[mschuster91]

The problem is metrics, as usual. Police efficiency is usually measured by % of cases solved (=perpetrator(s) identified and, ideally, enough evidence to convict). Now, when people file all sorts of small crimes with no clear way of identifying the perp (e.g. stolen bicycles without trackers, shoplifting with grainy NTSC camera video, online fraud), the PD's efficiency rate goes down and each case means at least an hour or two of paper work that won't lead anywhere, so the first level cops often enough actively discourage people from filing a case - no matter if the leadership is blasting out campaigns that people should report crimes.