Calaveras Residents Told To Report Crimes Online
SAN ANDREAS, Calif. (CBS13) -- Budget cuts have forced Calaveras County authorities to tell residents to stop calling 911 for all non-life threatening emergencies and report crimes online.
With only 50 deputies left to cover a county filled with rural roads, 911 dispatchers will now tell callers a deputy will often not show up to their door for certain crimes, like theft or animal complaints.
"If we have a dog roaming in a field, [it's] next to impossible to respond in a timely manner," said Calaveras County Sheriff's Sgt. Anthony Eberhardt.
The Sheriff's Department announced Monday that more than a dozen crimes now need to be reported online, a measure taken in response to a 45 percent budget reduction over the past three years.
The department is working on providing a free computer kiosk for residents to use, but said residents without internet access can use the free computers at libraries to file the reports.
