How would you react if one of your family members or close friends asked you for help after they commited a serious crime?

If they are dangerous, I’d either work to get them psychological help or tun them in, depending on the resources available and how severe their sickness is. If they aren’t dangerous, I’d do my best to help them myself. If they’re wanted by the law, there would probably be a creative way to help them without being associated with their crime.

I help them by urging them to come forward and face up to what they’ve done. I’d let them know I’d support them through whatever process comes next.
I think it’d be worse for him/her to carry such a horrible secret around day in, day out. I’d imagine that’d break a person.

I have my own ideas of justice, and think the legal system often blurs the lines between justice and revenge, so it would really depend on what the serious crime was and whether the circumstances were such that the crime was the best option available to them. For most crimes, I would encourage them to turn themselves in. For sexual crimes and crimes against children, I would restrain them myself until the police arrived.

I would help them turn themselves in. That is all. I would be forced to report the contact to police.

Otherwise, i would be an accessory after the fact.

I’m not helping Gramma bury the body.She is on her own this time ;)

I’ll answer this question by putting myself into the shoes of the one who committed a serious crime. I think I would be very scared and perhaps not rational enough to make the right decision about what to do. I can only hope I would have the sense turn to someone I knew well and trusted to help me turn myself in and obtain good legal counsel.

I would find him a good lawyer and turn him in or ask him to do it himself.. I mean can’t you become a accessory of some sort by harboring a crimnal or withholding information. That’s just a guess. Maybe it depends on the crime

I couldn’t help but help but help might mean encouraging them to go to the authorities and confess. It depends on the circumstances.

@marinelife Do you have friends or family you would go to jail for?
Not saying you should, I’m just wondering.

I’d go to the coppers see, yeah the coppers can straighten out this mess. Whaddya mean stool pigeon? Why you dirty rat!! ;¬}

I would talk to him/her about what to do next, whether it be fugitivity or turning-in. If the option was fugitivity, I would pick an argument about something unrelated and escalate it to the point where I would have to kick the family member out of the house. This would be awesome for a future polygraph.

that’s a really hard one, I am a person who enjoys telling the truth sometimes
But also in this case it’s my family, I would then say try to get them some secretive help…
I have no clue of what I would do if it were in real life…

I would hope that i could talk some sense into them and steer them into handing themselves in to the police.

No help other than support and a drive to the police station.

I would encourage them to hand themselves in. If they refused I would hand them in. A serious crime can’t be put to one side just because it is family.

The only help I would give them is to help pay for a good lawyer.

I don’t have enough information.

Who is it, and what’s the crime?

This situation you have described is like two people that rob a bank. the getaway car driver was not actually involved in the robbery itself, but according to the law, is just as guilty as the actual robber. ever heard of the saying “guilt by association”. this now places you as an accomplice before and after the fact of the crime. family member or not, this person has now involved you in their crime. to protect yourself from arrest, notify the police. i want you to be able to stay on Fluther and to continue to converse with us. make the call before it’s too late.

They need to turn themselves in! That’s what I’d guide them to, not only because I could get in serious trouble for abetting a crime, but because that’s the right thing to do. If they resisted, I’d have to turn them in myself.

they may be unhealthy so they get attaiiont doing crimes.

I feel that anyone who commits a crime should go to jail. I don’t care who it is, they need to learn. I would visit them as often as i can.

Help them? Help them what? My ex used to say that nobody would help him, but hisidea of help was a free place to stay while he pursued his goal of getting drugs.
Do you mean help the person avoid the consequences of breaking the law? Um, not only no, Hell no!
When my oldest was caught at age 13 stealing some Joe Boxer stuff from the navy exchange, I went down to security and signed that a female guard could do a bod search. They did everything to the extent that was allowable by law and her little butt would have been walking a post for a couple shifts but something came up and they had to forego that.
When she got caught vandalizing a house with some friends, ALL of the kids had to clean it and all of the parents took turns staying in there with them and barking orders and generally making their little live miserable. I believe it took them two Saturdays or three, I forget. Parents – coffee and hollering, kids – assholes and elbows. Parents – chatting, kids -sweating. Sigh….I wonder how they remember that time? I smile when I think of it and my daughter has turned out remarkably well.
Thank god my other two have not put me through that type of stuff.
Help them indeed. I’ll help them call the police. How’s that?

I would help them in calling the authorities or taking them to a police station to turn themselves in.

Completely depends on the crime.

You blow them off, the friendliest way possible.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir
murder
rape
robbing a bank
attempted murder
kidnapping

@daytonamisticrip I’d think about it on each of those except the rape – no assistance there. With the murder, it would depend on of whom…attempted murder…same thing with kidnapping…and robbing a bank…eh, big deal…what am I supposed to help with?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Okay, whatever you think is right. Luckily this situation (that we no of) hasn’t come up to you.

@daytonamisticrip Um, okay then.

Depends on the crime committed. Political? Yes I’d help. Violent towards women or children? I’d shoot their asses myself.

@Akua I’ve seen a couple of your responses in other threads today. I really must tell you that there is no need here to hold back. Seriously. Don’t sugar coat it or beat around the bush. Tell us what you really think.~ (p.s. Welcome to the collective)

@Trillian your so sweet. Thanks for the welcome and I will try and be more assertive from now on. HAHA!!!
The only time I bite my tongue is to spit the blood at my enemy.