If someone tells you they are going to commit a crime, what are you supposed to do?
Asked by
SamIAm (
8703
)
January 8th, 2011
Legally – go to the police? What if you think they aren’t serious?
If something happens, are you considered an accomplice if you have knowledge of a crime before it is committed and don’t take action?
Does this all depend on the type and severity of the crime?
How does this differ in other parts of the world?
This stuff is so interesting, I should have gone to law school
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11 Answers
I would definitely say it depends on the severity of the crime.
If someone tells me they’re going to smoke some weed, I couldn’t care less. If someone tells me they have an elaborate plan to murder the Governor, then yeah, I’ll probably say something.
@kenmc Agreed. It all depends on the situation.
I would echo kenmc & stardust. I think I’d go so far as to say that if the crime has the potential to hurt anyone other than the person committing it, I’d take at least some kind of action. If it’s only harmful to the individual perpetrating it, or it’s a crime against a corporation (shoplifting, tax evasion), I’d stay out of it. This, of course, is a gross generalization but for all intents & purposes, it’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Where I live (spain) it would make you an accomplice. The usual reaction here to being told of a crime in advance, is to tell them you did not hear them.
Depending on the situation, and the severity of the crime, I would say the proper thing to do is to pass the information on to the intended victim.
If it you know, and the crime is a felony, you could be found guilty of conspiracy or accessory before the fact. If the crime is a misdemeanor, you are complicit, but I bet you would not get in trouble.
If you know about someone’s plan to commit a crime, you should go to the police.
@bookwoman11 That would be true, unless of course that person threatened to kill himself. Then you call 911.
@josie pretty much nailed it, if the crime is a felony, the letter of the law in many states is that you are authorized to make a citizens arrest for conspiracy to commit a felony.
They usually will. You could have stopped them. @majorrich pretty much summed it up.
I wouldn’t say anything. I would claim the 5th.
Well first I would try to talk this person out of and then tell them the punishment for doing it. Then if they still decide to do it and the police starts asking me questions I would tell them the truth.
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