Graffiti, shoplifting, fuel drive-offs and other minor crimes can now be reported to Tasmania Police online instead of by phone or by visiting a police station.
Tasmania Police opened its online crime reporting portal to the public today, months after quietly rolling it out to businesses.
The portal lets people report non-urgent offences from home or work at any time.
It covers six categories of crime including fuel drive-off, retail theft, theft, making off without payment, property damage and graffiti.
Assistant Commissioner Doug Oosterloo said the idea came from a community survey in 2023.
“When we reached out to the community and said, ‘What do you want from police?’, one of the things that came out loud and clear was, ‘We want to be able to report crime online’,” he said.
Oosterloo said reporting minor crime online meant officers could spend their time elsewhere.
“[It] frees up our frontline police to deal with more high-priority matters and to be out there proactively preventing and reducing crime,” he said.
Police Minister Felix Ellis said the portal would also mean officers spent less time on paperwork at the station.
“This will be an important new tool that will ensure that our police officers as well can spend less time on paperwork and administration and more time out on the beat and solving crime,” Ellis said.
He said the portal has been running since a soft launch in May, initially with selected small businesses and is averaging about 115 reports a week or roughly 1,000 a month.
Ellis said feedback from those early users had been “excellent”.
People can upload evidence such as CCTV footage and receive a police reference number for insurance or follow-up enquiries.
Oosterloo said using the portal was optional and police would still attend in person if someone wanted to see an officer.
It is limited to lower-value, non-urgent incidents. Triple Zero (000) should still be used in an emergency.
Reports cannot be made anonymously and people must provide their details. Those who want to remain anonymous can still contact Crime Stoppers.
Luke Johannessen, whose Red Herring Surf Co stores in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie have used the system for about six months, said it had made reporting easier.
“You can just do your reporting straight away without having to wait and give statements and stuff like that,” he said. “So it’s a lot easier from the retail end.”
Johannessen said the system had taken some getting used to.
“[It was] a little bit clunky to start with, but now it’s eased up nicely,” he said.
The portal cost $1.64 million to build. It complements Safe2Say, a 12-month pilot that lets people report sexual harm against children and adults directly to Tasmania Police.
Both portals can be accessed at police.tas.gov.au/reportonline
