Washington Heights Neighborhood Association

-  Call the police immediately.  A five-minute delay means that the chance of catching the criminal drops by two-thirds.

-  In many cases it is what victims and witnesses tell police about the criminal that results in an arrest.  So tell the police as much as you can.  No fact is too trivial.

-  Sometimes, due to limited resources and personnel, the police may not be able to respond immediately.  They have to prioritize their calls based on danger to human life involved.  Don't be discouraged.  They will get to you as soon as possible.  an once you lhave reported the case,m stick with it.

-  It pays to prosecute.  Three-fourths of the criminals who are prosecuted are found guilty.

-  Being a witness in court is not as much trouble as you think.  Many communities have special programs to help victims and witnesses with transportation, day care services and scheduling of their cases.

(Excerpted from the "Block Captain's Guide", prepared and printed by the Milwaukee Police Department Printing Section.)

To bad this was written in 2010 when police actually did there jobs. We had our house broken into while we were home sleeping at 5:15 am on saturday 4-19-2013. The black teens ran like hell when we screamed out in terror fearing for our safety. We immediately called the police but they told us they don't do burglaries any more so they were not sending a car out. We would have to call our insurance company & work it out. This really sucks that we have come to a time when the police care less about the working class people & more about protecting the rich & jailing the poor. I pay taxes as well - when do I get help???