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Fredericton Police Force launches online crime reporting site

Fredericton Police Force launches online crime reporting site

Beginning on Tuesday, you no longer have to call the Fredericton Police Force if someone steals your bicycle or vandalizes your property.

The force has launched an online reporting system valid for certain types of crime.

Marilyn Abbott-Charters, manager of central records and informatics for the Fredericton Police Force, says it's an idea whose time has come.

"It was something the Fredericton Police Force had been looking at for a number of years," she says.

Not every crime can be reported online. It's a relatively modest list:

- Theft of Bicycle

- Theft (less than $5,000) not including vehicles or licence plates

- Damage/Mischief to Property (less than $5,000)

- Theft from Vehicle (less than $5,000)

- Damage/Mischief to Vehicle (less than $5,000)

Abbott-Charters says there is a convenience factor for people who wish to use this tool, as a report can be submitted at any time. She says it also encourages people to come forward who might otherwise feel uncomfortable about doing so.

"We quite often have individuals who say, 'I'm so embarrassed about this,' and we reassure them that they should not be embarrassed," she says.

She says she's optimistic the online reporting site will actually increase the number of crimes reported. She says it will also create efficiencies in the system.

"That just means an efficiency in having to dispatch an officer … not having to go to the scene to get the information the person can file online."

Other cities are using similar systems and Abbott-Charles says they report having great success.

"Cities like Vancouver, Calgary … Winnipeg, they have responded very favourably and said the communities actually embraced that specialized service," she says.