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Crime prevention and crime solving depend on cooperative relationships between citizens and the police. However, for a variety of reasons, the unfortunate reality is that sometimes citizens are not interested in assisting the police. This lack of assistance can come in many different forms. For example, approximately 50% of crimes are not reported to the police by citizens (victims). It is difficult for the police to address crimes that they are not aware of. Further, in some places and among some people, providing information to the police that may help in a criminal investigation is severely looked down upon as demonstrated by the adage “snitches end up with stiches.” Without assistance of citizens, the crime-solving abilities of the police are limited. Sometimes, as discussed more directly in Chapter 10, citizens direct violence toward the police. Ideally, citizens are a friend to the police, but in some instances, they are actually a foe. This makes the relationship between the police and the public complicated, to say the least.

Photo 1.5 Because of the unequal distribution of serious street crime, the police spend more time in some areas than in others.

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