Reporting a crime

If you have been a victim of crime or think you’ve seen one happening, it's in your interests, and those of your local community, to report what you know to the police.

Why should you report a crime?

The information you can give may help to bring the person who committed the crime to justice which could help to prevent further crimes and protect others from becoming victims.

Emergency calls

In an emergency dial 999 (or 18000 for Textphone users).

An emergency is where serious injury has been caused or is in progress and suspects are at, or near, the scene. Once you have been put through, a police officer will ask you to describe what has happened, where you are and if any of the other emergency services need to be on the scene.

The police take crime seriously and will treat you with sensitivity and respect and they’ll talk to you about what happened and help you decide what to do next.

Non-emergency calls

For non-urgent matters drop into your local police station or call the police on 0845 600 8000. Operators will pass your call on to your local police station. You can also report minor and hate-related incidents online on the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) website.

If you are uncomfortable about reporting the crime yourself then someone else can report it for you.

Non-emergency matters may include things like a stolen mobile phone, vandalism, graffiti, abandoned cars and other examples of anti-social behaviour.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Giving a statement

If you have reported a crime (emergency or non-emergency) you will probably have to give a statement to the police. You’ll have to tell an officer what happened to you or what you saw. As you tell them, they may ask you questions or ask you to repeat yourself to make sure the statement is as accurate and as detailed as possible.

The police will usually read the statement back to you to make sure that their written account matches yours. If you agree, you’ll sign the statement and get a crime reference number.

If you want to contact the police about the same incident in the future, you’ll need to keep this reference number in a safe place. If you’re reporting a theft, you’ll also need to use this reference number when you tell your insurance company.

Sometimes the police may need to speak to you more than once, for example, if they need to check information.

Coming forward as a witness (crime, justice and the law section)

Crimestoppers

Sometimes you may have witnessed a crime taking place and recognised the people doing it. You may also have some important information that you don’t want to give to the police in person. If this is the case you can pass on information anonymously to Crimestoppers who will record the incident and pass your information on to the police.