An unreported crime is nothing.
• It didn’t happen.
• No one can get arrested for possession of stolen property.
• No one can be prosecuted for the crime itself.
• No property can be returned to the owner.
Because you didn’t report that small bit of crime, your small piece of a bigger puzzle is
lost and another crime may go unsolved based on your failure to report.
• Other victims didn’t know that there was a history or recent criminal activity on their street.
• The other victims also didn’t report the crime.
• Everyone (people at work) was surprised to hear that you were a crime victim.
• Because you didn’t report the crime:
• Crime prevention doesn’t come into play.
• No questions were asked.
• Nothing new to learn.
• No change in your behavior.
• You believe that reporting doesn’t matter.
• You become a silent victim.
• You become angry and changed nothing.
You told one of your neighbors.
• You said, “The cops aren’t going to do anything about it.”
• But, patrol deputies don’t know about it either.
• Deputies think it’s a no crime/low crime area.
• No criminals ever hang out in that neighborhood.
You’ve unknowingly sent an alert to bad guys.
• This is a great neighborhood.
• No crime equals a low risk area for the criminal.
• No crime equals an area of great opportunities.
• Go ahead. Commit another crime. No one bothered to report the first one.
Send a message to the friends of bad guys.
• In my neighborhood, you’re safe if you’re a criminal because you’re unwatched and not run off by the neighbors.
• They don’t call the cops in that neighborhood.
• The neighbor saw me, but drove on by. Ha! Did they think their gaze really scared me
away?
When you don’t report a crime, it can’t be fixed.
• The next one is not prevented.
• No one knows about. It didn’t happen.
• It tells me that you don’t care. You don’t care about the cops, your neighbors, or your neighborhood. You’ve isolated yourself. Go ahead, don’t report the crime.
Give the criminals a break.
Special thanks to guest blogger Sherrie Carhart, Crime Prevention Specialist, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. This post comes from her recent speech on Reporting Crime.
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