Will a informant have to appear in court.

[shortbred]

I was wondering if i reported someone for grand theft if i will have to appear in court? i am worried about the repercussions from the people with the stolen vehicle or their friends. I would prefer to be anonymous if i could. Or should I call the police and speak to them?

 

[Ohiogal]

I was wondering if i reported someone for grand theft if i will have to appear in court? i am worried about the repercussions from the people with the stolen vehicle or their friends. I would prefer to be anonymous if i could. Or should I call the police and speak to them?

The prosecutor is the one who decides. If not the judge.

 

[Zigner]

I was wondering if i reported someone for grand theft if i will have to appear in court? i am worried about the repercussions from the people with the stolen vehicle or their friends. I would prefer to be anonymous if i could. Or should I call the police and speak to them?

Why not tell the owner of the car where the car is? Maybe even an anonymous postcard...

 

[Silverplum]

US Law only.

So. WHAT is the name of your US state?







(&*&#!**&*!!!!)

 

[aardvarc]

I was wondering if i reported someone for grand theft if i will have to appear in court? i am worried about the repercussions from the people with the stolen vehicle or their friends. I would prefer to be anonymous if i could. Or should I call the police and speak to them?

Call the police and simply tell them that you have an anonmyous tip:

"I'd like to give an anonymous tip about a vehicle that I believe is stolen. The vehicle is a:

1) color
2) make (Honda, Cadillac, Porche)
3) model (Prelude, or just say 2 door or 4 door if you're not sure)
4) year (if you don't know the year, just say if it's an older model or newer model, best guess)
5) license plate, if you know it

Then tell them where the vehicle is located.

They might want to ask other questions, like these:

1) is anyone is with the car now
2) if you've seen anyone with the car, do you know their names, ages, what do they look like (hair color, tall or short, fat or skinny, etc.)
3) how long has the vehicle been there?
4) is the vehicle is driveable or not (so they'll know in advance if they need a certain type of tow truck)

If they ask any question that you are uncomfortable about or don't wish to answer, simply say "I'm not comfortable answering that." The more information you can provide, the faster they'll be able to respond. When you feel you've given anything you wish to, simply say "thank you" and hang up.

If you know the license plate on the vehicle, the dispatcher should immediately know if the vehicle has been reported as stolen. They probably will not tell you that they've confirmed the stolen status or not (it probably won't happen until you're off the phone). But if they can confirm it as stolen right off the bat, they may set up a sting to watch the vehicle to try to catch the bad guys IN the car, so don't assume that just because the place doesn't immediately get surrounded by marked police vehicles that nothing is happening.

Thanks for being willing to report - I'm sure the car's owner will be glad to have it back (if it's in decent condition).