The Lansing Police Department's new online crime reporting system went live on Monday, after being in the works for more than six months. They call it an effort to "work smarter" not "harder."

"It just gives an opportunity for the citizen to not have to wait around and go on and take the report," said Lansing Police Officer Robert Merritt.

The system allows anyone 17 or older to file a police report online for some non-emergency situations, provided that certain criteria are met.

- There are no known suspects or evidence
- There were no weapons involved
- Not traffic crash-related.

Officer Merritt calls it a way to help the department conserve resources. When there are no leads, police will have the option to close out a case and move on to higher priority situations.

The online system essentially means police won't have to respond in person to some non-emergency crimes and victims won't have to spend time waiting for an officer to show up before filing a report. Even so, Officer Merritt says the goal is not to take away any police presence from the city.

"It's not that we're taking away an officer presence because the citizen still has a right to ask for an officer present and we're glad to send them," Officer Merritt said.

According to police, similar systems have been put out nationwide and this an effort by the Lansing Police Department to stay on top.