Powerful Variables in Getting the Police to Work Your Case

Have you ever wondered why some crimes get investigated by the police while others do not? Have you ever reported a crime to the police but were unable to get them interested in actually investigating your case, much less taking it to court?

The truth is, not all crimes are created equal. Fortunately for victims, there is one key factor that can influence whether or not a case gets worked. That factor is the victim. There are several victim-controlled variables that make you, or your business, the type of victim that is more likely to get attention drawn to your case. 

Ideally, the police should investigate all criminal acts, but due to the infinite number of crimes that have and will occur, coupled with the limited number of criminal justice resources available, police must prioritize the cases they investigate. The unfortunate reality is that some criminal acts have a slim chance of ever getting worked by police because of the continuous generation of new cases to work.

While many people believe that the obligation for investigating and solving crimes rests solely with the police, the truth is, the responsibility is partially with the victim too. It's certainly accepted that some victims naturally don’t have the capacity to assist in the investigative process, such as children or murder victims, so the police overcompensate for these victims by making cases involving vulnerable populations a higher priority. Some crimes require police attention regardless of the victim’s level of participation because of the egregious, widespread or substantial nature of the crime.

Your victimization might be the most tragic event you have ever experienced, but to the police, it may just be another routine case. If you have been the victim of identity theft, it can cause you major financial, emotional and psychological strain, yet be only another ID theft report in a stack of hundreds that a police department receives each month. Understanding the victim variables will help improve your chances of getting the police to tend to your case.

Crime

The first variable of getting the police to work your case is to actually be the victim of a crime—or clearly have a reason to suspect that you are about to be the victim of a crime! Too often, people expect the police to investigate and resolve complaints that do not fall within the purview of the police’s authority. Having tenants in a rented apartment who have not paid rent for months is not something that can be resolved in a criminal court. Unpaid rent is a civil matter and will never be resolved by the police no matter how persistent an unpaid landlord may be. 

Just as a civil matter is generally outside the scope of what police investigate, certain crimes are not handled by some police agencies. If you were the victim of a burglary while on vacation outside of your hometown, it is unlikely that your hometown police department will have the jurisdiction to investigate or legal venue to pursue the case. Most police agencies will be cooperative in assessing whether or not a crime has occurred and directing victims to the agency in which the investigative jurisdiction may reside.

Commitment

The next variable is the victim’s long term commitment to the investigation. Nothing will stonewall an investigation faster than an uncommitted victim. The investigation and subsequent legal proceedings can, and quite often do, last for years. For law enforcement to remain committed to working a case, the victim must also remain committed to the investigation. 

Since the goal of many private companies is to make a profit, conflict between victimized companies and police can occur. Often, companies that have been victimized back off of the initial enthusiasm to have the police investigate their cases once they realize that the financial impact of ignoring the criminal act outweighs the time and effort that the official investigation will require of the company and the publicity it may generate. Many companies would rather avoid the publicity, cost and potential negative impact on their reputation than to acknowledge that they have been the victim of a crime.

An example of this lack of commitment routinely occurs when companies are the victim of an intrusion into their customer database. Since notification of the intrusion would diminish customer confidence in the company, many companies fail to report crimes or follow through with subsequent investigative commitments. Police will generally try to work with victim companies to protect their reputation and minimize future financial losses, but there are legal obligations (for both side) that sometimes just don't harmonize.

 Cooperation

As referenced earlier, there is an obligation and responsibility for victims to assist in investigating and solving the crimes perpetrated against them. This is not to suggest that victims run afoul of police or attempt to initiate their own independent investigation, but rather, victims should comply with requests of the police in a timely and complete manner. A popular example of this cooperation has been portrayed in numerous child disappearance cases. In many of these cases, the parents are requested to submit to interviews or polygraph examinations. By cooperating with police early in the investigation, police can eliminate people as suspects and can better allocate resources sooner to locate the missing child and the actual perpetrator. Victim cooperation will undoubtedly accelerate the speed in which a case progresses, and in some cases, the time saved can mean life or death. 

Candor

Honesty and full disclosure are paramount to the effective processing of criminal cases. There is an underlying expectation by the police that suspects will not be fully truthful during an investigation, but the police anticipate that victims will be completely honest and truthful. Beyond simply being honest and truthful, police need victims to fully disclose all information that might suggest the victim’s culpability or possible involvement in the crime, no matter how embarrassing, shameful or secretive the information may be. Furthermore, the disclosure of this information should come during the initial stages of the investigation so that logical investigative steps can be taken.

The adage “bad news does not get better with time” is important. All information will hopefully be divulged by the victim with little or no prompting by the police. Lack of candor is often experienced by the police in auto theft cases where a victim reports having their car stolen, only to have the police later learn, on their own, that the car was voluntarily loaned to the “thief” in exchange for drugs and simply never returned to the owner. Once a victim proves to be untruthful or intentionally concealing crucial facts, the case immediately becomes a lower priority in the eyes of the police.

Corroboration

Complex criminal cases do not solve themselves; they require diligent and persistent efforts by the investigators. Even if the identity of the offender is not in doubt, the legal system demands that evidence support the police’s conclusions. Evidence will primarily come in one of three forms: testimonial, physical and technical evidence. Testimonial evidence is collected through interviews with complainants, witnesses, victims and suspects. As already mentioned, candor is of the utmost importance when a victim makes a statement to the police; however, prudent investigators will want to corroborate all testimonial statements with more evidence to make their cases stronger. Victims should identify other witnesses or victims that can provide testimonial evidence to the police to support their claims.

Physical evidence is critical for the police. Physical evidence is any item that assists in establishing a fact or circumstance. Police may request certain records from victims to independently corroborate their statements. If a person reports that they have been the victim of an identity theft scheme where several fraudulent credit cards have been opened in their name, it would be better for the victim to corroborate their statement to the police by supplying supporting documents from the banks or credit card companies. Victims should not misinterpret this corroboration process as a lack of trust in a victim’s statement; it's merely a required step in conducting any competent criminal investigation.

Technical evidence is the virtual fingerprint left in cyber space. Similar to physical evidence, it helps establish facts, but also patterns and circumstances surrounding those facts. Technical evidence gives police the ability to determine how things were done and not just what was done.

Communication 

Throughout the duration of a case, police will need to communicate with the victim to notify them of potential court hearings, to request, verify and corroborate information or simply to update them on the status of the investigation. Mobile phones, e-mail, text messaging and other technological advances make communication easier than ever before, but they have also become quite disposable. Mobile phone numbers and e-mail addresses change frequently. Victims should always avail themselves to the police and notify them of change of addresses, including business, residential and e-mail addresses, along with providing new contact numbers.

In criminal cases where a business is the victim rather than an individual, it is imperative that personnel changes in administration or management facilitate the continuity of the case. All too regularly, a business executive who has been working with the police on a criminal investigation leaves the company without notifying the police of their departure or updating their replacement on the status of the criminal investigation. When the police are finally able to establish a new point of contact at the company, the new person is generally not well versed in the details and intricacies of the criminal case. This scenario will cause the investigative process to be slowed down or even halted. 

Confidentiality

Victims often fear exposure related to their victimization because it could reveal embarrassing, private or sensitive information about them. The feared exposure may be limited to an intimate partner learning something that had not previously been revealed or something that could cause a company to completely devaluate. For these, and many other reasons, victimization is usually something in which confidentiality is desired by victims. The police also value a certain amount of secrecy when conducting their investigations. Disclosing the investigate techniques and activities in which the police engage can hinder or ruin an investigation. For example, the plans of police to seize the computer of a suspect should remain in confidence between the police and victim because any unauthorized disclosure may tip off the suspect and cause them to destroy physical evidence before it can be lawfully obtained. Before a victim discloses any case information to friends, family or social media networks, it should be discussed with the police to ensure it does not interfere with the investigation.

Conclusion

The police have no shortage of cases to work and getting them to work your case is important to you as a crime victim. Certain attitudes, behaviors and actions of the victim will increase the chances of getting the police motivated to work your case.

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(c) 2010 Brian Boetig