| It is very
important that all criminal activity be reported to the
Police Department. It is our responsibility to follow up
and investigate reports of illegal and criminal activity.
It is your responsibility as a citizen of your
community to report it! Many crimes go
unreported because people choose not to get involved or
think that "someone else" will report it. The
police Department would rather receive several complaints
instead of just one or none. The more complaints received
about criminal activity, the more obvious it is to the
prosecutor and to the responding officer that the matter
is of importance to the community. The citizens of Demotte serve as the eyes and ears of the police department. We rely upon citizen reports to notify us of criminal and suspicious activity that we need to investigate. Because of the limited amount of officers patrolling at any one given moment, we are unable to see everything that is occuring within the town. You should never hesitate to contact the Police Department if you suspect that you have observed or suspect suspicious activity. Unfortunately more often than not, a crime or incident is reported well after the time of occurance. This can hinder the law enforcement response and make it difficult for the investigating police officer to solve the crime or make an apprehension. All reports must be filed in person. By filing any report you are stating the information contained and communicated to the investigating officer is true and factual. We will gladly take an anonymous report, but more emphasis will be applied to the report made by an identified caller or reporter. Anonymous complaints are sometimes difficult to follow up because we cannot contact the reporter back for more information and quite frankly, the motive of the reporter becomes somewhat suspicious. Our department does not give out the names of the reporter to the suspect or to the public. Although, it does sometimes become necessary to mention the reporting person in the event a case makes it to trial. The DeMotte Department maintains a computer record and physical record of all reports filed with the police department. They are classified as either a Case or Crash (Accident) report. If you file a report it is normally available within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays). There is a minimal fee of $5.00 per copy. Case reports involving criminal activity will only be released at the discretion of the Chief of Police based upon the following guideline: In accordance with Indiana State Law (Indiana Public Access Act), reports are available for public inspection during regular business hours. However, reports that are being investigated, contain information on juveniles and other defined offenses, do not fall under these guidelines. We
do not mail or fax reports Reports
can be requested during the following hours: Mailing
Address: |