Guide To Filing A Report | Merced County, CA (2024)

To File A Report

Please confirm the following to find out if online filing is right for you:

1. This is not an emergency.
2. This incident occurred within the County of Merced (see Citizen Incident Report Map). Enter the address and/or locate where the crime / incident occurred using the map. Once the location is pinned, the map will indicate the reporting jurisdiction of the incident.
3. This did not occur on a state freeway.
4. This does not involve the theft of a motor vehicle, license plate(s), or firearm(s).
5. This does not involve a theft from someone unlawfully entering your home, business, or structure (includes detached garages, sheds, cargo containers, etc).

If all of the above statements apply to your case, you are ready to file your report online.

Using the Merced County Sheriff's Office Online Reporting System you can report the following incidents:

• Custody Order Violation
• Disturbing the Peace
• Forgery
• Fraud and Identity Theft
  • If you were a victim of a theft and the information stolen was later used to commit Fraud or Identity Theft, you need to file one report for the theft and a separate report for the Fraud/Identity Theft. Please note that the jurisdiction of the fraud/identity theft may be different from the jurisdiction where you reported the theft.
• Harassing Phone Calls (does not include threats of imminent harm or death)
• Lost Property
• Theft (except theft of a motor vehicle, license plate, or firearm; you may not report a theft online that resulted from someone unlawfully entering your home)
• Vandalism
• Vehicle Burglary (vehicle was LOCKED and ALL windows were up)
• Vehicle Tampering

Report Completion

Yourself

• First Name
• Last Name
• Address section:Only your home address is a mandatory field; however, if your work address is relevant to your online report, please include the information.
  1. ST#: refers to the number portion of your address.
  2. ST Dir: Use if the directional indicator (North, East, West, South) of your address listed before the street name. Ex: 1234 North Mission St
  3. ST Type: refers to Avenue, Court, Circle, Street, etc.
  4. Apt/Unit: use to identity apartment number, suite number, etc.
• Home Phone/Mobile Phone:You are strongly encouraged to list a phone number in addition to your email address, as a deputy may need to contact you for follow-up information.
• Email Address: Please enter your email address and verify that it is correct. When your report is reviewed, any information regarding the status of your report will first be sent to this email address.
• Employer Name:if your employer information is relevant to your online report, please include this information.
• Race:please select from the applicable drop-down
• Ethnicity:please select from the applicable drop-down
• DOB:please enter your date of birth in the format MM DD YYYY
• Sex:please select from the applicable drop-down
• Resident Status:please select from the applicable drop-down

Incident Details

• Street Address:
  1. ST#: refers to the number portion of your address.
  2. ST Dir: Use if the directional indicator (North, East, West, South) of your address listed before the street name. Ex: 1234 North Mission St
  3. ST Type: refers to Avenue, Court, Circle, Street, etc.
  4. Apt/Unit: use to identity apartment number, suite number, etc.
• Incident Time (start): Refers to the last time you saw the property as you left it or the first unlawful transaction/ activity on your account.
• Incident Time (end): Refers to the time the damage/theft was discovered or the last unauthorized transaction/activity.

Ex: You parked the vehicle at 9pm and returned at 11pm to find the vehicle had been vandalized. The start time is 9 pm and the end time is 11pm.

• Location Type:select the applicable option from the drop-down menu

Property

This information is loaded into a database that we search when we recover property believed to be stolen. Be as descriptive as possible and list all the items individually. Include serial numbers if you have them. Your insurance company will require an itemized list of all stolen items. It is easier to list everything in the first report rather than have to complete a second report. Ex: A backpack with a wallet is stolen. You need separate entries for the backpack, wallet, money, driver’s license and/or CA ID card, each credit/debit card, each social security card, other items in the backpack.

• Property Type:select the best option from the drop-down menu
• Brand:enter the brand of the item if known (i.e. Samsung)
• Model:enter model if known
• Serial No:enter serial number if known
  1. Serialized property, including credit/debit cards, social security cards, driver’s license/CA ID cards, are entered into a statewide database as stolen property if we have all theinformation listed above.
• Color: select the best option from the drop-down menu
• How Many:# of items stolen for that property type
• Market Value:refers to the actual (or estimated) cost to replace damaged or stolen item(s). Credit cards, checks, and personal documents such as ID Cards, passports, social security cards, etc. have no value.
• Property Description: please include a brief description of the item

Additional Guidelines Regarding Property

• Credit/Debit Cards: please state the brand (Visa, MasterCard, etc), the serial number (the account number on the face of the card), and the issuing bank or company in the propertydescription section.
• Checks: please state the brand (issuing bank) and the serial number (account number). In the property description section, include the check numbers for the stolen checks.
• Social Security Cards, Driver’s Licenses, ID Cards: use the number as the serial number. List the owner’s name in the description box.
• Non‐serialized property: items such as clothing, make‐up, books, can be grouped together.

Vehicle Information

If a vehicle was involved in the crime, you must list the vehicle information, including the license plate number or vehicle identification number (VIN) if known.

• Type:select the best option from the drop-down menu
• Make:select the best option from the drop-down menu
• Model:select the best option from the drop-down menu
• Color:select the best option from the drop-down menu
• Style:select the best option from the drop-down menu
• Year:refers to year of vehicle make/model
• VIN:please include if known
• License Plate No:enter license plate number with no dashes or spaces
• Licensing State:select state on license plate
• Vehicle Locked and Windows Closed?Needed for vehicle tampering or vehicle burglary reports
• Vehicle Description:any additional identifying information about the vehicle (bumper stickers, defects, etc.)

Narrative

Keep in mind that your narrative becomes the official police report. What you write will be the information sent to detectives for any follow up, and to the DA’s Office and judge for prosecution, if your case goes to court. Please use proper grammar and punctuation.

Please provide a complete description of the incident:

• What happened?
• Where?
• When?
• How?
• Why? (If applicable. Ex‐harassing phone calls by known subject) Who? (suspect information and why you believe they are involved)

If there is a witness, please provide a full name, race, sex, address, and contact number.

If the case involves a known suspect, please provide as much information as possible, including full name, date of birth, race, sex, height, weight, hair/eye color, address, phone number, and clothing description.

If the case involves an unknown suspect, please provide as much of the following information as you have: race, sex, height, weight, hair/eye color, and clothing narrative description.