Is it a crime to witness a crime or accident and not render aid?

Question

Is it a crime to witness a crime or accident and not render aid?

Answer 1

It's not in California.

I doubt it is anywhere, despite the answers you have received.  

Using that logic, if a person saw someone getting a gun shoved in their face, they would be required to jump in and get shot themselves to avoid being prosecuted.  

Using the same logic, if thirty people witnessed an incident all thirty would be required to report it to the police even if they knew someone already had.  That could overwhelm the 911 system and would be totally unnecessary.

I'm curious to know about these jurisdictions that require people to report a crime they have witnessed.  Do people living in those jurisdictions receive training in criminal law so they know just what is a crime and what is not?

If you could be required to render aid or face prosecution, states would quickly go bankrupt paying the victims of failed rescue attempts for the various injuries and deaths they would suffer trying to render aid to someone when they weren't qualified or prepared to render aid in the situation at hand.

Answer 2

There's no absolute "yes or no" answer to this question.  In some jurisdictions, there is in fact a law requiring citizens to report a crime in progress.  Also, many jurisdictions have "Good Samaritan" laws in place, which remove the burden of liability for someone who steps up and renders aid to a person in trouble (whether or not it's the result of a crime).  In other words, those jurisdictions allow a person to render aid without fear of legal repercussions if their good faith attempt to help winds up doing further harm instead.

DISCLAIMER:  I am not a lawyer.  As always, check with a lawyer or law enforcement agency to get the official stance for your area.  The wikipedia articles below have some good information and references for more information.

Answer 3

no, but its not right, and you are holding back possible evidence that can make a case solved.

Answer 4

it depends on the situation and or incident. If someone is seriously injured and there are witnesses, u could be setting yourself up for a failure to stop and render aid ticket which the court room really looks down upon. It will seem like your some kind of scumbag because you didn't help. But with everyone being lawsuit happy if you do stop and help and you hurt someone worse you could open yourself up to a lawsuit so it's really a damned if you do damned if you don't situation.