Would You Make a Good Witness?
Law enforcement often relies on citizens to provide critical information about criminal activity in order to solve crimes. In many instances, it would be impossible for justice to be served without testimony from individuals who were present at the time a criminal act was committed.
So what, exactly, makes a good witness? What observations and information are the most critical for a witness to remember?
Describing people
When it comes to describing people, it's best to start from the head down -- because facial recognition is the most significant information in identifying suspects.
Law-enforcement personnel will ask you for the following information:
- Approximate height and weight
- Approximate age
- Race
- Gender
- Hair color and style
- Eye color
- Were they wearing glasses?
- If male, did they have facial hair?
- Clothing
- Did they have a weapon?
- Identifying marks, scars or tattoos
- Any distinctive mannerisms?
- Any distinctive speech patterns?
It's nearly impossible to get an accurate and complete description, but the more detail you can provide, the better the chance of catching the suspect.
Describing vehicles
Vehicle descriptions can also be extremely helpful in solving crimes. A good vehicle description can often lead to probable suspects.
Here's the information you'll be asked when law-enforcement personnel are looking for a vehicle description:
- License plate (extremely important)
- Make
- Model
- Type of vehicle -- 2-door sedan, pick-up truck, etc.
- Color (Oregon DMV records do not provide vehicle color)
- Any damage
- Special features, such as tinted windows or chrome grills
- Direction of travel
Stay calm, write it down
When you think you're witnessing a crime, it is easy to become tense, which can affect your perception. Do your best to remain calm and take in as much detail as possible. If possible, write down what you saw while it's fresh in your mind.
Who, What, Where, When, and How
Lastly, how do you best describe what happened?
Again, it's all in the details.
If you witness a male breaking into a car in a parking lot, how would you describe it? It's best to break the incident down in terms of Who, What, Where, When, and How.
For example:
- Who: A tall, 30ish male with long blond hair, wearing a torn, black leather jacket, jeans, tennis shoes, and sunglasses. He appeared to have a black tattoo on his neck.
- What: A male broke into a car and stole a GPS system.
- Where: The parking lot of the ABC Grocery Store on SE 82nd Ave.
- When: Last Friday shortly after 4 p.m.
- How: A male in an older, green Honda Accord with a dented right fender circled the parking lot for several minutes. The first 3 digits on the license plate of the Honda were VLP. After about 3 minutes, the male stopped his car in a space adjacent to a late model, black SUV. He got out of his car, smashed the driver's side window of the SUV with a baseball bat, and grabbed the GPS System from the interior of the windshield. He jumped back into his car and sped off, north bound on SE 82nd.
Of course, in most circumstances it would be hard to get this much detail -- but the more you get, the more helpful it is. Remember that under no circumstances should you move closer to a potential suspect in an effort to get better information. It is simply not worth the risk.
