Calgary police launch online crime-reporting tool

Calgarians who are victims of theft or damage to their property, including vehicles thatcost less than $1,500, can now report the crime to police using the internet.

Calgary police launched the Citizen Online Police Report System Wednesday to make it easier for people toalert police tocrimes that often go unreported.

"The public may not report a lot of low-cost crime simply because they have deductibles, and it's just not worth it, in their view," said Insp. Brian Whitelaw.

"But we do want the public to report. It does give us the immediate opportunity to assess where crimes are occurring, and it does allow us to put our patrols out in the community where there seems to be crime."

The online system will only accept reports for situations in which there is no suspect involved. In cases where there is a suspect, people should still phone their non-emergency police line, police said.

Police said they hope to make the online system available in multiple languages.