Non-Emergency Crime Reporting

City of Philadelphia

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In Philadelphia citizens must file police reports for non-emergency crimes by calling 911 for an officer to come and take their report. These low-priority calls for service often have long wait times that can be over an hour. In addition to long wait times for residents, these calls can add up and limit an officer’s ability to respond to emergency calls for service sooner.

Many police departments let citizens file these reports online and over the phone. Residents can file a police report without having to wait for a police officer to show up in person to take their information. This gives officers more time to engage in community-oriented police work.

The PPD and its 911 call center are experiencing on-going staffing issues. Letting citizens report certain crimes online and over the phone could help PPD and 911 reduce non-emergency calls.

CPOC has proposed that PPD allow citizens to report certain crimes online and over the phone.

See CPOC’s policy proposal: https://www.phila.gov/media/20231002140202/CPOC-Non-Emergency-Crime-Reporting-Proposal.pdf

and CPOC’s one-page explainer: https://www.phila.gov/media/20231002140418/Non-Emergency-Crime-Reporting-Policy-One-Pager.pdf