LogFAQs > #933142939

JOExHIGASHI posted...

Ok. I'll start reporting people that admit to crime

Amusing sarcasm aside, try telling the police that you know someone who's admitted to murdering someone and see if the police just shrug and dismiss it out of hand because verbal admissions don't count.

Admission of a crime to a witness isn't tantamount to immediate conviction, but it's absolutely something that can start an investigation, or add to the preponderance of evidence in court. Granted, the amount of detail you hear and how trustworthy you are as a person will influence how seriously they take your accusation, and the severity of the crime is going to influence how seriously they take the accusation (saying your neighbor admitted to being a serial killer with corpses in the basement is going to draw more attention than saying your neighbor admitted to stealing pens from work), but it's absolutely something that can (and has) played a role in getting criminals convicted.

It's also worth noting that, if someone tells you they killed someone, and it can be proven that you both believe them (or have tangible evidence that they're telling the truth), and don't report them in some way, you yourself can be charged as an accessory after the fact.
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