Marlborough Mesa

Great questions

About a month ago I nearly stopped a thief making a beer run at the Circle K on Price and Guadalupe. He had left his keys in his ignition and when I ran around the side of the store to try and stop him he hopped in his car and almost ran me down. I hit the side of the car with my hand and he stopped for a second (I figure it must have really been his car...LOL). Just long enough for me to see his entire license plate number. I gave the plate number to the clerk who was on the line with the police, then my wife and I left. If so much as give my name and number, I open myself and my wife up to retaliation. Many criminals go after the people who testify against them or provide the info which led to their being apprehended. It's a scary situation. Afterwards, I was actually glad that I had not stopped him. He could have claimed I assaulted him, sued me, or retaliated in some other way.

I worry about what I would do if I witnessed someone tampering with my mailbox. I'm a big guy who lifts furniture on a daily basis and I might just follow my instincts and try to apprehend the thief personally. If you catch the person - they can retaliate against you, your vehicle, your home, and your family. If they manage to get away - they still could return to mess with you, your vehicle, your home, and your family.

It's such a lose-lose situation.

It's a win for the suspect!!!

It's not a lose-lose situation! It's actually a win for the suspect when you don't leave your contact information for the police.
For a crime, there must be a victim, and the information MUST come from a verifiable source, otherwise, it's useless! For an example, and a mild one at that...for a dog barking complaint. If you were to call one in and not leave your name to be contacted, the 'suspects' to the noise disturbance CANNOT be cited for the violation. There is NO victim for the crime. Another case would be for possibly a smell or marijuana in the area, if, by the time the police got on scene and there was no longer a smell and you did not leave your contact information, the officer has no probable cause to contact the suspects, there is not a verifiable source for the report.
Yes, they can get a copy of the police report and yes, you would have to go testify in court, if it went that far, BUT as far as your personal information, most agencies DO NOT give that information to the suspect. It acutally get's blacked out on the report and is unreadable.
Now, as far as how you should react if you were to catch someone in the act of a crime, the best thing you can do is to get as much suspect information that you can, clothing and vehicle descriptions, any weapons, direction of travel, time delay and call the police immediately. You know absolutely nothing about the suspect, if he/she is on drugs, what kind, any weapons, did they just murder someone...etc...therefore it simply isn't safe to contact them. Let the police do it, that's what they get paid to do :)

By Tricia

situation sucks

Yep, I agree on the lose-lose..... and it sucks.

We should talk... stop up this weekend.

Rick