609 – Police 2 Citizen Police Reporting System (P2C)

I. Purpose

This policy governs the use of the Police 2 Citizen (P2C) online reporting system as a method for community self-reporting of minor incidents to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO).

II. Definitions

Approved P2C Reports: P2C reports that have been reviewed by an HCSO deputy and determined to meet the requirements laid out in this policy.

Not-Yet-Reviewed P2C Reports: P2C reports that have been submitted but not reviewed by an HCSO deputy.

Permanent Case Number: A unique number assigned by HCSO’s incident reporting system to cases investigated by HCSO personnel.

Police 2 Citizen Reporting System (P2C): An online reporting system designed to collect reportable data directly from community members on minor incidents for additional investigation, statistical analysis, and state reporting while eliminating or reducing the need for on-scene responses by deputies.

P2C Report: A report submitted to HCSO through P2C by a P2C user.

P2C Report Status: One of three positions for a report submitted through P2C. The three potential statuses for P2C reports are not-yet-reviewed, rejected, and approved.

Rejected P2C Reports: P2C reports that have been reviewed by an HCSO deputy and determined not to meet the requirements laid out in this policy. Rejected reports are not assigned a permanent case number and are purged from HCSO systems.

P2C Transaction Number: A unique number issued by the P2C system for every P2C report and provided via e-mail to the P2C user upon their submission of the P2C report. Upon approval of a P2C report, the P2C transaction number is stored as the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) call number in HCSO’s incident reporting system.

P2C User: A member of the community who submits a report through P2C.

III. Policy

To efficiently manage personnel and resources, HCSO utilizes systems and programs that streamline workloads without increasing any risk to public safety.

IV. Procedure

1. HCSO deputies shall respond to all in-progress incidents, crimes with evidence or information that may lead to the identification and apprehension of a suspect, and incidents that have just occurred with a likelihood the suspect may still be in the area.
2. For the following incidents, however, a deputy response may not be necessary, and a community member may report the incident through P2C:
   1. All misdemeanor thefts,
   2. Missing or lost property, and
   3. Criminal mischief to public or private property, including damage to a motor vehicle without any suspect information.
3. Access and Referral to P2C
   1. P2C may be accessed through HCSO’s website (www.harriscountyso.org).
   2. Telecommunication officers shall use the following procedures in relation to P2C:
      1. Determine if the call falls into one of the three categories described above as eligible for P2C reporting.
      2. Determine if the caller has internet access.
         1. If they do not, dispatch a patrol unit.
         2. If they do, proceed to the step below.
      3. Inform the caller that he or she has the option of filing the report online — through HCSO’s website — which would allow them to file the report immediately rather than waiting on an available patrol unit.
      4. Inform the caller that they may make changes to a P2C report if they learn more information at a later time and that all changes made are tracked within P2C.
4. Reviewing Reports

   Deputies in the TeleDeputy Unit shall review not-yet-reviewed P2C reports each workday throughout their shift and, after completing their review of each P2C report, either approve or reject it.

   1. Deputies shall refrain from making grammatical corrections to P2C reports unless they are minor in nature, such as “orange” spelled as “ornge.”
   2. If the reviewing deputy has questions regarding the report’s content, they shall attempt to contact the P2C user by telephone or e-mail to answer those questions. If they are unable to establish contact, they will continue to try until the matter is resolved.

      Note: Deputies shall not reject a P2C report solely on the basis that they have questions about the report.

   3. If the reviewing deputy determines that a P2C report has been misclassified by the P2C user — such as burglary of a motor vehicle classified as a theft — the deputy shall re-classify the report.
5. Approving Reports
   1. When a reviewing deputy determines that a P2C report meets the requirements laid out in this policy, they shall approve the report, ensure the incident is exported from P2C into HCSO’s incident reporting system and assigned a permanent case number, and otherwise manage the incident in the same manner as non-P2C cases.
   2. If the P2C user is a resident within HCSO’s jurisdiction but reports an incident that occurred in another jurisdiction — but which would, aside from that fact, meet the requirements of this policy — the reviewing deputy shall approve the P2C report.
6. Rejecting Reports

   If a reviewing deputy rejects a report, the reason for rejection shall be noted in the rejection box, which is sent via e-mail to the P2C user.

7. Requesting Patrol

   The reviewing deputy shall request a patrol response when, in their reasonable judgment , circumstances indicate that further patrol investigation is warranted.

   If this happens, the reviewing deputy shall reject the P2C report and state in the rejection box that a patrol response is required. As soon as possible after this, the reviewing deputy shall attempt to reach the P2C user by telephone to coordinate the patrol response.

8. Supervisor Approval Responsibilities

   Each area supervisor shall be responsible for reviewing and approving reports that have been approved by reviewing deputies and exported from P2C into HCSO’s incident reporting system.

Revision

This policy has been revised on the below listed dates:

August 23, 2010

October 31, 2018

May 20, 2021

December 29, 2025 (Technical Changes same date)