Gainesville residents now have the option of reporting non-emergency incidents to Gainesville Police online rather than by phone.
GPD debuted its Online Crime Reporting Service on Monday, giving people the ability to report certain incidents on the department’s website. Locals can report criminal mischief, damaged or lost property, fraudulent use of a credit card, harassing phone calls, prepaid credit or debit card scams and theft, a release said.
“So much of our lives are lived online these days,” GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said in a statement. “Now you have the opportunity to interact even more with the police department by making reports online.”
The online service is a direct and quick way to report crime, but it is strictly meant for non-emergencies where there is no need for an in-person officer. Incidents that require immediate attention or involve a known suspect or crime scene that could contain evidence important to investigators should be reported to 911 immediately. If there is a firearm involved, people are also urged to directly report that to police using their phone instead of the online service.
All online reports are reviewed by police officers, Tobias said. Making a false report is considered a crime.
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 10/21/2014]
