Is it ever OK to report anyone?

[PassingStranger]

Following on from the TV licence thread is it ever OK to report for benefit fraud, car tax, TV licence, etc or does it always come back and bit you on the bum?

Would you be scared to do it?

Hmm I think you will find the rules changed on that a decade ago. Car tax is not transferrable. Better to get for facts rights before posting bullshit

Ah fair enough I didn’t know that my last few cars have been brand new and no tax needed until the 2nd year.

But I’ll ask again - what would you not report? What are you willing to get ‘stitches’ for? A battered woman? An abused or dead child? I’m curious.

I work in finance, there are certain things I absolutely must report or I'm getting fined or imprisoned. Having said that I have little time for people trying to fiddle the system.

If I reported someone who goes round battering women and killing kids do you not think Id be putting myself at risk for doing so?

Can you imagine reporting some gang member for something only for them to find out . You could be the next one having your life destroyed. A friends brother was stabbed for " grassing" someone.

If I reported someone who goes round battering women and killing kids do you not think Id be putting myself at risk for doing so?

Not unless you shouted about it. Did you not realise anonymous reports are very well catered for?

Can you imagine reporting some gang member for something only for them to find out

Id still 100% do it if it was a serious crime like with Rhys Jones, because I’m not a horrible selfish cunt. I do the right thing

A friends brother was stabbed for " grassing" someone.

Whilst that’s sad, most people don’t go around stabbing others. It wouldn’t put me off if a child had been abused or murdered. And I think VERY lowly of anyone who wouldn’t immediately report a serious crime because of their own self interests. It just means YOU don’t ever deserve help if you’re the victim of a crime.And that’s really not the kind of world I want to live in.

I also find that revenge attacks on so-called ‘grasses‘ aren’t your kind everyday average Joe reporting a man who beats his wife, or reporting someone who they know has killed an innocent child. It’s usually scummy criminals turning on other scummy criminals for self gain. Hang around with dogs, you get fleas.

I find it funny people can't understand how you can know for a fact, I knew someone who had a council flat but didn't live there and had moved in with her bf whilst renting it out, I knew this for a FACT as I know the woman personally she's not an acquaintance or neighbour. She rented it out whilst pretending to live there, she was eventually reported (not by me) and lost the flat and had to pay back the money she had gained.

Is it a negative thing to report a crime? Specifically benefit fraud?

For me, yes, it would be negative energy in my life to look at someone doing something I disapprove of and think 'right, I have to get involved in this, I'm going to pick up the phone and make a report'.

People do things I disapprove of all the time, if I get involved every time, that is frankly a lot of negativity in my life that I don't need.

I am really far more bothered by billion dollar companies and corporations evaising tax then I am Joe down the road getting paid cash in hand to fiddle his books to avoid tax. We're all just trying to get by. I think it's a stupid thing to do but honestly I just don't care that much about what the average person does to get by in life when the world elite are having joy rides into space by exploiting the rest of us.

Well no I don't know about anonymous reports and whether they work well or not Never had the need to find out. But seeing as the world and his wife all seem to have data breaches, leaks of information etc id not trust stuff to remain anonymous

But this is all a world apart from people with untaxed cars and lack of TV licences anyway which is the stuff I commented on the thread originally

Huge huge difference between murder or child abuse and someone claiming benefits as a single person when in fact they have moved their partner in. The two are not even vaguely comparable situations.
And wasn't Rhys Jones a kid that got caught up in a gang killing? Because I mean, I'll report and have reported child abuse but I am sure not involving myself by "grassing" on any gang activity, not because I don't want to be a "grass" but because I would like to not have to go into witness protection. It's sure easy to sit on the internet and say you'd tell the police stuff if you had witnessed this kind of thing, a lot harder to actually do in real life.

You can be bothered about both things though. Because both things are the reason those of us who are good citizens are out of pocket. And whilst Joe himself may only defrauding the tax payer of a relatively low figure, collectively all the Joes cost us taxpayers £2 billion a year. £2 billion!! Think how much genuine benefit claimants could be topped up with that money, or children’s centres, youth centres, improved schools, roads, facilities, the NHS, everything.

You do you but for that very reason I’ll continue to stay mad.

Anonymous trots do work well and you can give evidence in court anonymously.

You say it’s a world apart but you say you wouldn’t report an abused child. By the motivation of self interest you’d sit by whilst that abuse continued. Tells me all I need to know

There is a difference but I’m talking about the SAME attitude that ‘grassing’ is completely and totally unacceptable.

Rhys Jones was caught in the crosshairs of a gang member shooting at another gang member.

I figure that if I was a witness or knew something about another mother’s little boy being killed, and I said nothing because I didn’t want repercussions, I’d have no right to expect anyone would help my own child. I do in a way believe in karma in that if you ‘put out’ selfish motives then people will in turn to be selfish towards you, and I could t live my life that way:

A quick Google has shown me that apparently there are 19 billion in unclaimed benefits a year. In all honesty I think it probably balances out and therefore I just don't care enough to potentially put a match to someone's life over it. Joe down the road may get caught one day, but I sure what no part in that I guess.

I’m not sure why being a walkover and not reporting someone who is ultimately costing you money is ever the better idea.

I guess I don't believe anyone should have to have them selves put into witness protection so I can experience "justice". It's brave that people put themselves in these situations but there's no way I would do it. I wouldn't expect anyone else to do it for me, and I do think it's easy to say you would do it when your not faced with the reality. I definitely can't blame anyone for not doing it.

I think most people who have a moral code about grassing have their exceptions. There is very little I would report, but I have reported child abuse and would do so again. I just don't think fraud is something I would report.

It doesn’t make it ok to commit fraud - I’d rather that money was claimed and the £2bn was also saved.

I don't KNOW any abused children. And tbh how likely is it I would know any? Where the hell would I find abused kids ?

If my so who was just going about his day was shot and killed then too right someone else with information should report it (only in very, very rare and genuinely dangerous circumstances would someone have to go into witness protection, and it’s usually temporary and accommodated for well). I wouldn’t say “Ah fair enough” - also if another child was killed because you refused to come forward, how would you feel? When does it stop? I’m pleased I’m not selfish enough to think an inconvenience to me trumps the safety of other people.

Eh? WTF?

Im not asking you to find abused children and report it 🤣

But you’ve made it clear that even if you did know an abused child, for example if your neighbour/relative/friend was raping his 7yo daughter, you’d just stick your fingers in your ears and pretend nothing was happening. Can’t be a grass now can we! Much more noble to be a child abuse enabler .

BTW statistically you most likely do know abused children.

If a neighbour was raping his 7 year old daughter then how would I know?? This is the point exactly

And as for statistically knowing abused children, well if that's the case it must be one of my 3 grandchildren as I don't know any other kids...

<Heavy sigh>

In the same way many people find out about abuse.

The bottom line is you’d never report any child abuse because you matter more, and you’re trying to deflect from that scumbaggery obtuse “well how would I know”.

OK here’s another one - you hear your neighbour’s kids getting hit constantly, screaming asking their parents to stop, you hear them trying to drown their kids in a bath (as happened with a recent SCR following the horrific death of a 9yo).
What do you do about it?

And as for statistically knowing abused children, well if that's the case it must be one of my 3 grandchildren as I don't know any other kids..

My god you don’t get it at all do you. Do you think I know you or something and I am making specific comments about your GC?

Also fine this hard to believe - you don’t have friends or family at all that have children? No neighbours with kids? No kids on your world at all?

Tread lightly on other people’s lives.

Nope no neighbours with kids. Mainly elderly people. My niece and nephew are grown up . Same with friends kids . All adults.

And no I don't get how I'm supposed to know things I can't see or hear. You say the same way other people find out about child abuse- well how DO they find out?

You are really doing your best to try and paint me as though id watch kids starved raped and beaten but in all honesty I DONT KNOW ANY BLOODY KIDS.