Police across the U.S. are letting citizens help take a bite out of crime with the use of cell phones and the Internet.

The township police of South Brunswick, N.J. announced earlier this week its online crime reporting system, which will allow citizens to notify the authorities of nonviolent crimes. People lodge complaints about thefts, vandalism, car burglaries, lost property, harassing phone calls, financial crimes and other offenses at www.sbpdnj.net.

"The goal is to give people greater convenience and access when filing a police report," said Capt. Patrick Owens, the project coordinator for the new system. "If we can make reporting incidents easier and free up officers in the process, we will be better able to serve the community."

People away from their keyboards may also help notify authorities using some of the secondary functions of their cell phones. The Los Angeles Police Commission has approved a proposal for a software system that will accept the transmission of picture messages from witnesses of an accident or crime. The software selected by the commission is by Madison, Conn.-based PowerPhone Inc.

According to a KNBCreport, when a witness dials 911 and has cell phone pictures of the scene, a dispatcher will send a text message to the caller, which the caller can reply to the message with the images attached.

"It seems like a good way to make our city safer and help law enforcement officials know about the crime scene," said City Council president Eric Garcetti, who adds that the cost of program will be six-digit range. "If it saves a life, if it helps prevent a crime from occurring, then it's a price well worth it."