Snitching on 'friends'

[yourgod]

Here I am willing to analyze situations and reasons for reporting people you know to authorities for one reason or another. I would like to hear your opinion on such occurances, what would you consider acceptable behaviour, what is absolutely not and what lies in between.

It's not a secret that all of us break laws in some way. One person might be jay-walking, other sleeping with underage, somebody might be using drugs every now and then, list goes on. I am sure you all know a friend or two who's not one hundred percent law abiding citizen.

Yet, we don't necessary try to 'help' our poor petty criminals, it's their lives, they do what they like unless it affects our lives. For instance somebody might be stealing my cigarette lighters from me, I don't file a police report for that. But if you are to come and steal my mp3 player and I know you there will be some consequence. Magnitude of my counter-action will greatly depend on the situation I was put in, it would be silly to cut somebody's head off for pissing in my rose bush or shoot a person who smokes dope in my house.

Regardless of magnitude of my action, direction of it remains the same - I am willing to deal with my problems myself, without resorting to means that will affect my 'offender' too much nor asking somebody else to help me whoever that might be. (Again, we are talking about little crimes if crimes at all here).

To the point now, to the subject of snitching on people we know. When do you think it is justified to hand that person to authorities? Where do you draw the line? Do you take consequences of snitching into the account? Let me provide a framework.

Person1 upsets you very much and you know they are breaking a law. IF you dob them in, they will serve a certain sentence. Will their sufferings make your life less miserable?

Let's say that Person1 is a dope smoker and they just bought a quarter. This Person1 has been pissing you off for awhile now, making stupid jokes, rejecting you, stealing your girlfriends/boyfriends, whatever. You are moderately upset and you call the cops. Mr police officer, Person1 who lives in WoopWoop Lane is a drug dealer, please arrest them, my kid has been molested by some drug addict. So cops come, bust this criminal to the full extent of the law and if everything is going according to the plan Person1 goes to gaol for a year or so. With sense of accomplishment you giggle for a bit and forget about that person. Have this act of revenge made you a better person?

Discuss.

[pleed]

My theory is if I don't like someone a lot, then I will not see them anymore, if they are out of my life then I am happy.

If someone I didn't like kept harrassing me I would probably put some flour in the mail and send it to him / her with a note that says "don't fuck with me" and if that didn't work I would hire someone to threaten them. An absolute last resort will be going to the cops.
It's a cunts act and possible the lowest thing you can do.

[yourgod]

Originally posted by Snowball
Why not post under your real tag?

Actually this is my real account, the only account may I add.

Originally posted by pleed
My theory is if I don't like someone a lot, then I will not see them anymore, if they are out of my life then I am happy.
...
An absolute last resort will be going to the cops.
It's a cunts act and possible the lowest thing you can do.


I agree with you completely, I strongly believe that we should deal with our problems ourselves and if somebody is upsetting me I won't talk to them, ignore them until they change. No matter what they do (within common sense limits) will make me to ruin their lives with law authorities. It's not my job to catch small offenders and if I do that to somebody, I feel I or my friends deserve to be next. I don't want me or my friends to be next therefore I won't do it to anyone who I am simply upset with.

Have you or anyone you know crossed that line before?

I remember neighbours of friend of mine thought it would be funny to call up a local cop shop and tell them that we are playing with guns. "Swat" team with guns in full anti-terrorist gear came within 15 minutes to "apprehend" the intruders (us). They were really pissed off to find out that guns we were playing with were made of plastic and were toys you buy at 2 dollar shop. One of cops spilled our drinks and ruined our get-together celebration. It doesn't feel good to lie face in concrete with hands behind your back with gun firmly stuck in the back of your head.

[Snowball]

I know a fat slut with no friends and no life that did something like this.
She is nothing but a worthless piece of shit that will die with nothing.

[Mattryx]

Originally posted by pleed
My theory is if I don't like someone a lot, then I will not see them anymore, if they are out of my life then I am happy.

If someone I didn't like kept harrassing me I would probably put some flour in the mail and send it to him / her with a note that says "don't fuck with me" and if that didn't work I would hire someone to threaten them. An absolute last resort will be going to the cops.
It's a cunts act and possible the lowest thing you can do.

So you'd be sending an article to a person in Australia with the intent of inducing in that person a belief that the substance contained within that article was of a dangerous or deadly nature?

Sweet....what's your address?

[DrDivad]

you know, if they do something illegal, and you know about it, and don't say anything, that makes you an accessory after the fact,

i kow it's low but when push comes to shove, your own ass needs saving, cos no other bastard will save it

[pleed]

Originally posted by DrDivad
you know, if they do something illegal, and you know about it, and don't say anything, that makes you an accessory after the fact,

i kow it's low but when push comes to shove, your own ass needs saving, cos no other bastard will save it

There's a fair difference between being a cunt and running a major drug operation.

[SamBo]

Originally posted by DrDivad
you know, if they do something illegal, and you know about it, and don't say anything, that makes you an accessory after the fact,

i kow it's low but when push comes to shove, your own ass needs saving, cos no other bastard will save it

You know, I'd love to disagree with you there and say that you don't have to be the only one look out for yourself, but sadly, you are correct.
Unfortunatly, because this, it means that most people will trample on others just so that they are ok. It's like everyone wants to look out for number one, yet in order to do that they have to be an arse to everyone else.
I'm not saying everyone does this, but when push comes to shove, you gotta put yourself before others otherwise people will walk all over you if you don't.
Fortunatly, alot of people i know in my life are not like that and I feel I can trust and rely on them (I hope they feel the same about me)

[yourgod]

Originally posted by DrDivad
you know, if they do something illegal, and you know about it, and don't say anything, that makes you an accessory after the fact,

i kow it's low but when push comes to shove, your own ass needs saving, cos no other bastard will save it

I understand when you are in direct danger because of the acts of certain individuals, but when it's somebody who's simply upsetting you, how can you classify "saying something" to law authorities as "saving your own ass"?

Will it be justified for me to call cops on every person who smokes dope on this forum to "save my ass"?

[Foxfire]

There's different levels and applying one set of principles to every situation is just going to make you look like a stubborn tool.

Me? I just have a set of guidlines I try to follow y'know? I have friends that smoke dope, do ecstacy, y'know whatever and hey it's their lives to do with what they wll.

However, say for example one of them was to go out and date rape some poor girl and bragged to me or I found out, then I'd call the cops on them.

Once you fuck with someone else that's where I draw the line. You have no right whatsoever to dick with someone else. You do so and in my eyes you open up free reign for me to exact justice on you.

Fair, unfair? *shrugs* You shouldn't have dicked with someone else.

But don't get me wrong... I'm not some tattle tale or whatever. Mostly I just keep everything to myself because none of my friends have ever done anything that's caused me to call the cops or do something drastic. Which is one of the reason they are my friends, if they'd done something like that, well that'd end our friendship. Then I'd find some way to fuck them over for what they did to someone else.

As for dobbing them in just to cover my own ass? I'll go to jail before dobbing on a friend.

*shrugs* What can I say? I'm a doormat.... I always have been. It sucks sometimes.... but then... I don't know how to be anything else :p

[DrDivad]

well...strictly speaking,..if it's illegal, it's illegal, and thats all ther is to it as far as any court is concerned,

and if you're an accessory, then you're an accessory, thats all there is to it,

so.....it comes down to how willing you are to take the risk, i spose for something minor, chances are it will never get found out about, so no problem......but if it did, and he rats you out, which he will to get a lighter penalty, then you're up shit creek and it's your own fault




i wasn't saying i necessarily agree with how this works, but thats just the way it is

rock on phil collins

[Nalixor]

I think it would depend on what crime they have committed. Drug Use is classified as a victimless crime, as it doesnt affect anyone else. Well, not directly. I tend not to interfere when people use drugs, yes, it is illegal. I know quite a few people who do coke and whatnot, but I am hardly going to report them for it. I think its utterly, utterly stupid, but it was never illegal to be stupid (no matter how much we can hope! :p). If I was going to do something, the only thing I would do is endlessly bug them to do something about their habit, get help, and so on.

On the other hand, if someone was dealing drugs, and I knew them, and maybe they were a friend..I would 'dob' them in. If they were merely taking drugs, then its only their lives they ruin. But dealing it ruins the lives of others. I know people say 'but they're just selling to people who already use!', but there are also people who decide to try and buy it from this person, and if it wasnt for this person, they would have not gotten hooked, spent all their money, robbed their own houses to fund their habit, etc.

Drug use I would not report, trafficking and selling I would. Rape I would. Murder I would. But that also has differing sides of the same coin. If someone I knew, say a father, killed the person who raped his daughter for example, I would not report that. But thats just my personal set of morals. Sure, that might make me liable, but only if it can be proved that I knew, which is hard. I think that reporting decriminalised and victimless crimes is low. But also, possession of certain drugs has been decriminalised, and the Drug Court (the court that deals with non-violent drug-related cases) does not send people to gaol. It helps the people get help. And I have sat in on a lot of simple possession charges, and most are given either good behaviour bonds or a fine. So even 'dobbing' in a friend who uses drugs is not that serious, it might even make them rethink their habit, especially if it costs them a $1000+ fine. :p

Enough of my rambling.

[DrDivad]

it all gets complex,

yeah stupidity isn't a crime, but drugs are balh blah

also i udnerstand the sentiment of a father murdering his daughters rapist.....but unlucky for you,if you do that, again accessory after the fact, and accessories get the same sentence as the offender, so while you might feel you did the moral thing....i hope you still feel moral in gaol...


it's a tough tough world

[yourgod]

You are all reasonably smart people, I see some of you have put a good amount of thought into your posts. I agree with most of you that certain offences go over the edge of harmless, such as drug dealing and bodily harm.

On other hand, to use relatively recent example of "stupid stupid STUPID" behaviour is calling immigration authorities on the person who you do not like. I think most of you know who I am talking about. I mean, I like "i hope you get deported" song by AC, but c'mon, it's a joke song, what on earth would make a person to carry it out in real life?

My thoughts on that scenario would be personality disorder, deep seated psychological problems, insecurity and jealousy towards people who are better off in some ways. That fails to compute in my head and I would seek immediate mental health help.

[Nalixor]

Originally posted by DrDivad
it all gets complex,

yeah stupidity isn't a crime, but drugs are balh blah

also i udnerstand the sentiment of a father murdering his daughters rapist.....but unlucky for you,if you do that, again accessory after the fact, and accessories get the same sentence as the offender, so while you might feel you did the moral thing....i hope you still feel moral in gaol...


it's a tough tough world

It would also be very, very hard to prove accessory after the fact considering that I would not have done anything to directly aid the primary offender. I suppose I could be charged with being an accessory after the fact in the sense that by not reporting the crime I was 'helping' him. But what would be hard to prove is that I knew. *shrug* If I was told, then it would be nearly impossible.

[SOC]

The last time I snitched on Friends, Monica wouldn't talk to me for a week and Chandler poked fun at my haircut.
But at least I got to poke Rachel. And Phoebe. At the same time. :D

[DrDivad]

Originally posted by Nalixor
It would also be very, very hard to prove accessory after the fact considering that I would not have done anything to directly aid the primary offender. I suppose I could be charged with being an accessory after the fact in the sense that by not reporting the crime I was 'helping' him. But what would be hard to prove is that I knew. *shrug* If I was told, then it would be nearly impossible.

i don't know the ways in which it can be proved, but yes, if ou have first hand knowledge of it, or were a witness anything like that, if you keep quiet, accessory after the fact

if you wanna find out about it more try LawLink type stuff and read the crimes act :P

[Nalixor]

Originally posted by DrDivad
i don't know the ways in which it can be proved, but yes, if ou have first hand knowledge of it, or were a witness anything like that, if you keep quiet, accessory after the fact

if you wanna find out about it more try LawLink type stuff and read the crimes act :P

I do law. :P Criminal law is fun, and I also know that practically, it would be immensely hard to prove accessory after the fact in respect to knowledge but no participation of/in the crime. Not only that, they dont really do that anyway. The only thing of that nature that they do prosecute is purgery (spelling?). Only hard evidence, such as surveillance camera footage would be able to prove such a charge, a charge, I might add, which would most unlikely be brought to court. If the accused says that he told you, you say that he didnt tell you. And who would a jury believe? Someone who has committed no crime, or someone who just killed someone. Saying "you could be charged with accessory after the fact for not reporting a crime" is silly mainly because it only works on paper and not in real life.

[Colonel Kurtz]

Originally posted by DrDivad
well...strictly speaking,..if it's illegal, it's illegal, and thats all ther is to it as far as any court is concerned,


I'd be thinkin about whatever it is being illegal and immoral before I dobbed in a friend

[angel_b]

Originally posted by Nalixor
The only thing of that nature that they do prosecute is purgery (spelling?).
You study law and you can't spell "perjury"? Back to the books, dude.

[scathing]

Originally posted by angel_b
You study law and you can't spell "perjury"? Back to the books, dude.

True, it does eat quite heavily into someone's credibility. But then, you can avoid that by just calling them pedantic damp rags or something.