TELEPHONE REPORTING SECTION (TRS) - TO REPORT A CRIME OVER THE PHONE

WHAT IS THE TELEPHONE REPORTING SECTION?

The Telephone Reporting Section, managed by Peggy Lyles, provides operational support to the Field Services Bureau and the Investigative Services Bureau by providing telephone-based reporting services directly to the citizens.  This frees officers to handle emergency and in-progress calls and to provide other essential services requiring on-scene response.

HOW TO REPORT A CRIME VIA TELEPHONE

IF THIS IS AN EMERGENCY OR IF THE CRIME IS IN-PROGRESS, DIAL 9-1-1.

Otherwise, you may be able to file a Police Report over the phone for certain types of crime if:

-          You are not experiencing an emergency

-          The crime is no longer in-progress

-          There is no known suspect information

-          The crime occurred in Montgomery County (for Fraud/Identity Theft, you must be a resident of Montgomery County, regardless of where the fraudulent activity occurred.  If you are a resident of another county, file the Fraud/Identity Theft report with the Police Department in the jurisdiction where you reside)

Some examples of common crimes that you may be able to report over the phone are:

-          Thefts

-          Vandalisms

-          Lost Property

-          Stolen Vehicles/Unauthorized Use

-          Stolen Tags

-          Fraud/Identity Theft

-          Missing Persons (No critical factors)

-          Threats

-          Annoying/Indecent Phone Calls

It’s easy to determine whether or not you can file your specific incident over the phone!  Just call the Montgomery County Police Non-Emergency Line at 301-279-8000.  Briefly describe to the dispatcher what occurred.  That’s it!  The dispatcher will advise you if your incident can be reported over the phone.  If it can, you will be contacted via telephone by TRS directly.  However…

BE ADVISED:

-          Depending on nature of the crime, call volume, staffing, and the time you made the initial call, your wait time to receive the call back from TRS may be as little as under a minute or as long as eight hours. 

-          Some calls will receive priority (such as stolen vehicles, stolen tags, and missing persons) due to the nature of the incident.

-          You may leave more than one phone number that you can be reached at during different times of the day in order to help ensure that you are contacted.

-          Have any vital information pertaining to your report (e.g. tag numbers, credit card numbers, addresses/phone numbers, property descriptions) readily available so that when you are contacted, your report can be handled without delay.