Call 911 immediately. The operator will notify the police. It is important that you call 911 as soon as possible. This will make it easier for police to identify and catch the person who has committed the crime. Try to remember important information such as:

• What they are doing and saying;
• What they look like;
• What they are wearing;
• The make, model, and license-plate number of their car;
• What they do after committing the crime.

This information will help the police and the Circuit Attorney’s Office in bringing the criminals to justice.

Above all, don’t suffer in silence. No one has a right to hurt you. If you are the victim of a crime, please contact the police. Otherwise, the person who hurt you might commit another crime in the future – against you or another person. Cooperate with the police and the Circuit Attorney’s Office. They might ask you to appear in court. This is very important. By appearing in court, you will make it far more likely that the person who harmed you will face consequences for what he or she has done.

While police and prosecutors play important roles in fighting crime, the most important crimefighters in your community are you and your neighbors. That’s right – you and the people in your community.
Here’s how you can do it:

• Make sure that your home, apartment building, or business looks well-tended, and that your block is clean and well lit. Lawbreakers tend to stay away from such areas.
• Get to know your neighbors. The people who live near you can be your best allies in the fight against neighborhood crime.
• If you see or hear suspicious activity, call the police. Trust your gut. That instinct is there for a reason – and so are the police. Call them. Don’t worry that you might be “wasting their time.”
• Get to know the police officers who patrol your neighborhood. Ask them about how things are going, and whether there’s anything you should be aware of. Keep them posted on any conditions that suggest the possibility of crime – such as abandoned buildings, new graffiti, or rumors of gang activity.
• If you are a witness to a crime in your neighborhood, work with police and prosecutors to help ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. Help your neighborhood develop a reputation as a place where crime is not tolerated.
• If you are called to jury duty, participate. Juries decide whether criminal defendants are guilty or not guilty – we need citizens to participate in this vital process.
• Learn about conditions in your neighborhood. If you have access to the Internet, check the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s “Safe City” website, which provides recent information on criminal activity in neighborhoods across the city. To access this site, enter http://64.218.68.50/stlouis/newslmpd/viewer.htm or you can get to it through www.slmpd.org.
• Track criminal court cases from your neighborhood through this website. Click on “Search Case Data.”

Your website says a registered sex offender lives at my address or at another address and I believe this information is incorrect. What do I do?

• Certain sex offenders are required under the law to supply their home and work address to the local police department. It is the offender’s responsibility to keep this information accurate and up-to-date with the police department. If you know the information is inaccurate, then please contact the Sex Offender’s registration section of the Police Department at 314-444-5304 and explain the situation to the clerk.

First you can check our website www.circuitattorney.org. It has a database that is searchable by neighborhood that allows you to see any criminal cases that may impact your area. You can also check with your district’s public affairs officer. Call your local police department, tell them what district you live in and ask to speak to the public affairs officer. Ask him about how to find out about various arrests and charges.

If you are a victim or witness on a particular case, personnel within our office will contact you as the case progresses and gets closer to trial. Anyone can track the case through our website www.circuitattorney.org. You can also call our main switchboard at 622-4941, ask who the prosecutor on a particular case is and then ask to speak with them. Tell them of your interest and they can tell you the court dates.

While we work to move cases through the system as quickly as possible, it can take 12-24 months for a felony case to go to trial. There is a large back log of cases in the City Circuit Courts. There are 4,000 – 7,000 felonies charged each year and prosecuted by 55 attorneys.