Crimes unreported by immigrants worry Kingston police chief, mayor (videos)
Published: Sunday, May 02, 2010

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By PAUL KIRBY


KINGSTON — The city’s mayor and police chief are urging immigrants who have been victims of crimes to report the incidents to police immediately regardless of their legal status in the United States.

Police Chief Gerald Keller said his department does not investigate whether immigrant crime victims are in the United States legally, and Mayor James Sottile echoed that fact.

KELLER MOVED to reassure the public of the city’s policy after a 50-year-old Hispanic man was beaten and robbed on Prospect Street about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The chief said the victim did not report the crime to police until Wednesday night, long after he had been robbed of cash by four men.

Keller said he is uncertain of the victim’s immigration status but has come to the conclusion that illegal aliens are reluctant to report crimes to police because they are afraid of being found out and deported.





THE POLICE chief said he had noticed a growing trend over the past couple of years of Hispanics becoming more reluctant to report crimes, leading him to believe there are crimes being committed against that immigrant group that are not being reported at all.

“We are concerned that a crime has been committed, and we want to work with the victim to solve that crime,â€