Report Suspicious Activity

What You Need To Know

Prompt and detailed reporting of suspicious activities can help prevent
violent crimes or terrorist attacks. If you see suspicious activity, please
report it to your local police department. Local law enforcement officers
can respond quickly. Once they assess the situation, they can obtain
additional support.

Start Here

Citizens should always call local law enforcement. If you see something
suspicious, please call local law enforcement.

If there is a life threatening emergency, please call 911.

When reporting suspicious activity, it is helpful to give the most accurate
description possible, including:
€¢Brief description of the activity
€¢Date, time and location of the activity
€¢Physical identifiers of anyone you observed
€¢Descriptions of vehicles
€¢Information about where people involved in suspicious activities may have
gone
€¢Your name and contact information (optional)

Behind the scenes there is an active national strategy for information
sharing. The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI)
is a collaborative effort led by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ),
Bureau of Justice Assistance, in partnership with the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and state, local,
tribal, and territorial law enforcement partners.

This initiative provides law enforcement with another tool to help prevent
terrorism and other terrorism-related crime by establishing a national
capacity for gathering, documenting, processing, analyzing, and sharing SAR
information.

The NSI is a standardized process€”including stakeholder outreach, privacy
protections, training, and facilitation of technology€”for identifying and
reporting suspicious activity in jurisdictions across the country and also
serves as the unified focal point for sharing SAR information.

LEARN MORE
€¢Nationwide SAR Initiative

Tips

Remember you can report on suspicious activities anonymously. If you see
suspicious activity, please report it to your local police department. If
you are experiencing an emergency, please call 911.

DHS also has other reporting avenues for reporting incidents such as
chemical security concerns, cyber-security matters, immigration or customs
violations, oil or chemical spills or suspected criminal or terrorist
activity.

LEARN MORE
€¢How to Report Incidents