When calling the Ripon Police Department to report a crime, it is imperative that you speak loud and clear so the dispatcher can quickly gather the information necessary to process your call.

BE SURE YOU ARE IN A SAFE PLACE WHEN REPORTING A CRIME

There are details of information that the dispatcher will ask you for, to better inform the police officers who will be responding to your call for help:

WHERE – 
1. Where is/did the crime take(ing) place?

WHAT – 
1. What happened? (Describe the type of crime which has occurred or is occurring) 
2. Are there any injuries? (if you do not know, just let the dispatcher know “I don’t Know”

WHEN – 
1. Did this crime just occur; was it sometime during the night/day?
2. Timeframe of when it could have happened. (Timeframe can determine type of response) Something that just occurred within ten minutes holds a greater possibility of catching the bad guy than a crime that occurred 10 hours ago or days ago.

WHO – 
1. Who was involved? Does this involve family members? Does it involve neighborhood kids? Etc.
2. Are they still on scene? If not, what was their last direction of travel, did they leave on foot or in a vehicle?

If they are no longer on scene just tell the dispatcher landmarks if you are not aware of the direction, such as, he just left from my home 241 Van Dyken Wy on foot and he is headed towards Quik Stop. This information will assist the officer in intercepting the bad guy. The officer will always try to catch the bad guy if the crime just occurred before he makes contact with the RP (Reporting Party) or the Victim.

DESCRIPTION – 

1. Description of person responsible, race, color hair, eyes, what were they wearing? Give as much of this information that you possibly can. The more accurate the physical description of the bad guy the better chance of catching him/her.

2. Description of vehicle involved. As a memory tool you can use :

C-Y-M-B-O-L: 
C= COLOR
Y= YEAR
M= MAKE 
B= BODY 
S= STYLE
O= OTHER
L= LICENSE

Another helpful hint when trying to remember a license plate number, associate the letters and numbers to something familiar, making them easier to remember. Example: BAC123, BOY APPLE CAT, I HAVE 1 BIKE, 2 CARS, 3 KIDS. Practice this technique with random vehicles on the street. Try to become familiar with the general license plate types for cars and trucks. Generally, cars will have one number, three letters, and three numbers (ex: 1ABC234) Trucks will have one number, one letter and five numbers (ex: 1A23456).

The dispatcher will attempt to gather the reporting parties information, last name, first name, address and phone number however, the reporting party/person may choose to remain anonymous. 

REMAIN IN A SAFE PLACE WHEN REPORTING A CRIME
The calmer you remain during the call, the faster the dispatcher can gather all necessary information to get a police officer on their way.

IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY PLEASE CALL: 9-1-1
If you do not feel comfortable calling 9-1-1 then you can dial our 7-digit emergency line (209)599-5022.

For all other calls, please feel free to call our regular business line (209) 599-2102.

Any questions regarding 9-1-1 or reporting a crime please feel free to e-mail Linda Johnston, Communications Supervisor at Ljohnston@cityofripon.org