Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS)


One of the most important things you can do to help the police and your community is to report crime.  Community information is essential to identifying crime patterns and apprehending offenders.

But when you call the police, it is critical that you MAKE THE RIGHT CALL.  Not every situation is an emergency that requires an immediate police response, so not every call to the police needs to go through the 9-1-1 emergency number.  The City of Chicago has a non-emergency number 3-1-1, as well as various hotlines and other mechanisms for communicating with the police in non-emergency situation.

For Emergencies call: 9-1-1
For Non-emergencies call: 3-1-1

9-1-1 is the number set aside by telephone companies throughout the United States to put you in touch with emergency aid agencies.  In Chicago, all emergency communications for the City are located in a new state-of-the-art-facility, the Chicago Emergency Communications Center.

An emergency is any situation involving a crime in progress, or an imminent threat to life, bodily injury, or major property damage or loss.  A home burglary in progress, a man with a gun on the street, or a traffic accident with serious injuries are all examples of police emergencies.

For 9-1-1 purposes, the City is divided into 13 radio zones.  Calls to 9-1-1 are automatically routed to the proper zone depending on where the call originated.

To make an emergency call in Chicago:

  • Dial the numbers 9-1-1 on your telephone.  A call taker will answer the call and write down the information you provide.

    Note:  For persons who speak languages other than English, the AT & T Language Line provides interpreters in more than 140 languages.

    Remain calm-speak slowly and clearly.

    Explain what type of emergency you are reporting.  If the crime is taking place while you are calling, tell the call taker the incident is in progress.

    The call taker will request your name.  However, you do not have to identify yourself when reporting a crime.
  • Give your location, if it is different from the scene of the emergency.

     Note:  In some instances, you may not want the police to come to your home or otherwise identify you as the person who made the call.  Expressly tell the call taker if you do not want the police to come to your home.

  • Give the phone number you are calling from.
  • Stay on the line, while the call taker passes your information to the dispatcher, in case there is additional information or instructions.   



Use 3-1-1 to Report Non-Emergency Situations
 
Not every criminal incident is an emergency that requires an immediate police response.  So not every call to the police needs to go through 9-1-1.  In fact, non-emergency calls to 9-1-1 can slow the police response to true emergencies and can reduce the time that beat officers have to work with the community on solving longer-range problems on their beats.

That's why the City of Chicago established a flexible telephone system for people to report non-emergency situations to the police.  The police non-emergency number is 3-1-1.

A non-emergency incident is one that does not involve a crime in progress; does not pose an imminent threat to life, bodily injury or major property damage or loss; and does not require the immediate dispatch of a police unit.

 

Non-emergency include crimes such as pickpocketing, theft from an automobile, deceptive practices, criminal damage to property, garbage burglary, auto theft and other offenses in which the offender is no longer at the scene.

The police non-emergency number is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  The system is staffed by members of Police Department's Alternate Response Program, which is located in an upgraded facility near the new Chicago Emergency Communication Center.

For your convenience, the police non-emergency number provides the following options.  You can:

  •  Ask a question
  • File a police report immediately over the telephone.  This option is especially convenient for cases such as minor damage to, or theft of, property.
  • Make an appointment to file a police report
  • Speak directly to desk personnel at your police district station.  This option is useful for passing along information to or trying to contact your beat officers or other district personnel.

The Alternate Response Program does not take reports of homicides, missing persons, or sex offenses.  These must always be phoned in to 9-1-1.