The Dallas Police Department is asking for patience as they are now encouraging residents to report minor offenses through the internet rather than over the phone.
Chief Eddie García said in a press conference Tuesday online reporting will hopefully reduce the time it takes police to reach high-priority calls, along with lessening officers' workloads.
García said during his conference, "We have to think about our men and women and the stress that they're under and the constant calls.
We have to make the working conditions of our men and women better and, at the same time, not sacrifice the service for our community — and I think this achieves that."
Last year, people could opt to report their crimes online if they so chose, and DPD found that calls reported online and over the phone saved the department about 51,000 patrol hours, which equates to the work of more than 24 officers.
García added that that additional time time can be directed to emergency calls, including top priorities like violent crimes that require more officers for a longer period of time.
Further, according to Dallas News, DPD officers will no longer respond physically to certain calls anymore, including minor accidents with no injuries when the vehicles are operable, motor vehicle burglaries, credit or debit card abuse, harassing calls or texts unrelated to family violence, identity theft, reckless damage, graffiti, burglary of a coin machine, lost property, theft and shoplifting under $2,500.
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