Abbotsford residents now have an additional way to report certain crimes to police.
Non-emergency incidents, such as thefts and mischief, within the city can be done online through the Abbotsford Police Department's (APD) website at abbypd.ca.
Const. Ian MacDonald said the option is another tool available and does not affect front-office or non-emergency-line staffing levels.
He said police hope it will encourage more people to come forward when incidents occur.
"We talk to people every week who say they didn't report an incident because they didn't want to be a draw on police resources or they didn't have the time (to call in or report it at the police station)," he said.
MacDonald said the system should not be used if there are witnesses involved; if the crime involves hate, bias or domestic violence; or if there is an identifiable suspect – for example, the suspect is known to the complaint or there is video evidence.
MacDonald said the APD report desk continues to provide 24/7 service at 604-859-5225, and 911 should be called for all in-progress and emergency incidents.
The APD also now has a presence on Facebook (Abbotsford Police Department) and Twitter (Abby Police Dept.). Links to these pages and also be found on the website.