If people don’t bother reporting crimes or incidents to the police, however minor, it won’t give a true picture of where problems are in the area.

Now that Sussex Police have formed ‘Neighbourhood Specialist Teams’ in all areas, they have the opportunity to carry out problem solving in the areas where crime and anti-social behaviour is occurring. The areas are identified by creating a beat plan. From this plan, showing where crime and anti-social behaviour is taking place, police can then direct their staff to these areas; they can consult with local people and even have a ‘street’ briefing if necessary, as they did in Camelsdale and Selsey.
Hence, if you don’t bother to report incidents it won’t help the police with the overall picture or where to direct their patrols. The police will always attend a report of burglary or other serious crime, however for lesser crimes, if there is no likelihood of an arrest being made, the police may not necessarily attend. In these circumstances the victim will be given a crime reference number and will be offered help from ‘Victim Support’. If when you report an incident, like eggs being thrown at your window, there may be more serious incidents taking place that the police have to deal with, like an assault taking place. Hence they won’t always be able to attend. But, your report will be still be ‘pin in the map’ and a wider picture could emerge for the police.
If your concerns are that police will call at your house should you report something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this will be the case. Similarly, the police won’t give your address out to any the offenders that they speak to. If further detail is required by the police they may telephone you for such information.