To begin, make sure you are compliant with demands that an attacker has, especially if the attacker is armed. Acts of heroism will escalate the situation and can lead to serious personal injury. Our current trend shows that those who were compliant and surrendered their belongings did not sustain injury. Once the attacker leaves the area, contact the police immediately. Try to remember as much detail about the attacker as possible, and pay attention to how and which direction they leave in.
Height and Weight – compare the suspect to either yourself or someone whose size you are familiar with. Be specific - I am 5'10 and they were a little shorter/taller than me. If you are not sure ask the reporting officer for their height/weight and use that as a reference. Please take into consideration clothing and advise the officer if they are wearing a heavy coat or appear to have on layers of clothing.
Hair – look to see if the suspect has facial hair (moustache, beard, sideburns or a combination) as well as their hairstyle. If they are wearing a hat, try and notice if their hair can be seen and if so how it is styled.
Complexion – Caucasian suspects complexion will seldom vary so look instead for any identifiable features such as moles or scars. African- American suspect complexion will vary so try and notice if they are light, medium or dark complexion. If they are of another race, Hispanic, Asian please let the responding officer know.
Tattoos – Although it is harder to see tattoos in colder weather due to layered clothing, please try as they can be very helpful in identification.
Clothing - A good clothing description is the best chance we have to catch a suspect immediately following an incident. Please be prepared to tell that to the officer as soon as they arrive and be as specific as possible. They had on dark blue jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. The shirt was dark but it had some type of writing on the front and was long. They had on white tennis shoes that had some color on them. This may sound vague; however it is much more specific than just simply saying dark clothing.
Names and verbal commands – please be mindful of one suspect addressing another suspect by a name or nickname if there are multiple suspects and provide this to the officer and/or investigator. Try and remember as much as you can about what each suspect said and did.
Vehicle - If the offender flees the area in a vehicle, try and see a tag number, the color of the vehicle, and the make of the vehicle. A direction of travel is also very important.
Stay on the phone with the police dispatcher and provide as much information to them as you can. Details will fade quickly, so the faster you pass the information the greater the chances we will be able to apprehend the offender. As always, please report any suspicious activity to the police immediately by calling (404) 894-2500.
For more information:
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment