Police has released an online tool to enable the public to report lost property and intentional property damage on Police’s website (www.police.govt.nz).

“Online reporting is part of a drive by Police to bring real change to the way we deliver our services to the public. We want people to be able to contact us anywhere, anytime and through a variety of ways” says Assistant Commissioner Service Jevon McSkimming.

“Online reporting is being run as a trial and since it went live on 22 November 2018, Police has received more than 3,700 reports online.

“We plan to expand the online service this year so people can report general theft, theft from a car and shoplifting.

“We’ve also introduced a new centralised telephony service for non-emergency calls in all 12 Police districts. This means calls to stations are now answered centrally by our Crime Reporting Line – as we aim to provide a more responsive service.

“If a query can’t be resolved by the call taker, callers can be put through to their local station for the matter to be dealt with by a local staff member. This provides the certainty that your call will be answered and the flexibility for it to be dealt with efficiently.

“The new Police Digital Services Centre is up and running in Kapiti with staff answering non-emergency calls and processing online reports.

“Furthermore, a single non-emergency number, on track to be delivered this year, will give people a national number to get in contact with Police about non-emergency matters.

“We expect this to take some of the volume out of the 111 system and provide a better service to people who want to contact us but don’t need an emergency response. 111 is the number reserved for those people who have an emergency.

“We have a goal of achieving 90 per cent public trust and confidence. The professional and timely response we provide in both emergency and non-emergency situations is a key contributor to the confidence the public has in us.”

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre