Auf der Polizeiwache erstatten wir Anzeige.

Anzeige erstatten is a fixed expression meaning to file a report with the police or to report an offense to the police.

A few important points:

• Anzeige here is a legal/police term, not just a general report.
• erstatten in this phrase means to file or to submit in an official sense.
• It is often used when someone goes to the police to report theft, assault, fraud, and so on.

So it is more specific than just to say something or to tell the police something.

Yes. Anzeige has more than one meaning.

Common meanings include:

• advertisement / ad
• report / complaint to the police

German often relies on context. In Anzeige erstatten, it clearly means the police/legal sense, not an ad.

So:

• eine Anzeige in der Zeitung = an advertisement in the newspaper
• bei der Polizei Anzeige erstatten = to file a police report

Because Anzeige erstatten is a very common fixed expression, German often leaves out the article.

So Anzeige erstatten sounds natural and idiomatic.

You can also hear:

• eine Anzeige erstatten

That is also correct, but it can sound a bit more concrete, as if you are emphasizing a specific report. The version without the article is very standard in this kind of official phrase.

Anzeige is the direct object, so it is in the accusative case.

The verb is erstatten, and what is being filed is Anzeige.

If you included an article, you would see it more clearly:

• Wir erstatten eine Anzeige.

Because Anzeige is feminine, the noun itself does not change here, and eine also looks the same in nominative and accusative feminine. So the case is determined by its function in the sentence, not by a visible ending.

Auf der Polizeiwache is idiomatic German. With some places and institutions, German often uses auf where English might expect in or at.

Here, auf der Polizeiwache means something like:

• at the police station
• down at the station

In der Polizeiwache is not impossible, but it sounds more literally physical: inside the building.
Auf der Polizeiwache sounds more natural when talking about the place as an institution or official location.

Because Polizeiwache is a feminine noun:

• die Polizeiwache = the police station

After auf, when it describes a location and not movement, German uses the dative case.

So:

• nominative: die Polizeiwache
• dative: der Polizeiwache

That is why the sentence has auf der Polizeiwache.

Because German main clauses follow the verb-second rule.

The first position is taken by Auf der Polizeiwache. Once that happens, the finite verb must come next:

• Auf der Polizeiwache = position 1
• erstatten = position 2
• wir = subject after the verb

So the structure is completely normal German word order.

Compare:

• Wir erstatten Anzeige.
• Auf der Polizeiwache erstatten wir Anzeige.

Both are correct. The second one emphasizes the location first.

Yes. That is also grammatically correct.

German allows some flexibility with word order, especially with time, place, and objects. Different versions can sound slightly different in emphasis:

• Wir erstatten Anzeige. = neutral
• Wir erstatten auf der Polizeiwache Anzeige. = neutral, with added location
• Auf der Polizeiwache erstatten wir Anzeige. = puts the location in focus first

So the original sentence is not the only possible word order, but it is a very natural one.

Yes, erstatten is somewhat formal or official in tone, but it is very normal in this context.

In police or legal language, Anzeige erstatten is the standard expression. It is the phrase you will see in:

• news reports
• official forms
• formal conversations
• everyday speech about police matters

A more everyday way to explain the idea might be:

• etwas bei der Polizei anzeigen

But Anzeige erstatten is still extremely common and not strange at all.

Polizeiwache means a police station or police post.

More literally, Wache can mean something like watch, guard, or station where officers are on duty. So Polizeiwache refers to the place where the police are stationed and where people can go to report something.

Depending on region and context, German may also use words like:

• Polizeistation
• Polizeirevier

For a learner, Polizeiwache and Polizeistation are often easiest to understand as police station.

Because all nouns are capitalized in German.

So in this sentence:

• Polizeiwache is a noun
• Anzeige is a noun

That is why they begin with capital letters. This is a general rule in German, not something special about this sentence.