Many Australians turn ‘blind eye’ to criminal activity

THOUSANDS of Australians turn a “blind eye” to criminal or suspicious behaviour, while scores more prefer sharing information only with family and friends rather than authorities, researchers have found.

A national survey, published yesterday, found nearly half of respondents were too afraid to speak up about criminal activity for fear of retribution.

The Crime Stoppers Australia-commissioned research found people were most worried about becoming a victim of theft or robbery, while Australia’s biggest crime threat was drugs.

Campaigners, police and victims’ rights advocates urged people to share even the tiniest of information.

“These moments of self-doubt mean some people in the community are not sharing potentially critical information about an unsolved crime or suspicious activity with us,” Crime Stoppers Australia chairwoman Diana Forrester said.

“We want people to know that even the most insignificant piece of information might be all it takes for police to solve a crime.”

The survey of more than 2200 people aged 13 or older found up to a fifth of respondents chose to “turn a blind eye” to unsolved crimes or suspicious activity. Another third preferred to share information with family or friends rather than police, according to the research published on National Crime Stoppers Day.

The study, which surveyed people living in city and country areas as well as those from non-english speaking backgrounds, found almost four in five failed to report crime due to “personal concerns”.