Should people who witness a crime face jail for failing to report it?
California police now say as many as 20 people were present at the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl outside a high school homecoming dance last weekend. 10 people were involved in an assault in a back alley at the school that went on for more than two-and-a-half hours. 10 people stood around and watched without calling 9-1-1 to report it. Police say some witnesses took photos, while others laughed.
California law makes it illegal not to report a crime against a child, but the cutoff is 14-years-old. Since the victim in this case is 15, cops say they can't arrest the spectators.
Experts say the reason crimes aren't reported could be a social phenomenon known as "the bystander effect" that means the larger the number of people involved in any situation, the less will get done...
One famous case happened in New York in the 1960s - where people watched or heard a serial killer rape, rob and murder a woman named Kitty Genovese. At the time, one witness said: "I didn't want to be involved."
My question to you: Should people who witness a crime, like the gang rape of a 15-year-old California girl, face jail for failing to report it?
via cnn's cafferty files
California law makes it illegal not to report a crime against a child, but the cutoff is 14-years-old. Since the victim in this case is 15, cops say they can't arrest the spectators.
Experts say the reason crimes aren't reported could be a social phenomenon known as "the bystander effect" that means the larger the number of people involved in any situation, the less will get done...
One famous case happened in New York in the 1960s - where people watched or heard a serial killer rape, rob and murder a woman named Kitty Genovese. At the time, one witness said: "I didn't want to be involved."
My question to you: Should people who witness a crime, like the gang rape of a 15-year-old California girl, face jail for failing to report it?
via cnn's cafferty files
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by JP Slater on -
It's an awfully tough call..It's easy to sit here and say we should report the crime or go to jail, but it's a super GREY AREA.
Fear of reprisals comes to my mind as a very real possibility for not reporting ..
In the case of the 15 year old girl,, I suspect there is more to the story.
JPs
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Permalink Reply by FubarGuy on -
You can't force humanity on people who obviously have no concept of compassion or right & wrong. It's frightening beyond description how something like this goes on, by children no less. I realize I'm not answering the initial question, sorry. It's just too disgusting to wrap my head around.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin on -
I think Plato said it best.
"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws."
- Plato (427-347 B.C.)
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Permalink Reply by John Shinaberry on -
I've lived in Detroit for most of my life, we have a fair amount of crime as I'm sure most people have heard. If I were to call in every crime in my neighborhood, I might as well just stay connected to the police department. Every time a gang banger sells a dime bag, every time a group of kids tags a house or worse, there aren't enough hours in the day, or police to respond. Here, we are lucky if they show up at all for a non-fatal call. I don't believe my entire neighborhood can be held responsible for the fact that we have a high crime rate, most of us learned a long time ago the unfortunate economics of the city government. We have a lot of crime and not many cops. My point is, my responsibility as an adult and a human being is to help that child, but the police sometimes take hours to respond to a 911 call (as I said, if they show up at all). Reporting certain types of crimes is a moral obligation, anybody who doesn't see that deserves to be in jail, yes. What I'm asking is, where does that responsibility end? Do I try to physically restrain a large group of people? Is it right to try to legislate my moral obligation to the community? This is more than an academic topic for me, it's question I have asked myself too many times. Should I get involved?
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Permalink Reply by Eugene on -
You bring up some really interesting points. Thanks for sharing your opinion.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Huckabee on -
I don't think a law would help. If people aren't motivated by their own moral code to help this poor girl then I don't think a law will make them do it either.
It is a very gray area though. I can definitely see the point that John makes about Detroit: you can't report everything. I had a good family friend who was high up in the Police force in New Orleans (long before Katrina). He once told me there were areas there that the police wouldn't go into unless it was a murder. And even then they would often just go in as a group and retrieve the bodies. Calling in from that area to report a drug dealer was just a waste of time. But there seems to be some sort of moral line about this in my head. A young girl getting raped is clearly over that line. You can't just ignore something like that. No matter what you think of the police you have to do something when you see this.
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Permalink Reply by Arletty Allison on -
No, they can't be put in jail for that in my opinion. I think they could be fined though. I mean I'm thinking about this from a legal perspective I suppose, but even morally, I do believe in the bystander effect. However, I also feel strongly that in a situation like the gang rape, at least one person should be able to pick up the phone and dial 911. I just don't know how to punish those who don't. Many there did say they were afraid of the gang and that's why they didn't report.
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Permalink Reply by Marta Chade on -
But they weren't afraid of standing there, laughing and making photos?!? We are not talking about some street fight or drug dealer but about a GANG RAPE on a young girl! I have no idea what kind of person you have to be to not to call 911 immediately in situation like this. In my opinion they should be charged with complicity.
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Permalink Reply by Aubree on -
You don't need a law to tell you that you should report something this brutal, your heart should just tell you that, and obviously these people ignored that, so they would have ignored a law, too.
That being said, seeing it and not reporting it is one thing... but actively taking part and actually ENJOYING it (laughing, taking pictures, etc.) I think makes you part of the crime itself. If you take pictures while someone kills someone you can be charged as an accomplice, even if you didn't take part in the actual crime, I think the same rule should apply here.
My heart breaks for the girl, it must have been so horrible knowing that no one was helping you.
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