Nanaimo RCMP are bullish on its new online crime reporting website, used to process less serious crimes since early February, 2020. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

new age policing

‘We have to get smart:’ Nanaimo RCMP confident online crime reporting tool will pay off

Apr 13, 2020 | 7:12 AM

NANAIMO — An online crime reporting program used by Nanaimo RCMP may be off to a slow start, but the detachment believes the new platform will prove its worth over time.

The program became operational in early February, allowing people to report crimes which may not require immediate police attention, such as lost or stolen valuables under $5,000.

Crimes with no witnesses or suspects also fall under the mandate of the online crime reporting portal being rolled out by the RCMP all over B.C.

Nanaimo RCMP Cst. Gary O’Brien said only about 15 people a month took advantage of the program in each of the first two months.

He said other detachments around the province reported buy-in slowly builds over time, stating the website signifies a more efficient way for people to report less urgent crimes.

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“They can put a full narrative, they can attach pictures and when it’s completed you will be assigned a file number as well,” O’Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW.

O’Brien said each report to the site is reviewed to determine what is the best investigative approach to take.

“We look and the file and they are being reviewed when they are submitted, they don’t just go into a blank database and there’s something we feel is a follow-up, you will get a call from a police officer.”

O’Brien disagreed with the assertion encouraging some police reports to be made online as opposed to over the phone or in-person means some incidents will be ignored.

He said the new online crime reporting platform will in fact have the opposite effect, by allowing their members to better prioritize their many active investigations.

“We’re going to hit 52,000 files this year and we expect the call load to increase every year,” O’Brien said. “We can’t be going to city council requesting more and more police officers, so we have to get smart with what we have.”

The Oceanside RCMP detachment recently rolled out the same program after several other communities in the province launched it as part of a pilot project.

The Nanaimo RCMP’s online crime reporting website be accessed by clicking here.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes