If you’ve been a victim of a crime, the police should be the first call that you make. With their responsibility to protect and serve, you can rely on them to find the services you need, make sure justice is served, and help bring closure to the events that took place. However, communicating about your crime can sometimes be hard, especially if you’ve gone through a traumatic experience. But to give you the best chance of having justice be served, it’s vital that you know how to work with and speak to the police.
To help you in doing this, here are three tips for communicating with police when you’ve been the victim of a crime.
Try To Keep Your Mind And Body Calm
If you’re speaking to the police in the immediate aftermath of a crime taking place, you may find that you’re in shock and feeling all kinds of emotions. You might not be thinking clearly and may be experiencing things like fear, disbelief, disconnection, and more. Even if it was just a car accident that you were involved in, there can be a lot of emotions tied to what happened. But to help make the best case with the police, you need to try to keep your mind and body as calm as possible.
When you’re feeling calm, you’ll be able to speak clearly and tell the officers what happened, what you experienced, and what you saw. Even if you’re feeling emotional, if you can speak through your tears and try to keep your strong feelings in check as you’re telling your story to the cops, things will go much smoother during this process.
Give As Many Details As Possible
When you’re speaking with the police about what happened to you or what you say, you might be tempted to speak in broad strokes. But in order to give the most accurate police report and statement, you’re going to want to give as many details as possible when reporting what happened and what crimes took place.
No detail is too small for you to include in your statement and report to the police. Whether you remember a small descriptive detail about a person or a vehicle, even if it might seem insignificant to you, this could help make a break in the case and make sure justice is served.
Be Patient As They Gather Information
As you’re sharing your story with the police, you’re going to want to try to practice as much patience as possible. You’ll likely be asked the same questions over and over or be asked to share what happened to different people on the police force. And even once you’ve given your statement, it still may take a while for the police to compile everything and get moving with your case. So while it can be hard, try your best to be patient as they gather information.
If you’ve been a victim of a crime, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you better communicate with the police working on your case.