Calif. Police Department No Longer Responding to Non-Injury Crashes

Long Beach police officers no longer respond to most non-injury crashes, part of a program the department is piloting because of staffing shortages, officials said.

The pilot program launched on Oct. 1, Long Beach police said.

“This change aims to strengthen how we allocate our resources and prioritize responding to priority one emergency calls for service, which improves our overall response efficiency,” the department said in a statement.

The police department said it is budgeted for 824 sworn staff, but has a vacancy of 19% as of Oct. 15.

Officers will still respond to deadly crashes, injury collisions including where any party complains of pain, crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians, felony hit and runs, crashes involving impaired drivers, or if the crash damaged city property or involved a vehicle owned by a federal, state or local public agency.

An officer or Community Services Assistant also will respond to a crash if anyone involved is under 18 and/or has a provisional driver’s license or is in a misdemeanor hit-and-run collision if there is a complete license plate and the driver can be identified, so officers and CSAs can file an electronic report.

Anyone reporting a non-injury crash that requires an officer’s response should call the police non-emergency line at 562-435-6711.

Those involved in a non-injury crash can file a police report online at longbeach.gov/LBPDOnlineReporting. The online reporting system allows victims to report other crimes, including lost property, vandalism, theft or attempted theft and harassing phone calls.

The patrol bureau will conduct quarterly assessments to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the pilot program, which will remain in place for a year.

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