Bend police now accepting online reports

Bend police are now asking the public to fill out some police reports online. Officers say it will save them, and you, time and money.

Bend police started the online reporting system last week, and so far, the people who have participated are very happy with it.

Officers told NewsChannel 21 Tuesday they wanted to start the service because of the convenience for the public — the process is very easy.

And the other reason is time savings for police — and ultimately, you, the taxpayer.

The new online reporting system for minor incidents could save police 40 to 50 hours of time a month.

“That’s a lot of time in a month of officers doing investigative things,” said Lt. Paul Kansky said.”Being proactive rather than reactive.”

But it’s also aimed at being easier for you.

“People have access to the Internet and people understand it and they like convenience and this is about as convenient as you can get,” Kansky said.

Incidents that qualify for online reporting include non-injury hit and run crashes, as well as, criminal mischief, lost property and theft of items under $1,000 — if there is no known suspect.

If you do know a suspect in a case, police say call the non-emergency dispatch (541-693-6911) to report the crime directly to the officer, rather than through the online service.

To file a report, you log onto the City of Bend’s website and go to police reports, or www.bendoregon.gov/policereports and click “file a report.”

Once there, you select the incident type, fill out your personal information and send it in.

“This is information they are going to tell us,” Kansky said. “And instead, if they have access to the Internet and an e-mail, they can enter it themselves quickly and be on their way to work or get their kids.”

The whole process usually takes about 5 to 10 minutes.

“It’s a significant less amount of time when the citizen files this report versus us calling the citizen or responding to the location,” Kansky said. “Taking the time to make the notes, get that information, then come back and virtually be redundant and put it into the computer system.”

This way, police receive the report immediately and you can expect a review within 24 hours.

“From those who have filed the reports, and from officers, I see it as being again a huge time savings,” Kanksy said. “A huge benefit to the community to have police officers more proactive within their neighborhoods, within the downtown area, within all these different areas to solve crime, to identify people who are committing crimes, rather than to be driving back to the station to write a report.”