatening me. Because i am not going to get shot playing hero because some guy wanted to start **** with a gang member. But if it is a lesser crime where i am not going to get hurt i might step in.

The only time i called the police on a gang fight was when they told me i had to stay in my house while they beat themselves with blunt objects. All i wanted was to go get some milk from the store around the corner. So i got pissed yelled at them that i was calling the police, got my phone and my machete, called the police and watched them run for it.

Of course this was not the smartest thing to do, and normally i just ingnore it. Some people say i am not doing my civic duty, i just dont want to stick my neck out for someone i dont know.

Sometimes if you report and you live in the neighborhood i did, that is not smart, they will find out who called and you could pay for doing the right thing. Also when living in this sort of neighborhood you will also notice cops take their time getting to you 30 minutes+ when responding to a gang fight. I have learned in the past if you want the cops there fast, make a scared kid talk to the dispatcher because that is the only time they are going to get there while the crime is happening

[Zachary1993]

You should probably report it to the police. Or if you 10 like me or around that age or younger then you should tell your parents what you saw and where and you should remember what happened what they looked like. Where it happened and what time it was. If you are a kid it is probably a better idea to tell your mom or dad to call because the police might not believe you and even if they do I don't think that they are allowed to ask you questions about it without a parent with you.

[deathwish]

Just saw another gang related crime outside my window bout an hour ago. This time i decided to call the police, but only because they were threatening an old lady who is very nice

The lady was screaming at them cause they were taking a baseball bat and a the handle to jack (car jack) to this guys heads.

i think this is on of those times where you just call the cops.

I wouldnt have called unless they did not threaten the women who had nothing to do with their spat. Otherwise i would not have cared if they kill the guy, teaches that guy not to steal stuff.

Now i am hoping i dont have to appear in court they nearly killed the guy and i was the one who provided the license plate #s to the place, I wonder if the people who commited the crime can get attempted murder for that. Cops said had we not called he probably would have been dead given another 2 min. with the baseball bat and jack handle,

[firebolt2000]

Of course it is natural for any human being to panic if they saw a crime take place, JofpGallagher, but I would feel terrible if I didn't report it. That happened once to me, actually. I saw some guy steal a glass ornament from a house goods store and I didn't tell anyone, and I felt really bad after that.

[hesdead-dealwithit]

Hmm, calling police would be helpful in USA. One but... It's not helpful where I live. Well, in Lithuania, police is quite corrupted :( You know, my classmate has his cell phones stolen 4 times. And guess, did police get the thief? Nope. Some people don't even call the police :( I find it very disturbing, but can't change it :(
Wow. Thanksgiving's over, but we still have stuff to be thankful for. And it gets a lot worse than this in other places in the world.

I think I would report it. I hope I would, it's the right thing to do. Objectively, though, if it was a serious crime (not just petty theft), and it didn't happen to me, I would probably talk to someone I know about it, and then that person would encourage me to report it. Our police are great, but I can't imagine just walking into a police station or walking up to a police officer straight away. I would probably go to someone else for reassurance, and then to the police later. It's just the natural thing to do.

[saz]

Report it to the Police but if the person is been bashed up yell out FIRE! beacause people would usually pay attention to it

[Nick]

Vengance, swift and deadly. One does not learn the arts of archery, poisons and the martial arts for nothing.

[Lara]

If you witness a crime, you should report it to the authorites. Even if you call crime stoppers. If someone is dead and you saw who killed them, it is only right to tell someone. The family needs that peace, that the person who killed their loved one is punished.

[AurorSlayer]

Sometimes, reporting a crime is not so easy:

Would you report domestic violence if it involved a relative or someone you live with who paid the bills?

Would you turn your kid in if you knew something he/she had was stolen?

If someone you knew had two strikes (out of three) against them, would you rat them out, even if what they stole was trivial ( e.g. shoes, watches, a slice of pizza) so they could spend the rest of their life in prison?

Depending on the situation, I could say no to all of these.

[Nick]

Would you turn your kid in if you knew something he/she had was stolen?


Only a bad, bad parent would let their kid get away with this. Bad, or delusional perhaps. Delusional parents who believe that their kids are perfect little angels and it's only everyone else's kids who have problems.

Needless to say, I certainly would turn the little rat in.

[imamuggle831]

[QUOTE=AurorSlayer]Sometimes, reporting a crime is not so easy:

Would you report domestic violence if it involved a relative or someone you live with who paid the bills?

Would you turn your kid in if you knew something he/she had was stolen?

If someone you knew had two strikes (out of three) against them, would you rat them out, even if what they stole was trivial ( e.g. shoes, watches, a slice of pizza) so they could spend the rest of their life in prison?

Depending on the situation, I could say no to all of these.[/Q


you should at all times family or not because its the right thing to do and the person who did something wrong will learn from it, and little things like stealing pizza turn into stealing big things and killing people to get what they want

[Angora]

I can agree that under certain circumstances you wouldn't report those things. Mind, there's a difference between not going out of your way to report it, and lying if the police show up and ask you about it.

With number one, I don't think the bills enter into it, but there are situations where you can fight with each other and have an isolated incident where somebody gets physical, realizes the gravity of what they've done, and it's not really a case of spousal abuse... but that depends entirely on the people involved and their relationship to each other.

With the second one, if your child is an adult, you might kinda suspect they that they stole something and just not meddle in it.

With the third one, if they stole it from you, well it's your perogative whether or not you're going to report it. But again, a lot of people aren't going to be dumb enough to tell you if they stole from someone else, so if you feel like it's not your place to get involved, stay out of it.

[Zachary1993]

[QUOTE=AurorSlayer]Sometimes, reporting a crime is not so easy:
Would you report domestic violence if it involved a relative or someone you live with who paid the bills? Would you turn your kid in if you knew something he/she had was stolen? If someone you knew had two strikes (out of three) against them, would you rat them out, even if what they stole was trivial ( e.g. shoes, watches, a slice of pizza) so they could spend the rest of their life in prison?
Depending on the situation, I could say no to all of these.[/Q


you should at all times family or not because its the right thing to do and the person who did something wrong will learn from it, and little things like stealing pizza turn into stealing big things and killing people to get what they want
1. I don't know because if that person got charged and had to go to jail they would put me in a foster home.

2. No I would not need to I would make them give the thing back and apolise for stealing the item then I would make them write an essay about why stealing is wrong.

3. I would tell them what I know and I would not be the one to send them to jail so I would not narc on them.

[imamuggle831]

1. I don't know because if that person got charged and had to go to jail they would put me in a foster home.

2. No I would not need to I would make them give the thing back and apolise for stealing the item then I would make them write an essay about why stealing is wrong.

3. I would tell them what I know and I would not be the one to send them to jail so I would not narc on them.
my freind got adopted by these people with like 2 million dollars so hey look on the bright side!

[deadlocked]

If you can go in and kick some ***.

[Dark Fallen Pride]

If you've ever witnessed a crime of some sort, what did you do?
I didn't do anything, they went to jail anyway.

If you haven't, what do you think you'd do?
I think I would just walk away, I honestly don't see the good in turning them in or dealing with them myself (charges would easily be brought against me). A crime is just a crime and the way I see it the world is messed up anyway, the jails are full, the government is messed up, so what is one more criminal on the street?

What is the best thing to do if you do witness a crime?
Walk off.

[lightofmagic]

I would report the crime to the police and let them handle the problem, as I am not equipped to do anything to help the person involved. You would most likely get hurt if you tried to intervene with such an offense anyway.