Pittsburgh police officers will no longer respond automatically to a request for an in-person visit after a minor incident in which there’s no chance of finding evidence or a suspect, the police chief said.

Chief Cameron McLay said Wednesday that he changed the policy for the department’s Telephone Reporting Unit, staffed by clerks in the Municipal Courts Building, to give officers more time to patrol.

“This will take some call pressure off simply by telling people, ‘We’re really sorry, but for this type of routine call, we’re going to have to divert you to the Telephone Reporting Unit,’ ” McLay said.

Pittsburgh has been taking reports by phone for years of minor incidents, such as criminal mischief or non-reportable vehicle accidents with no injuries. McLay, in a “chief’s order” to all personnel dated Aug. 25, added offenses such as simple assault, harassment, vehicle theft and burglary to crimes that can be diverted to phone banks, which drew criticism from Councilwoman Darlene Harris of Spring Hill.

“Now we’re going to decide who’s going to get a police officer and who’s not, and you’re going to let civilians make that decision,” Harris said, predicting her office would be flooded with complaints. “I think you’re walking down a very dangerous path.”

McLay said officers will always respond to an immediate crime or danger.

“If there’s evidence of a crime that can be recovered, we’re still going to go,” he said. “Or if they have information that, ‘Hey, I think I know who did it,’ they’re still going to go.”

He said residents who are referred to the Telephone Reporting Unit but want an on-site visit by an officer can ask to speak to a police supervisor or report the crime in person at a police station.

Elizabeth Pittinger, executive director of the Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board, said the change concerns her. Having an officer come to your home can be comforting if you’re a victim, she said.

“Sometimes you can have a call that’s pretty straightforward, a nominal kind of thing, no big deal,” Pittinger said. “But if you’re upset and you want to see an officer, that’s a big change.”

Ken Wolfe is president of the Zone 3 public safety council, which serves as a bridge between police and the city’s South Side neighborhoods. He worries that the public perception will be negative.

“With an assault, you want an officer to come” to take a report, Wolfe said. The police chief should “think of a police officer as a social worker in that respect.”

The department has struggled to keep pace with retirements despite an increase in the number of recruits graduating from the police academy each year. The city wants to graduate three classes of recruits in 2016.

The total number of officers has hovered around 850, down from about 900 budgeted positions each year.

McLay said he wants officers to spend more time engaging with residents to boost relationships and patrolling streets. He said telephone clerks work day and afternoon shifts, but he intends to expand to a daily, 24-hour operation.

“The intention behind that is to free up officer time so that they’re not going and simply taking a report that … will probably be shipped to an insurance company,” he said.

Robert Swartzwelder, president of Fraternal Order of Police Fort Pitt Lodge 1, said the union’s only concern would be if McLay assigned officers to staff the telephone unit.

“If he’s not pulling from street strength, I don’t think the FOP has a dog in this fight,” he said, adding that he would review the policy to be certain. “What was happening was people were able to say, ‘I want an officer.’ That defeats the purpose.”

Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-765-2312 or bbauder@tribweb.com. Staff writer Tony Raap contributed.

Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff reporter. You can contact Bob at 412-765-2312, bbauder@tribweb.com or via Twitter .