Mount Isa councillor Kim Coghlan is calling on Policelink to "do their job" and stop diverting crime reporting to their website.
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While reporting non-urgent crime in Mount Isa, Kim Coghlan said she was pushed by call operators to report through the Policelink website.
Although she is a councillor, Kim Coghlan is now advocating as a private citizen for the system to be re-evaluated.
Cr Coghlan said the system does not work for everyone, and that included Mount Isa.
"I ring Policelink continuously with regards to crime in Mount Isa or things I want to report. But I rang Policelink a few months ago and on the phone I was pushed towards reporting online, like three times," she said.
"I said this system isn't going to work in Mount Isa. Older people, people who haven't got a computer and disadvantaged residents don't have the capacity to report online."
Cr Coghlan said the call operators didn't want to discuss the crimes, continuously referring her to the website.
"I am ringing Policelink because there is an issue there and it needs to be reported. It is no good saying go and put it online. With serious issues like crime, most people prefer to talk to someone over the phone so they can explain the situation," she said.
"This is their job, their job is to take the calls, get all the information and send it through. I know it takes longer to process a phone call but that's not my problem. The problem is that we have crime, we have things happening in our community and people need to be able to ring and report it."
Cr Coghlan said she had addressed the issue with Minister for Police Mark Ryan, who only received a response from his office
The North West Star contacted Minister Ryan, who said data showed that Queenslanders preferred to report online.
"Since the online reporting tool was launched, it has assisted many Queenslanders who have the personal preference to report incidents online," he said.
"Data shows that many Queenslanders now prefer to report online."
Minister Ryan said the government wanted Queenslanders to report incidents to police using the method that is best for them.
"Every call to Policelink is answered. And this Government, and police, encourage Queenslanders to use this invaluable tool to report non-urgent incidents, crimes or enquires.
"The introductory Policelink recorded message informs callers to contact 000 in the event of an emergency. It also informs callers of the Policelink online tool as an alternative reporting option.
"Queensland Police are constantly evaluating and improving how they engage with the community, and I commend them for their continued work to keep Queenslanders safe."
Cr Coghlan believes less crime will be reported if residents get deferred to the website like she did.
"If people get the brush off like I did, they will be less inclined to report it at all and then Queensland Police statistics will go down and be inaccurate.
"Government needs to understand this. They are making decisions up in an office because it might be more cost effective, but it's just not going to work in Mount Isa or anywhere.
"The art of communication is getting lost, what is wrong with ringing up and talking to someone. Not everyone is computer literate.
"Our city is going to suffer because of this and I think someone needs to do something about it."
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