Report A Hazard

Report A Hazard Skill

Reporting a public problem should be simple and usually isn't: the report goes to the wrong department, lacks the details needed to action it, or vanishes with no reference number, so nothing happens and the reporter gives up. Councils and agencies do fix things — they fix the reports that land in the right queue with a precise location, evidence, and a hazard framing that raises the priority. This skill writes that report, routes it to the channel that owns it, captures a tracking reference, and sets up the escalation for when the first report is ignored.

What This Skill Produces

• The right channel: which department/agency owns this problem and the best way to reach them (the official app/portal/line — many places have a dedicated report-it system)
• A submit-ready report: precise location, what/when/how-bad, a safety framing where genuine, and a photo checklist — the details that move it from "logged" to "scheduled"
• A tracking plan: getting a reference number and what response time is reasonable before chasing
• An escalation path: what to do if it's ignored or bounced — re-report with the reference, go to the supervisor/councillor, and the safety-emergency line for anything actually dangerous now

Required Inputs

Ask for (if not already provided):

• The problem and exactly where it is (an address, cross-streets, a what3words/pin — vague location is the #1 reason reports stall)
• How dangerous it is right now (a live gas smell or downed power line is an emergency, not a report) and who's affected
• Where they are (country/area — channels are local) and whether they've reported it before
• Any evidence they have (photos, dates, recurrence)

Framework

1. Triage danger first. If it's an immediate threat to life — gas leak, live wire, structural collapse, active flooding — that's an emergency line, not a hazard report. The skill separates "report it" from "call emergency services now" before anything else.
2. Route to the owner. Potholes/roads, streetlights, fly-tipping, drainage, building/code violations, environmental hazards each have a different owner (roads authority vs council vs utility vs environmental agency). Reporting to the wrong one is the classic dead end; identify the owner and its official report channel.
3. Write the report that gets actioned. Precise location beats everything (an exact address or pin, not "near the shops"); then what it is, how long it's been there, how bad, who's at risk, and photos. Frame genuine safety impact honestly — a "hazard to cyclists/children" is prioritized over a cosmetic complaint, but don't inflate.
4. Capture the reference and set the clock. Get a tracking/reference number, note the channel's stated response time, and diarize a chase date. A report you can't reference is a report you can't escalate.
5. Escalate when ignored. If nothing happens: re-contact with the reference, escalate to a supervisor or your local councillor ([[elected-rep-letter]]), and for persistent public-safety issues, add visibility. Multiple neighbors reporting the same thing raises priority — say so.

Output Format

## Is it an emergency? (check first)
[If immediate danger → the emergency line, not this. Otherwise, proceed.]

## The right channel
[Department/agency that owns it · the official report route for your area]

## Your report (submit this)
Exact location: … · What/when/severity: … · Who's at risk: … · Photos: [checklist]

## Track it
[Get a reference number · reasonable response time · when to chase]

## If it's ignored
[Re-report with reference → supervisor/councillor → visibility · neighbors reporting too]

Quality Checks

• Immediate-danger cases are diverted to emergency services before anything else
• The report is routed to the department that actually owns the problem
• The report leads with a precise, unambiguous location
• Getting and keeping a tracking reference is built in
• An escalation path exists for the ignored report

Anti-Patterns

• Do not treat a live emergency as a routine report — triage danger first
• Do not assert a specific area's channels or response times as fact — route to the official report system and verify
• Do not inflate severity to jump the queue — an honest safety framing works; crying wolf burns credibility
• Do not submit without a precise location — it's the difference between fixed and filed
• Do not stop at one ignored report — the escalation is where stubborn problems get fixed

Related

[[elected-rep-letter]] and [[speak-at-the-council]] for escalation; [[permit-navigator]] for the other side of local government; [[scam-message-decoder]] if a "pay to fix your report" message appears.