ByWhen to File a Police Report in Illinois and How to Do It Easily
There are situations that you may encounter in life that will require you to file a police report for an incident that has occurred.
Sometimes, it's tricky to know in your area and when to leave a situation alone. Filing a police report can be not only exhausting but also frustrating. You might be afraid of putting down the wrong information or stressing yourself out by remembering every detail of an incident so that the police can prosecute the person accordingly.
DoNotPay understands the frustration that you may experience while attempting to file a police report with the appropriate Illinois department, and we are here to help. Our File A Police Report tool can help you file a report more quickly and without you having to do all the research that goes behind filing the typical report.
What Types of Police Reports Can Be Filed Online?
Many police reports related to non-life-threatening crimes can be filed online. This makes it easier to file the reports easier and helps free up police officers to respond to other more life-threatening situations while technology helps others file reports that are not as critical in nature. The following are some types of police reports that can be filed online:
- Assault and battery
- Abandoned vehicles and theft
- Identity theft and scammers
- Fraudulent use of credit cards
- Vandalism and graffiti
- Vehicle burglary, damage, some car accidents, and hit-and-runs
- Harassing phone calls
- Lost property, stolen items like phones, wallets, and packages
Many of these types of crimes that can have a police report filed online in the state of Illinois are misdemeanors rather than full-on felonies. These crimes are much more common and allow police officers to respond to life-threatening crimes like shootings or armed robberies as they occur.
If you intentionally file a false police report within the state of Illinois (or anywhere for this matter) is considered a crime. Even false reports filed online are a crime, and you will be prosecuted accordingly.
What Is Required to File an Online Police Report?
Filing a police report is an incredibly detailed process and requires quite a bit of information in order to complete the report. That is true, even if the crime that you are filing a report for is only a misdemeanor rather than a felony. Police need adequate information and evidence to prosecute the person who allegedly committed the crime.
The following is information that you must include to get your police report filed:
- Your full name
- Contact information
- Nature of the crime committed
- Location of the crime
- People at the scene or involved in the situation
Providing all of this information along with all the other details that the police need to help solve the case is vital to helping the police bring the criminal to justice. Remember to only file police reports about crimes that happened. Filing a report on a crime that never occurred or falsifying information in itself is a crime. The police will likely contact you for more information once they review the case and can take any actions against the person committing the crime.
How Do I File a Police Report on My Own?
If you are to file a police report on your own, there are steps that you will have to follow to ensure that you file the police report appropriately. You will need to include all the details possible to help the police draw they are the steps that you will have to take to file an online police report. The following are things you will need to do to file a report:
| Over the phone | If you know the exact person who committed a crime, then you should call 3-1-1 rather than file an online report if you live in Illinois. |
| Online | Go to the police department's webpage for the city or jurisdiction in which the crime occurred. Click on the page or link that says "File a Report" and fill out the information requested including:
Be specific and give as many details as you can to help the police have an easier time finding the person who did it. Wait for the police to contact you. |
The police will contact you for more information once they receive and review the report (be patient as this might take some time due to the high volumes of reports they receive). Once the police contact you for more information, you will need to answer any questions they may have about the crime before they can continue their case. Answer honestly and truthfully, because the more information they have the easier it is to prosecute the responsible parties in the case.
DoNotPay can help make the process easier by providing you with our Police Report Filing tool to help make filing the report you need to file within Illinois an easier experience. All you have to do is input the information that is requested, and we will do the rest including generating the report and sending it to the appropriate police department.
How Do I File a Police Report Using DoNotPay?
When you have to and wish to use DoNotPay to help, then all you will have to do is log on to our website and use our police report filing tool in order to file your report. Simply provide us with the information that is required using these 3 simple steps:
- Search "police report" on DoNotPay and select the type of incident you would like to report.
- Tell us more about the incident that occurred, including the location, date, time, and sequence of events. Include information on financial losses, personal injuries, or property damage that happened as a result.
- List any suspects or witnesses you are aware of, verify your contact information, and submit.
From there, DoNotPay will file the report and do the rest of the work on your behalf. It's quick, easy, efficient, and pain-free. It saves you the time and energy of having to go through the process on your own as well as the worry of whether you are doing it correctly or not.
What Else Can DoNotPay Do?
Well, we're glad you asked! DoNotPay is consistently working to expand our offerings to customers in ways that save you both time and money.
We offer you a variety of ways to save money including offering assistance with:
- Utility bills
- Payday loans
- Credit cards
- Banking fees
Our goal is to save you time and money while making every service we offer the most convenient service possible for you to use!