Short Answer You must dial 110 exclusively for active police interventions while reserving 112 strictly for life-threatening medical crises, active fires, or acute accidents. Reporting a historical property crime through the emergency line will not get you punished — but it will get you politely redirected while the clock on your insurance paperwork keeps running. What Most Expats Don't Realize You noticed your locked bicycle was missing from your courtyard in the morning and dialed 110 expecting an officer to inspect the scene. The operator redirected you to the regional precinct and the online reporting portal, and you postponed the formal filing for several days because the process felt optional. Your household insurance then rejected the €600 bicycle claim because the policy required a police theft report filed promptly after discovery — the slow channel you skipped was the one that actually protected your money. What To Do * Save the local, ten-digit non-emergency phone number of your specific neighborhood police station into your mobile contact list. * File past property crimes the same day through the regional station or your state's online police portal ("Onlinewache") and keep the case number for your insurer. * "Ich rufe an, um einen Diebstahl ohne akute Gefahr zu melden." (I am calling to report a theft without immediate danger.) — state this immediately if you accidentally reach a central emergency dispatcher for a non-urgent matter. The Truth Germany is strict about system efficiency. 112 is for "I am dying/burning," 110 is for "I need a cop now." Nobody fines a honest mistake — but for everything else, the slow bureaucratic channel is the only one that produces the paperwork your insurance and your case actually depend on.