How to report a crime

If the matter is urgent and requires an immediate response, or a person's safety is at risk, then phone the emergency number 000.

In a non-emergency situation, call the police on 131 444.
For hearing impaired, call TTY 9374 4399.

You may be required to attend your local police station. However, in many cases, the police operator will usually be able to provide information about police matters or take an incident report from you on the phone and issue an incident report number.

When reporting a crime, it is important to remember:

• to tell the police operator if you are in immediate danger
• not to touch anything that may be used as evidence by the police. You should not have a shower or wash your clothes if you have been sexually assaulted
• details that may help the police with their investigation, like descriptions of individuals or vehicles at the scene of the crime
• details of the crime itself - what happened, when, where.

Depending on the type of crime, the police may have specific requests of you in order to assist the investigation.

In cases of sexual assault, if you don't wish to go to the police, you can contact the Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC), in confidence. It can offer you medical treatment and ongoing support and advice.