If you wish to be an anonymous caller when reporting a Domestic Violence Dispute?

Question

Why do the Police still insist that you identify yourself by giving them a phone number so they can call you if they can't find the address you have given them??

Answer 1

There are obviously different situations relating how some have had their names used while others had not.

One stated that they reported something and then the police show up with their name on a search warrant.

Witness names MAY go in an "Affidavit of Support" of a search warrant ... but only the offenders name goes on the actual search warrant.

Most experienced officers who tell you your name will remain anonymous...hold to their word. I have worded most of my documents in a manner as to avoid putting someone elses name on the papers, however, lawyers have been able to milk the legal system through "discovery" in their attempts to discredit "anonymous" tipsters.

As for a domestic call....no search warrant is needed! As my breathren have already stated in here....some agencies don't have "caller ID" and as such they want to be sure that there is a "call back" number should more information be needed to get the officers to the offense scene.

Working in the county where some to this day refuse to put numbers on their mailboxes make emergency responses slower. Having the ability to reach the caller reporting the crime can often assist law enforcement with locations or current events taking place at the reported location.

If you have a dispatcher who insists upon you providing your name...tell them....I don't want to give the name but will remain on the line until your officers arrive at the correct address.

Answer 2

The police will always try to get as much information as possible from you. Someone who gives their name and address is considered more reliable and they may need to call you back for a variety of reasons. If you are reporting something happening now, they should keep you on the line until the officer is actually on the scene and can see and hear everything you can.

An easy way to be anonymous when reporting a crime is to call the regular business number for the local police instead of 9-1-1. Press *67, wait for the second dial tone, then dial the local number. The *67 will prevent your caller ID information from being transmitted.

They can't force you what to say over the telephone, so even though they ask, you don't have to answer. Give them the basics and don't say anything that would reveal your location. Tell them you believe there is a domestic disturbance and 123 Elm St and to send an officer -- then hang up. Your call won't be ignored.

Of course it's possible to trace your call after the fact using phone company records in spite of the *67 trick, so you can't be completely anonymous by this method.

If you want to be a truly anonymous police witness then pay a few bucks (cash - no credit or debit) at Wal-Mart for a disposable phone. Make sure you dial the local police department number, not 9-1-1 to make your report.

Don't provide any personal information. Just relate the truth about what you see and hear. If you do tell them anything, no matter what promise is made to you, they'll turn over your information to the bad guy's lawyer. If you don't provide the information, the police can't pass it on even if they want to.

All calls to the police are recorded, so if you are calling and describing something you are seeing or hearing at the time you are calling, the tape of your call can be used as evidence without you ever being forced to be a witness.

In fact the good guys should be using the same tools to report crimes as the bad guys use to try and escape from crimes.

Please report domestic violence and stay anonymous if you wish. You could be someone's only hope for help.

Answer 3

If you are calling to report it, you are obviously concerned enough about someone's safety. WHy would you not give them your number in case "they can't find the address?" Why would you only want to do part of what you have started? How would you feel if you didn't give your number and the person being assaulted died from their injuries? It seems to me that if you make the report, you should be willing to help until it is resolved. Besides, they have your number anyways. Why not just confirm it with them. At least then, it may not be a huge surprise if you get a call regarding it.

Answer 4

I'm a police officer. When we get a phone call for something like a domestic, we want to get there fast. A domestic is one of the most dangerous things you can respond to. We want your name and contact number in case we can't find the house we're looking for. The police will NEVER EVER tell the people who called the cops on them. They just want to make sure they can get to that house before someone gets hurt or killed.

Say I'm sitting at my desk and get a phone call for a domestic. The caller gives their name and address. We get to the house but the wife is dead and the husband is missing. We can call the individual who reported it back to get information. Maybe they heard what they were argung about or saw which way the husband went. See my point? Your identity will be kept secret from the individuals you call the cops on.

Answer 5

As a 911 operator, your call will result in officers being sent....however, if you wish to remain anonymous (ie I don't want to get involved, be identified etc.) you may be delaying response, endangering officers, or otherwise impeding the proper response. By the way, ever heard of caller ID?

Answer 6

Interesting question.

Myself, I do not think it is worth making a third party complaint without giving your name. Lots of them are made out of malice.

However, when I was much younger, the first thing my elders said to me, was not to get involved in domestics. I still hold true to this. If they want to kill each other it is up to them.

It is my liberal attitude. Who am I to specify the level of violence they deem acceptable between two people?

But children are not consentors. So it is the job of the Police to protect the community and the people in it, so if the children are in danger, then it would be my duty to report the crime. However, the kid might being cruelly deprived of his extra chocolate bar and making a tantrum, so how the hell am I to know?

Disturbing the peace by screaming too loudly whilst being beaten: that can justify a direct self interest complaint.

Answer 7

Don't think for a second that your name is going to be kept out of it if you try to file an anonymous complaint and you give them your name. They told a friend of mine that she wouldn't have her name on a complaint against her brother for having child porn on his computer. When they came in, with guns drawn, her name was on the search warrant.

Answer 8

they always try to reach beyond what the law says they can and can't do. they cannot make you give your phone number or name but yet i had a policemen tell me they would come arrest me if I didn't.

Answer 9

because they want to arrest you if its a crank call.

even if you don't give the information, they already have it through the telephone company.