Filing a Report

We hope you never need to file a police report; however, sometimes crimes do occur and you may need to turn to your local police agency to file a report.

For Crimes in progress call 9-1-1.

Why should I file a police report?

There are many reasons to file a police report. Some of the most common reasons are:

• finding and arresting a suspect in a crime
• adding serial numbers to statewide databases to recover stolen property
• tracking criminal activity in various areas to prevent future crimes

Can I file a report over the phone?

Typically, we ask that you come to the police station to file a report. When you file a police report, we must confirm the identity of the person filing the report. This means that the officer must match the person filing the report to a picture ID. However, exceptions are made on a case by case basis.

Where should I file my report?

A police report should be filed in the city or jurisdiction where the crime occurred.

If the crime occurred on campus or on University owned property, report it to us. We will handle the report, all investigation and follow-up. If the crime occurred off campus and you are a UCLA Student or Staff member, we can take your report. In some cases, the report may be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency for investigation of those cases.

What information will I need to file a report?

We need to get the most accurate information possible to conduct a thorough investigation. We consider some information to be critical that may seem irrelevant.

All police agencies in California are required to complete an annual statistical analysis of all crimes that occur in their jurisdictions. This includes information on the types of people who are victims of crimes.

We also need a way of contacting you if we have any follow-up questions, if we find your property or if we arrest a suspect in your case.

What happens after I file a police report?

The type of investigation the Police Department conducts varies from case to case. Our Detectives Division is ready to investigate all cases reported to the police.

If there is enough suspect information, we can follow-up and attempt to contact the suspect. The more information available, the better for identifying a suspect.

Why does it sometimes take so long to speak with an officer?

Police officers have an array of responsibilities, especially serving a thriving area like UCLA. It is the dispatcher's job to decide which calls are the most urgent based upon several key elements. Officers may need to handle the following problems before they can respond to take your report:

• Crimes in progress
• Emergency medical aid
• Fires and fire alarms
• Suspected criminal activity
• Burglary and robbery alarms
• Other report calls which came in before your call

We would like to apologize in advance for any waiting time you may incur. Remember, we haven't forgotten about you! It may just take a while to have an officer respond to your location.

A police report is considered a legal document. Only certain trained employees can fill out this document. The other people in the police station all have other duties that support police operations, such as record keeping or dispatching.

In order to better serve the public, Station Officers are also available to take reports. These officers staff the campus ambulance and are sometimes unavailable.

Why do I get two different numbers for the same report?

There are two different ways to track reports. An incident number is a number that is generated by a computer in dispatch for all incidents that occur on the campus, from calling for an escort at night to a crime report. Hundreds of incident numbers are created each day.

A report number is a number that is assigned specifically for crimes that occur on the campus. Reports are tracked statewide for statistical purposes.