We are taught at a young age the numbers to dial in an emergency. The numbers 911 are ingrained in every Americans’ mind and take only a second to dial when a situation calls for emergency help. However, crime is often underreported, leaving skewed statistics and making it more difficult for local police to do their jobs to protect the community.

It’s surprising that not all students immediately report when they’ve had items vandalized or stolen, or even when they themselves were attacked. Failing to report these crimes means that filing with your insurance company can be much more difficult, but more importantly, it makes it nearly impossible for local law enforcement to assist you or catch the individual responsible. 

Tony Behnke, a sophomore in agriculture and life sciences education, shared his story of being the victim of an assault in late February when he was randomly attacked while walking home. Behnke did the correct thing and notified the police of the incident, helping to make others aware of a potential risk they might face when walking home in Campustown. After his story came out, several other individuals came forward to say they had a similar incident happen to themselves, yet many said they did not report it.

Some of these individuals stated that they were assaulted before Behnke. It’s difficult to put yourself in the shoes of an individual who has been attacked, but the question of whether reporting the attack earlier could have saved others remains. 

Though there are some crimes, such as sexual assault, that can be much more difficult for the victim to report, reporting most crimes is fairly easy. Individuals can call 911, if the situation calls for it, or the nonemergency numbers for either the Ames Police Department or the Iowa State University Police Department. Reporting the crime should take little of your time and can result in having your stolen items returned, or helping to find a dangerous individual who can then be prevented from hurting others.

Victims of domestic abuse or sexual assault who may not feel comfortable reporting a crime to the police can report through ACCESS.

Educating yourself, for example through the Ames Citizen Police Academy, can also help a person become more familiar and comfortable with working with law enforcement.

The main thing to remember is that there is nothing wrong with being the victim of a crime. Students should not feel ashamed of filing a report with the police. In fact, this benefits the community as a whole and can prevent more crimes in the future.

If you still don’t feel comfortable reporting a crime, ask a family member or friend you trust to go with you to the police station. There is no shame in reporting a crime. The bigger shame is allowing the possibility for the same crime to happen again.