Leicestershire residents are being encouraged to 'Click Before You Call' in an initiative launched by Police.

The new initiative aims to ensure that phone lines are not being flooded with non-emergency matters and preventing the team from tackling more urgent crime in rural and urban areas across Leicestershire and Rutland - including but not limited to violence, hare coursing and theft in progress.

These 'non-emergency' crimes include a theft after the incident has happened, anti-social behaviour and non-emergency hates crimes.

A spokesperson for the team said: "Click Before You Call - While not appropriate for all of our service users, we know that many people in our modern age are familiar with using digital platforms to complete services, and our website enables reporting crimes and incidents for those who choose to do so. The website's built-in triage system ensures the report goes to the right internal team the first time."

Non-emergency crimes should be reported to Leicestershire and Rutland Police online. Image credit: Leicestershire Police.

To report non-emergency incidents and anti-social behaviour online, residents can visit the online portal which can be found by visiting the Leicestershire Police website and clicking 'Report' near the top of the page.

Here, residents can also find a huge range of crime prevention advice, including personal, business home and vehicle security, and a wealth of information and advice on different elements of the law, from antisocial behaviour to wildlife crime. 

Residents are reminded to always call 999 in an emergency, and to report non-emergency crimes online rather than on the police X (Twitter) and Facebook pages, as these are not monitored 24/7.