By Cathy Logg
Herald Writer
EVERETT — Many people don’t know when to call 911.
Sometimes they think a crime isn’t worth reporting or that the police will never solve it. They may not want to take the time to make the call.
That’s a mistake.
"It is very important that any and all criminal activity gets reported to the police," Everett police Lt. Marty Parker says. "That doesn’t necessarily mean an officer will come to your home or office, due to the call load."
Many calls to 911 centers aren’t emergency calls and sometimes aren’t even related to services police or other emergency workers provide, Judy Cothern, operations manager for the Snopac 911 emergency dispatch center, says.
Police will respond and take a report regarding any felony crime, or any misdemeanor that has suspect information, Parker said.
Some crime reports can be handled by having the police mail out a report form that residents can fill out and return. That works best when there is no witness or suspect information, the crime is not in progress, there’s no traceable evidence (such as serial numbers on stolen property), and when the crime is a misdemeanor such as a minor theft or vandalism (under $250).
But it’s important to report it because police allocate resources to particular neighborhoods in part based on the number of crimes known to occur there, or because of changes in crime trends, such as a sudden increase in burglaries or car prowls, Parker said.
Everett recently switched to a computerized statistics format that enables the department to look at crime numbers in specific geographical areas, he said.
If one particular beat has an average of 100 burglaries over a three-month period and suddenly that number jumps to 170, police will analyze the reports on burglaries and thefts in the area. Statistics enable police to develop a plan and target a specific area, intersection or problem and determine how best to fix it — whether that means more personnel, better traffic engineering, or some physical change in the area, Parker said.
Crimes that aren’t reported are unlikely to be solved.
If a detective makes an arrest on a burglary case and catches a suspect with a lot of stolen property, police will try to match the stolen property to known missing items. Unfortunately, only about half the people who receive mail-in reports on car prowls return them to police, Parker said.
Sadly, when police arrest someone with a lot of stolen property, the items that police can’t identify as stolen are returned to the thief, Parker said.
"The burden of proof is on us," he said.
He urged residents to fill out report forms in a timely manner and as completely as possible —when the information is fresh in their minds — and to be sure to return them.
Some complaints to police could be solved by better communication, such as minor neighbor disputes.
"People are afraid to talk to each other," he said. "People that live in a community together should know each other, and a little bit of communication can go a long way. (But) if you feel frightened at all in contacting someone, don’t go there."
If there’s a major incident that ties up many officers, police will be dispatched only to emergencies until that incident is resolved. If there’s a citywide emergency, callers may be asked to call back later unless their call is urgent, and "we will find somebody to send," Parker said.
Sorting out when to call and when not to is largely a matter of common sense, Cothern said, citing power outages as a call that should go to the utility district, not 911.
"If everybody would start to think a little more in the emergency response realm, we would probably not get so many calls," Cothern said.
You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437
or send e-mail to logg@heraldnet.com.
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