"When one makes a 911 call, isn't the identity of the caller public
information? Is there a way that someone can provide information to
the police and remain available for questioning if necessary without
jeopardizing their anonymity if they are concerned about possible
retaliation?"
According to the E911 board, which is the state organization that sets up, maintains, and manages Vermont’s 911 system, 911 calls and the identity of callers are not public information. A person can request a copy of their own 911 call that they made.
Your question brings up more than that. The 911 call itself and your identity as a 911 caller are not public information. However, this information is what we refer to as “discoverable.” That means that if the information you provide is used by police to help develop a criminal case against someone, that defendant is entitled to know who you are and what you said.
This is frustrating to a lot of people, but this rule is an important one and is rooted in the fundamental basics of our criminal justice system. Hundreds of years ago, and still today in some parts of the world, the government could charge you with a crime and throw you in jail without stating what the facts were against you. The police (actually it was usually soldiers) would come and arrest you and put you in jail because of rumors, statements from unidentified witnesses, and conjecture regarding your criminal conduct. It was relatively easy for the government to trump up charges on someone just by saying “someone told me you stole their horse.”
When our forefathers established the US Constitution and added the Bill of Rights shortly thereafter, they wanted to make sure that the government could never again do this to its citizens. To that end, they included the Sixth Amendment. This amendment states:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
As you can see, this amendment allows a defendant to know who is accusing him of what. It is this amendment that requires the state to disclose the names of all witnesses to the defendant in order to prevent what I described above. In America, we put great emphasis on a person’s innocence until guilt is proven by the state. The deck is stacked, on purpose, in favor of the defendant.
None of this should ever prevent someone from calling 911 if they think something needs police attention. You can call anonymously and give information if you want to. It is certainly our preference that callers identify themselves but if they do not, police will still use the information. However, anonymous information, while still considered, is generally viewed a little more skeptically by police and will be given less weight.
If you have a question for the Brattleboro Police Ask-A-cop please email it to info@ibrattleboro.com with "Ask-A-Cop" in the subject line.