If you are here, that means you had an incident in the past (something that is not active or happened at least 10-20 minutes or more in the past), you are a victim of a crime, and/or you need to make a police report for non-crime matter such as Lost Property, or crime such as Rape, Robbery, Assault, Burglary, or Larceny. Enough talk, let’s jump right into the steps:
Step 1: What happened?
You can call 911 for any crime that is active or happened in the past. However, whether to call 911 or walk into a police precinct for a past incident depends on what happened. For example, to report a past Assault, Robbery, or Larceny, you can call 911 from scene, or walk into a police precinct. However, to report a Burglary or vehicle accident, always call from scene and remain on scene as these kind of incidents need to be investigated on scene.
Step 2: When did it happen?
You can call 911 regardless when it happened. However, if you choose to go to a precinct, make sure it’s one of those incidents that does not required to be investigated on scene, for example, Burglary, vehicle accidents, and so on.
Step 3: Where did it happen?
If you call 911 from scene, obviously you are giving the address (whether a building address or an intersection or the cross streets). However, if you choose to go to a precinct, you need to know you are going to the right precinct. Technically, you can go any NYPD precinct to report an incident that happened in the five boroughs but going to the precinct that covers where the incident happened makes it much easier since the detective(s) most likely interview you if your incident falls under certain criteria that requires to be interviewed by a detective for enhanced investigation.
Step 4: Where to go?
Once you know the address of the incident, you can look it up here (if the incident happened anywhere else except in NYC Subway or a NYCHA Development) to see which precinct covers the area where the incident happened.
For incident that happened in the NYC subway, it’s going to be an NYPD Transit District. Look it up here to find out which NYPD Transit District (TD) covers a particular station where the incident happened.
For incident that happened in one of the New York City Housing areas, aka NYCHA, then it’s going to be an NYPD Police Service Area, aka PSA. Look it up here to find out which NYPD Police Service Area (PSA) covers a particular NYCHA building or area where the incident happened.
Once you find out which Precinct, Transit District, or PSA to go, you can find the addresses here: Precincts, NYPD Transit Districts, NYPD Police Service Areas.
Step 5: Go to the precinct (if you choose this option)
After finding out the precinct, go to the precinct. You’re going to be welcomed either by a uniformed officer or a civilian employee. Tell them what happened. Give as much information as you can. If you have any documents, screenshot, photos, or videos related to the incident, take them with you to the precinct and show them to the officer. Explain everything to the officer; however, do not try to classify an incident to a specific crime by searching in the internet. You explain what happened, the officer will listen and after confer with the supervisor, the officer will take the report and classify the incident based on what happened. Remember, every incident is different and unique.
Step 6: Officer takes report or Refer
After listening what happened and conferral with supervisor, the officer will start taking pedigree information to take the report or refer you to the appropriate agency or court as some incident may feel criminal but turns out to be civil matter. If officer is taking report, s/he may tell you to stay to be interviewed by a detective depending on crime. If interview not necessary at the time of report, the officer will give you an incident slip or receipt. Remember, every time you file a police report, always get the incident slip, or officer’s name and badge number so that you can find the report in future if needed. Once you file the police report, give it few days so that the report is ready. You can verify it by calling the Precincts, NYPD Transit Districts, or NYPD Police Service Areas where you filed the report. If you get confirmation that the report is ready, you can obtain a copy of the report here by making a FOIL request.
Usually, these are the steps to make a police report. Here are some scenarios if you want to learn more.