Bloomington police start crime reporting Web site

The Bloomington Police Department launched an online reporting system last week for those reporting minor crimes.

People can now visit www.bloomington.in.gov/police to report minor crimes. These crimes must meet certain criteria to be reported through the system.

Minor crimes such as vandalism, lost property or thefts where there are no suspects and the loss from the theft is less than $750 are accepted, BPD Sgt. Jeff Canada said. A laptop computer is also available for use in the police department lobby for people who want to come in to report the crime online.

The Online Incident Reporting System is not to be used for serious crimes or crimes in progress. These situations should still be reported by dialing 911.

The goal of the new system is to save police and victims time. BPD Records Division Supervisor Joan Manning said she estimates the BPD makes about 250 to 300 reports for minor crimes every month.

“Take maybe one fifth of those that will meet the criteria for reporting online,” she said.

Canada said he estimates he looks at about a dozen reports daily that would be considered minor crimes. Canada said the new online reporting system should save about 30 minutes per report for officers.

Generally, people reporting these minor crimes prior to the new software would need to call the police department, explain the situation to the phone dispatcher then wait for an officer to be dispatched to the victim’s location and explain it again, Canada said.

IU freshman Lamine Sylla said he has not been the victim of a minor crime but thinks the new online reporting system is a great idea.

“It will help with getting more crimes reported and save both the police and my time,” he said. “I would definitely use this if I needed to report something minor.”

The system is very user-friendly, Canada said. Victims are required to enter an e-mail address and select the type of crime being reported. There is a box for the victim to explain the situation to police. If police need to follow up with the victim for questions or to correct any errors, they will contact him or her via e-mail, Canada said.

But police want to stress that this online system is not to take the place of the physical contact with officers. If people call the BPD to report a minor crime, the dispatcher will inform the victim of the online reporting option, but they will not refuse to take the report over the phone, Canada said.

“It’s the victim’s decision,” Canada said. “It’s not mandatory. It’s just a great option.”
The crimes reported online are checked every shift by the shift supervisors, Canada said.

The benefits of the new system will be seen as time progresses, Manning said.

“We are excited to see how the online system will work for us and for the public, and then grow from it and maybe add more options as time goes on,” Manning said.