EDMONTON – Reporting certain crimes in Edmonton just became a little easier, with the Edmonton police officially launching their new online reporting service that allows people to file a report without going to a police station.
The service, which is said to be a response to an “evolving” model of community policing, can only be used for minor crimes, such as: damage to property or vehicles, lost property, or theft under $5,000.
Since the tool’s soft launch five weeks ago, 134 people have used the site. Some of those who were later surveyed about it said they wouldn’t have submitted a report if they had to go to a police station.
“We all understand that Facebook and Twitter and all those entities have changed the way we communicate,” says Insp. Greg Alcorn of the EPS Information Management Branch. “And there’s a community out there that lives in that world and we want to be able to be open to that community.”
“We understand that once (the online reporting system’s) evolved and been in place for about a year, typically agencies are seeing 1,000 to 1,400 reports a month,” he adds.
EPS will be keeping a close eye on the usage to re-evaluate community policing.
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“As far as we know (the online tool) won’t save money,” Alcorn says, “but we may be able to re-allocate funding from one area to another to actually have more (officers) working on the street.”
And since some stations are busier than others, Edmonton’s police chief is also proposing that, pending usage of online crime reporting, it may be time to think about closing community stations which are less frequented.
That suggestion drew some criticism at City Council on Tuesday.
“Certainly I’m worried about it,” said Councillor Tony Caterina. “I think that a lot of people appreciate the fact that they can go into a station and file a report and speak to a person. It goes a long way.”
The president of the Parkdale-Cromdale Community League, Martin Bundred, agrees.
“I think keeping the police station is important. I don’t necessarily think you need to have police behind the counter. It can be civilians…but I think it’s the face to face contact that’s really needed.”
Edmonton is one of 14 other police communities within Canada, and 300 across North America using an online reporting tool.
For more information on Edmonton’s new system, visit the EPS website.
With files from Jenna Bridges, Global News
Follow @TrishKozicka
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