MONROE - The online crime reporting form available on the Monroe Police Department's website could fall by the wayside with the rollout of a new Web page design later this year.
Chief Fred Kelley said the form has never had a high usage.
"It's more like the type of anonymous tip sort of thing," he said.
The form is made to report smaller crimes such as petty theft, hit-and-run accidents, quality-of-life complaints and violations of city code.
"We aren't going to get a tip about a drug den," Kelley said. "It's more like trailers or cars parked in the yard, or someone doesn't shovel or mow."
Kelley said his department usually only receives about 25 of these submitted forms in a given year. Still, that's significantly higher than when the form first started, when only one or two submissions came in.
"It seems to me it comes from more tech savvy people who would submit, but these are the same people who would just email a complaint anyway," Kelley said.
Kelley said he has made it a point to ask citizens if this is a helpful way to report crime. He said the public seems to agree with the utility of the form, despite its low application. Though there hasn't been much use of the form, Kelley said he predicts its convenience will only grow with the proliferation of technological tools.
"I couldn't tell you whether people use it at their desktop or smartphone," he said. "But it tells me the community is changing and people are using the Internet far more."
Chief Fred Kelley said the form has never had a high usage.
"It's more like the type of anonymous tip sort of thing," he said.
The form is made to report smaller crimes such as petty theft, hit-and-run accidents, quality-of-life complaints and violations of city code.
"We aren't going to get a tip about a drug den," Kelley said. "It's more like trailers or cars parked in the yard, or someone doesn't shovel or mow."
Kelley said his department usually only receives about 25 of these submitted forms in a given year. Still, that's significantly higher than when the form first started, when only one or two submissions came in.
"It seems to me it comes from more tech savvy people who would submit, but these are the same people who would just email a complaint anyway," Kelley said.
Kelley said he has made it a point to ask citizens if this is a helpful way to report crime. He said the public seems to agree with the utility of the form, despite its low application. Though there hasn't been much use of the form, Kelley said he predicts its convenience will only grow with the proliferation of technological tools.
"I couldn't tell you whether people use it at their desktop or smartphone," he said. "But it tells me the community is changing and people are using the Internet far more."