Got a Non-Emergency Crime to Report? Go Online

From the Hermosa Beach Police Department:

The Hermosa Beach Police Department today announces the launch of its online crime reporting system.

Located on the city’s website under the “Police Department” page, the new system allows community members to report non-emergency related incidents through a quick online submission form. Non-emergency incidents include, yet are not limited to, theft, theft from a vehicle, identity theft, hit and run, lost property, vandalism, harassing phone calls and Court Order violations.

The Police Department reminds community members to call 911 for allemergencies, including those with identifiable suspects or incidents that occur on state freeways, and not to use the online system.

The use of the online report will provide the community the opportunity to submit the details of the incident within thirty minutes or less. Upon completion of the report, you will receive a police report case number and be able print out a copy of your report for your records.

The person filing the report will receive notification when the report is reviewed and approved by the department. The majority of these cases will not require further investigation. The person filing the report will not be contacted unless detectives have additional questions or are investigating another case that occurred which contains similarities to your incident, or the property that was reported stolen has been located.

“Our move to an online crime reporting system is two-fold: we hope that it encourages more people to report issues that occur in the community that they previously may not have due to the time restraints of reporting it in person,” states Sharon Papa, Chief of Police. “Additionally, it allows our police officers to quickly and efficiently spend more time in the community by cutting back on administrative paperwork. We hope the community embraces this new system and uses it as a first response to non-emergency issues that require police attention.”

Additionally, the Hermosa Beach Police Department would like to advise residents that theft from vehicles has risen 15 percent within the City over the past year. Many of these incidents occurred due to unlocked vehicles. The Police Department has launched its “Hide it Lock it Keep it” campaign to cut back on these instances of theft, which historically increase during summer months due to the number of visitors that frequent the beach cities. Simple steps such as hiding valuables, including iPads, phones, and laptops, from plain sight and locking your vehicle will help to reduce theft.

If you do experience any of these non-emergency incidents, it is suggested that you use to the new online system to report them, which is located here: http://www.hermosabch.org/index.aspx?page=732.