Reporting line goes many extra miles

The Crime Reporting Line chalks up a milestone this month, celebrating five years of helping the public report non-urgent crime and supporting the emergency 111 system.

The service, known as CRL, is based in the Northern Communications Centre in Auckland. It was initially trialled in Auckland City and Bay of Plenty Districts in 2006, then extended into Counties Manukau in 2009.

It will be launched in Canterbury and Eastern Districts in March/April next year.

Kevin Trask says the Crime Reporting Line frees up a lot of time for field staff. Photo: Kathryn Fitzpatrick, Ten One

Eighty-two CRL staff work in six sections, providing a 24-hour service for people wanting to report historic and non-urgent crime such as burglaries, stolen vehicles, theft from cars, willful damage and lost property.

“We made sure customer service was a focus from the outset,” says Kevin Trask, Acting Operations Manager of CRL. “We want our communicators to show empathy and go the extra mile, like asking if there’s anything else they can help with.”

CRL communicators are able to take time to help victims work through problems caused by crime. After a burglary, for example, staff take a report over the phone, create a file, notify a crime scene attendant, make a victim support referral, give crime prevention advice and send out a complaint acknowledgement form.

More than 190,000 calls were taken during the last financial year. “We’re doing a lot of data entry for the districts which frees up time for their field staff,” says Kevin.

As well as dealing with the public, CRL staff handle work from police and people from other agencies.

Whenever police officers around New Zealand issue a Police Safety Order they call an 0800 number that links them with CRL staff, who take the details and create an electronic file.

CRL staff are also involved in Child Protection Protocol processes, ensuring Reports of Concern from Child Youth & Family are entered into Police systems in a timely manner. The files are then assigned to the appropriate district. They also handle Parole Recall Warrants, ensuring they are acted on as a matter of priority.

Reports made to Crimestoppers also filter back to CRL staff, who create files and assign them to the right district.

All these activities, plus intelligence notings, add up to masses of data which is fed back into the districts.

“CRL is providing a great service to the public and other Police staff around the clock. As it rolls out to Canterbury and Eastern districts it will help staff dedicate more time to crime prevention work,” says Kevin.