why so hard to submit a police report?

[mbsv]

i want to file a report of vandalism.
the purpose is for statistics, and also in case the license plate # i saw shows up in the future/past.
no real action required.

but... the online report needs all sorts of personal information about *me*. like my birthday. before i even get to the two sentence report i want to give.

why? this is a form where i've already said it's about vandalism, so presumably they know there's little which is going to happen. i understand wanting a contact mechanism of some form, but requiring all sorts of info seems designed to make it so i don't want to submit the report.

of course, maybe that is the goal!

should i just wander into a police station and report it in person/on paper? call them on the phone (seems like a waste of a dispatchers time)? really i'm trying to minimize the time they have to spend on this report.

 

[dravnx]

Just input the information. What's the big deal? DOB is a common form of identification to differentiate you from another Joe Blow with the same name.

 

[Shaggy]

Just input the information. What's the big deal? DOB is a common form of identification to differentiate you from another Joe Blow with the same name.

+1. It's standard practice. And I'll go so far as to say that DOB isn't even enough. There are several people in CA with common names and identical DOBs are other people with that name. DOB and DL number at a minimum.

I always obtain the following information from everyone who is involved in a police report, including Reporting Parties, Victims, Witnesses, and Suspects:

First Middle Last Name
Home Address
Cell Phone
Alternate Phone
Driver License Number & Date of Birth
Race/Gender/Age/Height/Weight/Hair Color/Eye Color

Every. Single. Time.

Suspects who are arrested generally get more information such as Social Security Number, CII Number, FBI Number, Monikers, AKAs, etc...

There are several reasons, but one might be that the police need to contact you later down the road for something totally unrelated. An example would be if the police catch someone in possession of your wallet that you dropped/had stolen/etc... Without a DOB, DL Number, and contact information, they may never be able to figure out the wallet actually belongs to YOU instead of another Joe Citizen.

And if they did figure out it was you, they might not have a way to contact you and find out if the suspect is lawfully in possession of the wallet or if they are in violation of law.

My follow up question would be, why are you so eager to report something when you're not willing to provide your full identity? I interpret that as either A) It's not really that important to you; or B) You've got something else to hide. You shouldn't have any privacy concerns about providing identifying information to Law Enforcement. There are laws that prevent LE from giving out personal information without a "need to know" and a "right to know".

Just something to think about.

 

[mbsv]

it's the same reason you're concerned about having a body cam on all the time: someone unscrupulous might dig around and do something with it, even if that's not supposed to happen.

i don't mind my name and contact info being on a report. heck, i already posted the info i have in a publicly visible forum with my name and email address, though google doesn't seem to turn it up at the moment if you search by license#.

it's all the other things which seem designed to discourage reporting.

i can think of another reason to discourage reporting: reduces the amount of garbage submitted. but my best guess is that's is mindless bureaucracy: all those things are useful to have on a report, so why not make them mandatory?


pretty sure if anyone ever finds my drivers license, they can use the info on the license (including name, address, and photo) and not on my license (the DMV has my SSN afaik, which is also a problem) to validate that it's mine.

 

[craigincali]

If it bothers you that much don't file a report.

Your schools all had your info, along with the DMV, Voter registration (if you ever signed up to vote), IRS, banks, credit cards, your employer, and the list goes on.

I don't see your point in any of this.

 

[Shaggy]

it's the same reason you're concerned about having a body cam on all the time: someone unscrupulous might dig around and do something with it, even if that's not supposed to happen.

i don't mind my name and contact info being on a report. heck, i already posted the info i have in a publicly visible forum with my name and email address, though google doesn't seem to turn it up at the moment if you search by license#.

it's all the other things which seem designed to discourage reporting.

i can think of another reason to discourage reporting: reduces the amount of garbage submitted. but my best guess is that's is mindless bureaucracy: all those things are useful to have on a report, so why not make them mandatory?


pretty sure if anyone ever finds my drivers license, they can use the info on the license (including name, address, and photo) and not on my license (the DMV has my SSN afaik, which is also a problem) to validate that it's mine.

• DMV records are not searchable by SSN
• Not everyone updates their address wth DMV every time they move.
• There is a difference between body camera footage being used against me administratively by LE, and personal identifying information of yours being used criminally by LE.
• It's not designed to discourage reporting. It's for the sake of thoroughness.
• It doesn't reduce the amount of garbage submitted. Online reports are usually reviewed by someone. If it doesn't meet the criteria, it gets rejected back to the citizen.
• Validating what is yours and contacting an actual victim are two different things. Anyone can look at a CDL and determine who it belongs to. In order to determine if there is a crime, LE has to have a victim. Without contacting you, they might not be able to tell if you are a crime victim.
• If you don't want to input the information, then don't file the report. No one is forcing you to be a victim of a simple property crime. Crimes of all types go unreported millions of times per day in this country.

 

[Aware]

I don't see why name, address and phone number or email address would be insufficient.

 

[Shaggy]

I don't see why name, address and phone number or email address would be insufficient.

We generally don't contact people by email. There is no way to verify the person responding to the email is who they say they are. There is also no guarantee the email account is checked on a daily basis or even active.`

I already explained why DOB and DL number are important in the first post.

 

[1085One]

Trust me, it is not to discourage you or anyone from wanting to submit a report online. Nick stated why its needed. In fact, submitting a report such as yours online is doing everyone involved a favor. It frees up dispatchers, CSOs, and patrol officers to do respond to other CFS.

 

[bojangle]

What license plate #? I don't get it. Is it that you have the license plate of a suspect vehicle involved in a vandalism?

In our department, on line reports are only accepted for cold crimes. A license plate number for a suspect vehicle would be a lead, of sorts, and such a report submitted on line would be assigned to an officer for follow up. More than like, it would start with follow up contact with the victim/reporting party.

I'd venture to say there are NO departments that would take a report for an anonymous person, when they are the ones requesting the report. Sometimes police with get info from confidential informants, or informally take information from anonymous sources, but those people aren't requesting to make a police report. They are just assisting. There also might be ways to provide your local agency with general (or specific) anonymous information through third party vendors the department might work with, such as Crimestoppers International or We Tip. But again, that's not making a police report which will generate a case number and a written report of a crime.

If you talk to an officer and try to make a vandalism report over the phone or in person, that officer will ask you all the same personal information as was listed on line and they won't be taking a report without it. If I came across this situation I would explain that we needed to collect this information. If you don't want to make a police report, I'd offer to give you an incident number (all calls for service generate an incident number) and you can have that, and my name, for your records. I could add some notes into the call, but I'd explain that it isn't the same thing as a police report.

 

[shouldnthave]

True story.

Years, and years ago my car was ransacked in SF. I did the same thing you are doing now; 'I don't want to be on a report, I just want them to know it happened, and maybe they will step up patrol in my hood (had a few run-ins with the law growing up in a hick town) .' I ended up having to give them all the info I didn't want to give, but I did it anyway ( I'm not really the leave a name sort of guy). Two weeks later I get a call from a detective trying to figure out why my checkbook (no idea my checkbook was even missing because I used it so little), and several other items with my name on them were in a car full of felons arrested after an armed robbery/chase.

Turns out that having that case number of the prior ransack completely absolved me thus allowing me to regain my property, and more importantly remove any (enough) suspicion of why my personal belongings were anywhere near these assholes.

I know this is not the same as the report you are talking about, I'm only saying this because after my previous encounter I have done other such reports and had nothing but a good outcome. Sometimes they just have to call you back to follow up, and mostly they don't, but sometimes, you might just need an alibi.

What ever way you go, good luck.

 

[bojangle]

True story.

Years, and years ago my car was ransacked in SF. I did the same thing you are doing now; 'I don't want to be on a report, I just want them to know it happened, and maybe they will step up patrol in my hood (had a few run-ins with the law growing up in a hick town) .' I ended up having to give them all the info I didn't want to give, but I did it anyway ( I'm not really the leave a name sort of guy). Two weeks later I get a call from a detective trying to figure out why my checkbook (no idea my checkbook was even missing because I used it so little), and several other items with my name on them were in a car full of felons arrested after an armed robbery/chase.

Turns out that having that case number of the prior ransack completely absolved me thus allowing me to regain my property, and more importantly remove any (enough) suspicion of why my personal belongings were anywhere near these assholes.

I know this is not the same as the report you are talking about, I'm only saying this because after my previous encounter I have done other such reports and had nothing but a good outcome. Sometimes they just have to call you back to follow up, and mostly they don't, but sometimes, you might just need an alibi.

What ever way you go, good luck.

Yup, that can very well happen. It will make it easier for the police to rule you out of any wrongdoing and also help to add charges to the suspects. Sometimes something like that is all you got to arrest on, at least initially. So having a report made can make all the difference down the road.

 

[Aware]

We generally don't contact people by email. There is no way to verify the person responding to the email is who they say they are. There is also no guarantee the email account is checked on a daily basis or even active.`

I already explained why DOB and DL number are important in the first post.

It's an online form. It has already destroyed any guarantee of verification.

 

[Shaggy]

It's an online form. It has already destroyed any guarantee of verification.

Or is that extra information important BECAUSE it's an online form?

 

[bojangle]

Or is that extra information important BECAUSE it's an online form?

:nerd

 

[shouldnthave]

It's an online form. It has already destroyed any guarantee of verification.

Really? That's what the follow up is for. Hell, I can call my bank and they know who they are talking to in three questions. Anyone that can pass that test is a small enough number of persons to hunt down and choke to death should they do something so nefarious.

Maybe it's just this summer cold, but your logic is tremendously unremarkable.

 

[Alan_Hepburn]

Why might DOB be helpful? Consider this scenario: Joe Average Public sires a son, whom he names Joe Amateur Public. Since the middle name is different there's no need for a "Junior". Years pass, and Dad moves in with his son. One day the son reports a crime as Public, Joe A. The police do a followup call and the father answers the phone because the son is on vacation:

Police: We are following up on a police report - are you Joe A Public?
Dad: Yes, I am
Police: Did you report this crime?
Dad: No, I don't recall reporting a crime.
Police: Okay - sorry to bother you. <click>

Far-fetched? Probably. But if you feel acrime is important enough to report why not make sure that the police have enough information to properly deal with it?

 

[Stratus650]

+1. It's standard practice. And I'll go so far as to say that DOB isn't even enough. There are several people in CA with common names and identical DOBs are other people with that name. DOB and DL number at a minimum.

I always obtain the following information from everyone who is involved in a police report, including Reporting Parties, Victims, Witnesses, and Suspects:

First Middle Last Name
Home Address
Cell Phone
Alternate Phone
Driver License Number & Date of Birth
Race/Gender/Age/Height/Weight/Hair Color/Eye Color

Every. Single. Time.

Suspects who are arrested generally get more information such as Social Security Number, CII Number, FBI Number, Monikers, AKAs, etc...

There are several reasons, but one might be that the police need to contact you later down the road for something totally unrelated. An example would be if the police catch someone in possession of your wallet that you dropped/had stolen/etc... Without a DOB, DL Number, and contact information, they may never be able to figure out the wallet actually belongs to YOU instead of another Joe Citizen.

And if they did figure out it was you, they might not have a way to contact you and find out if the suspect is lawfully in possession of the wallet or if they are in violation of law.

My follow up question would be, why are you so eager to report something when you're not willing to provide your full identity? I interpret that as either A) It's not really that important to you; or B) You've got something else to hide. You shouldn't have any privacy concerns about providing identifying information to Law Enforcement. There are laws that prevent LE from giving out personal information without a "need to know" and a "right to know".

Just something to think about.

So if someone calls in a traffic accident, Or is a witness to one. And is at the scene when you arrive. And feels like only giving you their name and a contact number. For privacy reasons. That's going to make you suspicious? There are lots of laws that prevent Leo's from giving out private information.... And I know you and bojangle would not break the laws. From the way you both freely give sound knowledge. Most the time. :teeth

And there are many Leo's whom have used personal information in committing crimes on others. It's been ignored but http://www.policemisconduct.net is a scary site.

So what happens if I witness a accident, you want more than my name and contact number. And I tell you to pound sand?:x

 

[bojangle]

So if someone calls in a traffic accident, Or is a witness to one. And is at the scene when you arrive. And feels like only giving you their name and a contact number. For privacy reasons. That's going to make you suspicious? There are lots of laws that prevent Leo's from giving out private information.... And I know you and bojangle would not break the laws. From the way you both freely give sound knowledge. Most the time. :teeth

And there are many Leo's whom have used personal information in committing crimes on others. It's been ignored but http://www.policemisconduct.net is a scary site.

So what happens if I witness a accident, you want more than my name and contact number. And I tell you to pound sand?:x

If it's just a collision, I probably wouldn't push the issue. I just wouldn't talk to you or include your statement in the report. If it was a fatality, injury hit and run, or you were a key witness in a DUI crash, I might care more. But most collisions are easy enough to sort out without witness statements. Plus, there might be other cooperative witnesses.

A fair amount of our job is identifying people. Anonymous information has very little and limited value. A statement from a person who was not identified is useless in civil court for a collision or in criminal court for prosecution. Police can also take action based on information from an identified person, including getting a search warrant, etc. Not so for information from an unknown person.

Without going into too much detail, if I spoke to you in person, and you only gave me your name and phone number, it probably wouldn't be too hard to figure out who you were. If it was important, and I took a statement from you, I'd just figure out who you were through various sources and then add that identifiable information, like driver license, birthrate, last known address, etc. to the report even if you refused to provide it.

Just curious, but why would you even care to provide a statement about a collision you weren't involved in if you didn't wish to identify yourself?

 

[Shaggy]

So if someone calls in a traffic accident, Or is a witness to one. And is at the scene when you arrive. And feels like only giving you their name and a contact number. For privacy reasons. That's going to make you suspicious? There are lots of laws that prevent Leo's from giving out private information.... And I know you and bojangle would not break the laws. From the way you both freely give sound knowledge. Most the time. :teeth

And there are many Leo's whom have used personal information in committing crimes on others. It's been ignored but http://www.policemisconduct.net is a scary site.

So what happens if I witness a accident, you want more than my name and contact number. And I tell you to pound sand?:x

Picture another scenario. You report a traffic collision. Three years later, the case goes to civil trial (or criminal if it was DUI or H&R) and the only information anyone has is your name, address, and phone number. In the 3 years since the incident, you have moved and changed your cell phone number and now no one can conduct a records check through DMV to find out your new address (presuming you updated DMV when you moved since you're an upstanding citizen). You cannot be contacted to testify in the civil trial, so any information you gave is useless.

So in your scenario of "What now?" I tell you to pound sand and find someone who is willing to actually help my investigation.

The thing you have to remember is that police officers can't do everything on their own. The laws of arrest in CA don't allow for arrests in certain situations where the officer was not present during the incident. Sometimes they need independent witness statements to be able to investigate and prosecute crimes. If you aren't willing to be that third party witness within the requirements the officer needs, the officer will do what he/she can within their powers. It might mean that a criminal gets lets go or a crime goes uninvestigated.

An example of that would be... Reporting Party/Witness sees a man hitting a woman at a local park and calls the police, but wishes to remain anonymous or not willing to give their full information during a telephone statement. The officer contacts the two involved parties at the park and they say nothing happened and it was just an argument between husband and wife. There is no visible injury to either party. Without any statement on record, the officer has no evidence that shit head wife beater beats his old lady. The officer can't make arrests without any evidence, so shit head wife beater gets let go without arrest. Where their altercation goes from there is anyone's guess. The officer did everything in his/her powers to make sure justice was served. The rest is on the reporting party/witness.

The truth is, you are about a bajillion times more likely to be a victim of ID theft by swiping your credit card to fill your moto up with fuel than you are to fall victim of ID theft by LE. Time to get real here, folks....