Could you turn in a loved one after witnessing that individual commit a serious crime?
Texas Penal Code 38.171 states an individual can be charged with failing to report a felony if you witness the commission of a felony, and the circumstances are such that a reasonable person would have believed that an offense has been committed that would result in serious bodily harm, or death.
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When faced with this decision, local experts argue it causes a witnesses a similar distress that victims of the crime also experience.
“Of course you want to protect your loved one, that’s a natural instinct but at some point you have to stop and think, is your basic safety in jeopardy,” Voice of Hope Rape Crisis Center’s Leslie Timmons said. “Is the safety of other people in the same environment at risk? Then you have to stop and think about it in a loving way, could that person get help?”
Timmons added that witnesses or bystanders could experience anxiety, guilt, fear of being judge, or fear of being believed as a result.
“Bystanders experience anxiety, fear, and hopelessness and sometimes that anxiety manifests in a physical way, maybe sleeplessness, loss of appetite, just vigilant with everything going on in their life but that’s normal,” Timmons said.
When there seems to be no other option, she recommends safety as a deciding factor, the safety of you, the individual, and those surrounded.
She also recommended counseling for any victim or witnesses who has experienced a serious crime.
“In some cases, there may be some help that they can get. there may be some rehabilitation that they can get,” Timmons said. “So if you think of it as the outcome being better for everybody then it might be an easier decision.”
Lubbock Police recommend calling Crime Line for anyone who feels unsafe coming forward. A anonymous line that is open 24/7. It can be reached at 741-1000.
