Despite being available for six months, Prince George’s RCMP Detachment is saying their online crime reporting pilot project has remained underused.
From the launch of the project back in November up until May 20th, the Detachment received only 42 crime reports through the system.
“We believe this tool is being underutilized and want to increase awareness,” said Cpl Craig Douglass, RCMP spokesperson.
“Many crimes go unreported because victims don’t want to bother police or don’t want to wait on hold for a non-emergency operator to take the report,” he continued.
One of the most under-reported crimes? Bike theft.
Unreported theft leaves no chance for the bike to be returned to the owner, and no chance for criminal charges if the thief is caught.
Online crime reporting allows call takers and frontline personnel to focus on higher priority calls, which improves response times in the city.
However, not all crimes are reportable online, including crimes against persons.
Online crime reporting is available on the Prince George RCMP’s website.