By Jarrod Thacker

The Lexington Division of Police embraced the digital age during a press conference on Monday, announcing a new online method to report crime.

The system, called the Citizen Online Reporting System, is a law enforcement records management program developed by Coplogic, Inc., which enables citizens to submit non-emergency police reports through an online database.

To be eligible to use the system, the reporting party must be 18 or older, have a valid e-mail address and the incident must have occurred in Lexington/Fayette County, Ky. The situation must also necessitate that there is no known suspect.

Officer Paul Stewart explained that there are six offenses that can be reported using the new system; harassing communications, fraudulent use of a credit or debit card, property lost or mislaid, theft by unlawful taking, criminal mischief and larceny from auto less than $500.

Citizens can access the reporting system by visiting http://www.lexingtonky.gov/police, filling out the form data and providing the required information.

“After submitting the report, the citizen receives a confirmation email indicating that we have received the report that they had filed, and that it is pending approval,” Bureau of Administration Commander Alan Martin said. “The report is routed to an administrative officer who reviews the report and approves the report or request additional information from reporting party.”

Martin further explained that once an approval is provided, typically taking up to two business days, an e-mail is sent to the reporting party indicating that their report has been approved.

The e-mail provided information on how they can receive an official copy of that report by either online or in person at the Division of Police. This step also makes the data immediately available for law enforcement investigation.

The new program is expected to be both a benefit to the Lexington Division of Police and to the citizens of Lexington, by allowing higher priority reports to be processed more quickly and improving customer relations.

“The ease and the functionality of this particular application is very intuitive for your novice computer user, it was designed with simplicity in mind,” Martin said, “and to be as convenient as possible for the reporting party.”

In addition to this technological advance, Public Information Officer Sherelle Roberts said the Lexington Division of Police could soon be making an appearance on Facebook, to further improve its lines of communication with citizens.