Okay, so you’re sitting at home minding your own business and, all of a sudden, you notice a van parked in front of your neighbor’s house. You don’t recognize the van and you know that your neighbors are away for a couple of days. A gentleman appears to be delivering something into the house.

Do you:
a) Do nothing and assume that your neighbor made arrangements to have something delivered while they are away? Or
b) Call the police and report a suspicious circumstance?

I would hope that you call the local authorities to report a suspicious circumstance. Remember; nobody knows your neighborhood better than you. A police officer could drive down the street with the van parked right in front of him and, chances are, that officer will not know if the van belongs in the area nor will he/she know that your neighbor is on vacation. What appears to be someone making a delivery, could just as easily be someone stealing from a home.

So, you’ve made the decision to be a good citizen and report the suspicious circumstance. First of all, for the scenario that I gave you, you probably don’t need to call 9-1-1. The reason is that, according to the scenario, there is no threat of physical harm. It would behoove you to have the non-emergency number to your local police department both posted near your home phone and programmed on your cell phone. In fact, let’s assume that you live in Chula Vista, but work in San Diego and spend a lot of time at your grandmother’s house in La Mesa. You should have the non-emergency numbers of all those cities programmed in your cell phone. The reason is that, when you dial 9-1-1, the phone call goes to a centralized phone bank that is monitored by California Highway Patrol dispatchers. When you call 9-1-1 from your cell phone, the CHP dispatcher has to determine where you are, and then he/she has to determine what policing agency has jurisdiction where you are. From there, they will transfer you to the corresponding police department and then you will have the opportunity to explain your dilemma. As you can imagine, all this figuring out of jurisdiction coupled with the transferring of the phone call can lead to lag time, giving the potential crook time to complete the crime and get away. Remember that this only applies to cell phones. When you call 9-1-1 from a “hard line” (your home phone or even a pay-phone (does anyone use those anymore?), you are automatically connected to the proper policing agency and the dispatcher’s computer will show them exactly where you are.

So you get through to a dispatcher and are asked to describe the bad guy (or the car). Remember that the more descriptive you are, the better opportunity for officers to catch the crook. Most people don’t think further than the location of the problem, the gender and race of the suspect. When dealing with cars, most people just give us the color. Here is a list of descriptors that help police find crooks. You may want to commit this information to memory or print this page out and keep it close to your phone (or on your refrigerator):

Suspect

Gender

Approximate age

Race

Clothing description

Hair color and style (including facial hair – mustache, beard, goatee, etc.)

Eyes (if possible)

Tattoos, scars or birthmarks (if tattoo, what type of tattoo?)

Weapons. Gun, knife, stick. Remember, a walking cane could be used as a weapon.

If the suspect is on foot, where was he/she last seen and what direction was he/she going?

Name – If you know whom the suspect is, let us know.

Vehicle

Make (Ford, Chevy, Toyota, etc.)

Model (Camry, Accord, etc.)

License plate number. Very important – we can determine who owns the car with this information.

Color

If you don’t know what model, is it a 2-door, 4-door, pick-up, SUV?

How many occupants?

Last direction of travel.

Something to think about; if you are faced with some type of criminal activity, is it better to be a good witness or get involved physically? This is a touchy subject and, in the end, is a personal decision. In 99.9% of all cases it is best to simply be a good witness. Take into consideration what type of crime it is. Is it a property crime (some type of theft)? Or is it a crime against a person? If it is a property crime such as a shoplift or even a bank robbery, it probably is not worth the risk of injury. Realize that there may be multiple suspects and they may have weapons. In any criminal incident, it is impossible to determine how desperate the suspect is.

If someone is in immediate physical danger, then you need to make an important decision. You may not have to go hands on, sometimes making noise and calling attention to the suspect is enough to spook him/her. Remember, if you get injured and can’t describe the suspects, then your act of heroism will have been for nothing.

Hopefully, these tips will make you a better witness and will make our communities safer.

Thanks for participating,
Alan dela Pena