To have witnessed a crime and not done anything?

[Bettycooper]

At a petrol station yesterday with my partner, he'd gone in to pay for fuel.

Noticed a moped pull up next to me with L plate and 2 riders. This set alarm bells ringing, also the pillion was wearing a makeshift balaclava and no helmet. Suspicions further raised when I saw pillion was holding a large jerry can.

I expected the staff not to let them use the pump in the first place but they did - and of course they filled moped and can and then rode off. As they did so I noted they had no number plate. The staff didn't even seem to notice or certainly no action was taken.

Given staff didn't seem bothered was I also right not to anything? I didn't really see what I could do if I'm honest. And reporting after the event I couldn't add to what would be on cctv. I never saw their faces due to helmet/ balaclava.

I did report a vehicle with no number plates once to 101 but the call handler didn't even know that was an offence.

Would you have done differently?

Oh god I thought you were going to say they held them up at gunpoint or something. I would have done nothing at all.

There's no way the petrol station staff won't be aware of it. They'll have an outstanding sale on their system that hasn't been paid for. It's their job to report it though so I don't think you needed to do anything.

I wouldnt have done anything. Not my problem and dont really care.

I think this isn't theft, it's 'making off without payment'.

Petrol station staff are instructed not to tackle non payers. It will be dealt with from the cctv footage. The staff may have looked like they didn't notice or do anything but rest assured they did and will.

I witnessed a Sainsbury's theft yesterday - I didn't even notice what I was seeing until it had been done and dusted. The woman was standing right next to me, ordinary woman, putting her items through the self-serve scanner, into the bags and then she just walked off with all her bags without paying. It was pretty slick, no-one would have assumed that was what she was going to do. It was so ordinary that I couldn't even tell you what she looked like.

I also wonder if the staff might have been in on it. At every petrol station round here, motorbikes & mopeds have to pay first before the staff will activate the pump

Our little Sainsbury’s has security hanging around the self serve counters now. Scary looking people too - staring over as you come to the end of the whole ordeal. I wouldn’t take a chance with them.

Are you in London, what you've described is typical moped criminals, some of them are extremely violent, I suppose knowing where they were could help the police track them down but otherwise probably not much else you could do.

Bilking was probably the least serious crime they did that day.

I wouldnt have thought she was in London, as she said she had never witnessed a crime before....

You have loved a very sheltered life op

*lived

We're outskirts of London.

I've seen a number of assaults. And indeed been victim of one, as well as other crimes such as burglary. What I actually said was that I'd never witnessed a theft crime (aside from very minor shoplifting by fellow pupils when I was at school). Does that really mean I've lived a sheltered life? It's a bit depressing if so.

tbh i am just surprised Betty. I am also from outskirts of London (altho I did migrate more towards the centre) and have witnessed eg a chain being snatched from someone's neck on the tube, a gun being waved at a cashier in a Post Office, a bookie being pistol whipped, my neighbour being beaten up by crackheads...

Lol of course YANBU. What would you have done that the patrol station staff wouldn’t?

Petrol stations are their own worst enemy. They could avoid this with pay before you pump. They don't they Expect police to sort it. Yanbu. It's their responsibility. They can refuse to serve.

I think you should not rest until you have solved the case, and gathered together the main players for a dramatic reveal.