Street crime and policing

Policing petitions need particular care. They are legitimate and often necessary, but they are also the easiest to write in a way that creates a legal problem for the person who wrote them.

What people raise most often

• Repeated snatchings on a particular road or at a particular time
• No patrolling in an area, or none at the hours when incidents happen
• Reports not registered when residents attend a station
• Street lighting and blind spots that make an area unsafe
• No response to emergency numbers

How to raise it without creating a problem for yourself

Describe patterns and locations, not individuals. Naming a person as a criminal in a public petition, when no court has found so, exposes you to a defamation claim and will get the petition removed.

The same applies to naming individual officers. Describe what happened and where; leave the identification of individuals to the process that is equipped to handle it.

If you are reporting a crime, report it. A petition is for the pattern, not the incident.

Who is answerable

Policing is provincial, organised by district and station. A petition about a specific area should name the neighbourhood and the station area it falls under.

Requests about lighting, blind spots and physical conditions belong with the municipal authority instead, and are often the faster route to a change that actually reduces incidents.

Common questions

Can I name someone I believe is responsible?

No. Petitions naming individuals as criminals are removed, both to protect you from a defamation claim and because we cannot verify the accusation.

Is it safe to put my name to this?

Your petition shows your username, not your real name. Consider carefully how much identifying detail you include in the text itself.