Monday, October 8, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
How to report a crime or make a citizen’s arrest
1. Why should you report a crime?
2. Ways of reporting a crime
3. What information is needed?
4. Can I make a citizen’s arrest?
1. Why should you report a crime?
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| Report a crime as soon as possible | ||
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All crimes that you witness should be reported to the police, no matter how insignificant you think they are.
Only a small percentage of all crimes are ever reported to the police, but reporting a crime is not just about statistic. It helps them to evaluate services in your area and decide what is needed.
More importantly, reporting a crime could give the police essential information to help them solve that crime or other similar crimes. Something you have noticed may be one part of a larger chain of events.
Crimes should be reported as soon as possible and you don’t necessarily have to give your name. You can do it anonymously.
2. Ways of reporting a crime
Emergencies – 999 calls
Dial 999 when an ‘immediate’ response is required. The number should only be used in cases where a crime is still in progress or if someone is in immediate danger. You shouldn’t get involved if the crime involves any violence, as you may put your own safety at risk. Instead call 999 immediately.
When making a 999 call you will be put through to an operator who will ask you which service you require: police, fire or ambulance. Once you have been connected, the police will want to know four things:
- Why do you want the police?
- Where exactly are the police required?
- What is your name?
- What is the number of the phone you are calling from?
The emergency services receive thousands of hoax and non-emergency calls every year. This affects their response time to situations, so it’s important to consider whether your call is appropriate.
Non-emergencies
A non-emergency is where the crime has already occurred and covers things like theft and criminal damage.
In such situations you should contact your local police station, or you can use their online reporting service.
It’s a good idea to have your local police station number easily available. You could either put it into you mobile phone, or keep it on the fridge or pin board.
Five police forces taking part in a Home Office pilot scheme have launched a single non-emergency number for people to call. The number to dial in these pilot areas is 101 and each call costs 10p from either a landline or mobile phone.
If you are concerned that reporting a crime to the police might put yourself in danger or in any risk, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. You will not be asked your name and you can leave your information anonymously.
3. What information is needed?
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When you report a crime there are certain things that you should try to remember – but the fact that you’re reporting the crime is the most important thing. By their own admission the police would rather you gave them the wrong information than none at all.
When you have seen a crime, try to find a piece of paper and write down what you saw as soon as possible. If there was anyone else around who saw what happened then encourage them to report what they saw too. Try to get them to give you a name and address so the police can contact them for further information. Here are some things to think about that may be very useful to the police.
Things to think about at a crime scene include:
- Time and date of incident
- Place
- How many suspects did you see?
- What were they doing?
- Did they say anything?
- Which direction did they head towards?
- Did you see any other witnesses?
- Any other information you can think of
When describing a suspect think about:
- Approximate age
- Sex
- Race
- Height
- Any distinguishing features? (Tattoos, scars etc)
- Build
- Eye colour/shape
- Hair colour/style
- Accent
- Complexion
- Facial hair
- Clothing
- Any other information
If there was a vehicle, include:
- Registration number
- Make and model
- Colour
- Dents, scratches, etc
If your information leads to an arrest you could be asked to be a witness in court. If you are, there is a free, independent service called the Witness Service - part of Victim Support - which can give you information about what to expect and give you support if you find it difficult or upsetting. You could also look at the Action Network guide about Crime victims’ and witnesses’ rights.
4. Can I make a citizen’s arrest?
Arrests can be made by people other than the police but should be approached with caution. Making an arrest is potentially dangerous, and the police do not actively encourage people to make citizen’s arrests.
You can make an arrest if:
- You see someone committing an ‘indictable offence’
- You are certain that someone has already committed an ‘indictable offence’
As soon as you have made an arrest you must alert the police. Then you must either hand the arrested person over to a policeman in the street, or take them to a police station as soon as possible.
Indictable offence
To make a citizen's arrest the crime must be an ‘indictable offence’, i.e. a serious offence which could be tried in a crown court. Another way to think of indictable offences is as crimes that can result in long prison sentences.
Examples of indictable offences are theft, burglary and criminal damage. So, drink-driving would not qualify as it is an offence which would be tried in a magistrates court and only result in a maximum sentence of six months.
If you arrest a person who is later judged by the police or the courts not to have committed a ‘serious offence’ then your arrest may be unlawful.
Safety and reasonable force
Legally citizen’s arrests are a tricky area and the circumstances of the arrest can be examined in detail if the case goes to court.
The right to make a citizen’s arrest comes under section 3(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1967 which says:
"A person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime, or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large."
If you have made an arrest using ‘reasonable force’ but the arrest is later judged to be unlawful, then in theory criminal charges can be brought against you for any physical injury caused. With this in mind you should attempt to avoid causing any injury to the person you are arresting.
As with any police officer, if you seriously injure the person being arrested, then that person can bring criminal charges against you regardless of the outcome of the arrest.
There is more legal information concerning citizen’s arrests on a website set up by a final-year law student.
However, the most important thing to consider when deciding whether to make a citizen’s arrest is your own safety. If you are in any doubt then you should not put yourself at risk.
Neurotechnologija’s fingerprint recognition technology wins top rank for reliability in Fingerprint Verification Competition (FVC2006)
Fingerprint recognition algorithms from Neurotechnologija, a provider of high-precision biometric identification technologies, achieved top honors for reliability in this year’s Fingerprint Verification Competition (FVC2006). The VeriFinger 5.0-based algorithm outperformed all other algorithms in the Open Category tested at the average zero False Match Rate (FMR), the most realistic benchmark for evaluating the reliability of real-world biometric systems. The algorithm also won four gold, two silver and two bronze medals in the Open Category. In the Light Category, Neurotechnologija’s algorithm took second place for average zero FMR and won an additional gold and four bronze medals.
“We were very pleased to achieve some of the highest results for the fourth time in a row in the FVC competition,” said Algimantas Malickas, CEO of Neurotechnologija. “While there are many ways to measure the quality of an algorithm, we were pleased that our algorithm ranked number one in the scenario that is most adequate for customers who are implementing real biometric systems. This tells us the new version of our product will continue to provide the high levels of speed and reliability our customers require,” Malickas added.
Organized by the Biometric Systems Lab at the University of Bologna, the Pattern Recognition and Image Processing Laboratory at Michigan State University and the Biometric Test Center at San Jose State University, the FVC competition is held every two years to evaluate fingerprint recognition algorithms from around the world. Neurotechnologija’s algorithms have consistently shown some of the best reliability results in the past four competitions (FVC2000, FVC2002, FVC2004 and FVC2006) and have won a total of 10 gold medals, 12 silver medals and 9 bronze medals.
While many vendors enter the FVC competition anonymously, Neurotechnologija has always chosen to enter their algorithms openly so that customers can see the level of quality and consistency compared to others on the market.
2 Philippine soldiers killed, 10 wounded in clash with al-Qaida-linked militants
MANILA (AP): Philippine troops battled about 100 al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants led by two top terror suspects on a southern island, leaving two soldiers dead and 10 others wounded, officials said Thursday.
The Abu Sayyaf group was led by Radulan Sahiron, a one-armed senior commander, and Abu Pula, also known as Dr. Abu, said military spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro.
Two soldiers were killed in the five-hour clash Wednesday, and 10 wounded were taken to a hospital, army spokesman Maj. Ernesto Torres said.
He said scores of militants were believed killed, but no bodies were retrieved.
There was no word on whether two Indonesians wanted for alleged involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings were among those in the battle in Jolo island's Indanan town, about 950 kilometers(590 miles) south of Manila.
The Indonesian militants, Umar Patek and Dulmatin, who goes by one name, are believed to be hiding on Jolo with the Abu Sayyaf after fleeing from Indonesia in 2003.
Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, the army's commanding general, ordered troops to pursue the militants, Torres added.
In a raid Monday, U.S.-trained Filipino commandos, along with marines, captured three Abu Sayyaf militants but missed Patek and Isnilon Hapilon, another Abu Sayyaf commander, who escaped, saidarmy Brig. Gen. Ruperto Pabustan.
Monday's raid took place in Talipao, in the heart of Jolo. Indanan is a coastal town about 30 kilometers (18 miles) to the west.
A U.S.-backed offensive by up to 10,000 Philippine soldiers led to the killing of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani in September and his presumed successor, Abu Sulaiman, in January on Jolo.
Six murderers of Freeport employees appeal to Supreme Court
JAKARTA (Antara): Lawyers of the six convicted murderers of PT Freeport Indonesia's employees Thursday submitted appeal documents to the Supreme Court over those sentences by lower courts.
Two American teachers and an Indonesian colleague were killed on Aug. 31, 2002 when gunmen ambushed their convoy near the American-owned Grasberg gold and copper mine near the Papuan provincial town of Timika.
Seven people were found guilty over the incident. They are Antonius Wamang, Agustinus Anggaibak, Yulianus Deikme, Ishak Onawame, Esau Onawame, Hardi Sugumol, and Yairus Kiwak alias Kibak. Hardi died in a hospital.
Antonius, who was found guilty as mastermind of the incident got life sentence in the Central Jakarta District Court and the verdict was affirmed by the Jakarta High Court.
Agustinus and Yulianus were sentenced to six year jail term by the Central Jakarta District Court, but the Jakarta High Court granted tougher punishment with 8 years in jail.
Meanwhile, each of the four other people were sentenced to 18 months in jail by district court, but the Jakarta High Court changed the sentences into five years jail terms.
Ecoline Situmorang, the lawyer of the six people, questioned the additional sentences for his clients, saying that it only based on a consideration that the district court's sentence is too light.
Police arrest two new suspects of Munir murder case
JAKARTA (Antara): Police have arrested two new suspects of the murder case of human rights activist Munir Thalib, who was allegedly killed on board of Garuda Indonesia plane flying Jakarta to Amsterdam in 2004.
The two are Indra Setiawan, the former president director of the airline and Rohainil Aini, secretary to the airline's chief pilot.
They were arrested by police investigators in two separate places on Saturday. Indra was arrested in Tebet, South Jakarta, and Rohainil in Curug, Tangerang City, Banten province.
The former Garuda Indonesia chief arrived at the National Police Headquarters at 4 a.m. and Rohainil at 4.50 a.m.
Muhammad Assegaf, a Garuda Indonesia lawyer, regretted the arrests, saying that the police should not have arrested them but sent them an invitation for questioning.
Munir died on board a Garuda airplane, GA 974, during a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam with a stop-over in Singapore, on September 7, 2004. He was apparently poisoned because a large quantity of arsenic was found in his stomach.
The Central Jakarta district court and the Jakarta high court handed down a 14-year jail term on Pollycarpus Haripriyanto, a pilot, who was accused of poisoning MUnir but the Supreme Court later acquitted him of the murder charges. (**)
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