Expert Witness Blog

In Finding a Remedy For Renters, security expert witness John a. Harris writes:

In most inadequate-security suits, then, the first step in establishing foreseeability is to examine the criminal history of the property. Review reports of calls for police service to find how many residents reported crimes on the premises and in the immediate vicinity, when and where those crimes occurred, and their similarity or other relationship to the crime involving your client. Reported burglaries are important because future burglaries may lead to assaults against people in the apartment."

After examining the calls for service, obtain police incident reports for those that appear most pertinent. Police reports will yield more detail, including a narrative by the responding officer.