Former auto theft superior: online reporting 'a bad idea'

ATLANTA - If citizens take up the city of Atlanta’s offer to report crimes on line, a former police supervisor says important evidence will be missed.

For certain property and other crimes, the Atlanta Police Department says victims will have the option of filing a report on line. Many of the illegal acts, car break-ins and vehicle thefts, are a lower priority and citizens could be left waiting.

But Richard Straut, who was an auto theft supervisor, says an officer should go out and may find fingerprints or traces of blood from a criminal who cuts himself breaking window glass.

Straut believes it would be shortsighted to bypass important investigation techniques.

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