Protect Your Community by Boosting Bystander Reporting

Source: Image by Harut Movsisyan from Pixabay

Many of us are aware of the "If You See Something, Say Something" public awareness campaign sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to raise awareness about terrorism and the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the authorities.

Those of us who work in law enforcement consistently encourage bystanders and observers to report suspicious behavior. Yet because many people fear sounding biased in their observational assessments, or just don’t want to become involved, many pre-incident indicators and red flags are witnessed but not reported. This can be tragic if warning signs are observed at a time when criminal activity can be thwarted.

Thankfully, research reveals potential ways of increasing bystander reporting.

Concern and Crime

James Silver (2020), in a piece entitled “Space between Concern and Crime,”[i] examined some of the reasons people don’t report what they see, and ways to encourage reporting. He notes that because public mass violence generally stems from thoughts and behaviors that are often both understandable and discoverable, a model of threat assessment aimed at identifying, assessing, and managing potential offenders is an approach to promoting safety that is useful and effective. Yet obstacles to successfully implementing this model include the reality that many people who witness concerning behaviors are disinclined to report.

Influenced by Association

Our behaviors are often influenced by those around us. This is also true in our willingness to report suspicious behavior. For example, Silver notes that improving bystander intervention in preventing sexual violence on college campuses can result from correcting misperceptions of social norms—which increases willingness to intervene. He reports that one study revealed that male college students overestimated the extent to which their peers subscribed to myths justifying rape, underestimated the level of concern their peers held about risky sexual dilemmas that are faced by women, and underestimated the extent to which peers were willing to intervene. Silver notes that education about how uncomfortable their peers actually felt about sexually inappropriate actions directed toward women encouraged their willingness to report behaviors they viewed as problematic (citing Berkowitz, 2010).

Similarly, Silver notes that a study on bullying among middle school students revealed that when misperceptions were corrected regarding the frequency and reporting of problem behaviors, students were more willing to report concerning behavior to parents as well as school authorities.

The Power of Public Persuasion

Apparently, misperceiving norms about the prevalence or propriety of reporting behaviors related to the possibility of public violence may decrease the willingness of bystanders to report behavior to the authorities. Silver notes that particularly in situations of potential mass violence, the commonness of reporting concerning behavior is more meaningful than the perceived correctness. This is because particularly in novel situations, people watch and consider the beliefs and behaviors of others to ascertain what is “normal.”

Additionally, Silver recognizes what many observers have noted for years: the impact of public misperception about the consequences of reporting. A belief that every individual reported to authorities is arrested and charged with a crime may decrease the willingness to report. Silver notes that the data on actual outcomes of reports may reveal this perception is unfounded.

Apparently, when it comes to bystander reporting, education promotes reporting, inspiring individuals to protect themselves as well as their communities.