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Entry bubble Prevent Crime

By: Jake | August 11, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

In February a New Jersey news station wanted to see how people reacted when they witnessed a crime. They set up a scenario where actors stole wallets from other actors at a restaurant and then filmed the reactions of restaurant patrons. Many people didn't do anything until the victims noticed their wallet was gone, that's when they sprang into action. Those who did react generally went into full force—one lady chased a purse snatcher out the door and one guy even punched out the staged culprit.Handcuffs

My girlfriend and I recently witnessed someone steal a pair of headphones from a store in the mall. My girlfriend wanted to stop the thief and I thought we didn't need to do anything because the store alarm would go off when the person left. It didn't go off.

So we were left with a dilemma, should we chase after her or notify the staff? Since we didn't know if our thief was armed, we opted to notify the store's staff. They thanked us and told us it wasn't our responsibility to chase down thieves. We were a little taken aback since they didn't think it was necessary to catch the culprit (who was still in the mall) and made fun of us when we pressed the issue. We wrote a complaint letter to the company.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are an eyewitness to a crime, it's a good idea to tell the victim or store before you storm off to chase the culprit down (if you are so inclined). If you are a victim of a crime, you can search for various types of victim's assistance at the U.S. Department of Justice's Directory of Victim Services web page.

If you witness or suspect other types of criminal activity such as illegal drug smuggling, Internet crime, or even happen upon a suspicious package, you can find the appropriate contact on our Pueblo website. Remember though that the best place to go to report any crime is your local police department.

Have you ever witnessed a crime? If so, what did you do?

| View Comments [6] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: crime   crime_prevention   criminal   jake   police   prevent_crime   theft  

Comments (6):

blue comment bubble Posted by Just think on August 11, 2008 at 10:02 AM EDT

There are people starving to death in this country and sometimes they steal to feed their kids. For someone to assume it is better for say a single mom with three kids to go to jail for trying to feed her kids by stealing a headset to sell...all I am saying is don't be so quick to make assumptions that you know what is best in every circumstance. Life is complicated.

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blue comment bubble Posted by JBird on August 12, 2008 at 08:32 AM EDT

Just think what life will be like for those three imaginary kids while single mommy is in the slammer for stealing.

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blue comment bubble Posted by stylin mom on August 12, 2008 at 01:02 PM EDT

It doesn't surprise me that the store staff didn't chase down the thief. There are some instances where staff has chased down the thief - then the thief turns around and points a gun. I hate to say it, but these are hard times. A pair of headphones is not worth anyones life.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Jake on August 13, 2008 at 01:33 PM EDT

I don't know what this lady's circumstances were so I'm not at liberty to discuss her reasons, but what she did was against the law. If she was doing it for her kids, she should visit a local services agencies.
http://answers.usa.gov/cgi-bin/gsa_ict.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=6614

Going there is much better than winding up in jail like Jbird mentions. Stylin mom, I agree with you. I didn't want to chase down the thief because I thought she might be armed, but we were a little upset that the store didn't call security.

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blue comment bubble Posted by hopefully you get witness not co conspirators on August 14, 2008 at 01:44 PM EDT

I was harrassed at a mass by racist workers one tried to solict me for inapropriate acitivities then when i refuse try to have security as me to leave i asked the police me called when the police asked what happend they rallied up people who wasn't even around or was involved and to lie and then said i was on a cell making offensive comments about their president i said bull and sued.. but those person really lied to the police who usually goes with the majority with may not be telling the truth in this case they was lying and the police got out of hand i sued the city. if i had someone with me that had witnessed it would have been better.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Working Single Dad on August 18, 2008 at 08:10 AM EDT

I am a single father with 3 children all under 5 years old. I manage to hold down a full time job, pay a mortgage and a car payment, and go to college part time. Things are tight but I always manage to provide for them, honestly, legally, and without relying on the public dole.

"Just Think".. There is never an excuse for stealing, there is plenty of opportunity in our country foor someone who wants to take advantage of it. Try the local unemployment office. I've been there, never took more than a couple of months to get work, because I take what I CAN do, not what I think I should do. I've been blessed to have had full time employment now for 6 years without a break. Prosperity is elusive but reachable. Good decisions go a long way.

As for "hopefully you get witness not co conspirators" try learing to use proper grammar, you'll get more respect. Try a local adult education class, many are free or low cost, might even provide free childcare. You can get a better job when you know how to speak in a manner that demands respect.

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