One of the best ways the average citizen can help to fight crime is to create vivid descriptions for the police; all too often they fail at this however.
I heard of one bank manager who distorted her description of the bank robber so badly that when the police finally caught the man they had a man who was the complete opposite of the bank manager's description.
Having a rifle pointed at your head can do things like that to you, but your skills at painting accurate pictures of criminals can be developed with a little practice.
Like anything else it is just like learning to ride a bicycle. The first few attempts you're pretty wobbly -- but with practice you can get better.
One of these ways to build this skills is to make it a habit to try and create a mental picture of that man or woman who just passed you on the sidewalk. How tall was he ? What was her hair style?
You won't be able to do this with everyone you meeting of course but whenever you can observe people discretely as they approach and pass (don't stare at or make eye contact with the person)
and you will get better and better at being able to recreate images of people.
This is a skill they could make you a valuable crime fighter one day.
And of course if you have artistic skills and are able to recreate this person in a sketch it would be even better.
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