The Delta police department is looking at offering a new, high tech way of reporting certain crimes.
The department is considering creating an avenue for residents to report less serious crimes online.
If approved, the online reporting system would allow Delta residents to report certain property crimes - such as lost or stolen property under $5,000, vandalism, theft from automobile under $5,000, automobile breakins and identity theft - through the Delta police website.
Crimes eligible to be reported online must not be in progress at the time of reporting, have no suspect and not require immediate police attention.
Earlier this month, the Delta police board asked staff to report back on the idea of online reporting after hearing a presentation from two Simon Fraser University students who have been working with the department since September.
The two students, who are completing criminology degrees, were tasked with investigating online crime reporting.
"This is a really good thing for us because we have to look at a different way of doing business," chief Jim Cessford told the board.
The students reported that 12 per cent of all calls that came into the department in 2010 would have qualified to be reported online.
Several other police departments in the Lower Mainland and other areas of the province have already implemented, or are considering, an online crime reporting system.
The Vancouver police department was the first in the Lower Mainland to implement online crime reporting and created its own system, which it also lends out to other departments. Abbotsford also offers online reporting, but uses software purchased from Coplogic, a system used extensively across the U.S. and in several police departments in Ontario and Saskatchewan. Victoria borrowed the VPD system but is now moving over to Coplogic, while Surrey RCMP is also looking at moving to an online reporting system.
The Delta police are looking at several options for implementing an online reporting system and the related costs. Purchasing the Coplogic system would cost $25,000 while borrowing the VPD software or using an e-mail form would be less costly. However, there is no maintenance support with the borrowed software and using an e-mail system would limit the types of incidents that could be reported and without specific instructions information could be missed.
Department staff is currently looking at the pros and cons of the options and will report back to the police board at a future meeting.
