LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Among a series of efforts to remove law enforcement from nonviolent and non-criminal situations, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore announced today that people who suffer minor injuries in non-criminal accidents or collisions will be able to complete a report online.
Reports for accidents are required by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Los Angeles Police Department handles about 40,000 reports each year, according to Moore, who estimated that each report takes about two hours.
“The next step forward, and this is critical, is for our county and city leadership to build and deepen the non-law enforcement resources that are necessary to handle the tens of thousands of additional calls that LAPD is currently handling,'' Moore said. “In plain language, we need outreach workers, mental health professionals that are in the field and available, and seeking work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.''
Reports for collisions involving a driver under the influence or a pedestrian struck by a vehicle would still warrant an emergency response, Moore said.
The program began on Jan. 13, and people who want to complete a report online can go to lapdonline.org and will see instructions in several languages to file a report. The new process also allows people to receive copies of the report, which was previously not an available option.
“This improves not only our saving of time and substantial saving of resources, but also the level of service in which the motorist is just simply trying to get a report, so they can provide it to their insurance company or other circumstances, so they can make a recovery in regards to this collision,'' Moore said.
“This past summer in the tragic aftermath of George Floyd's death, city leadership were called to action to find a way in which law enforcement could focus on its core functions and the most important essence of protection and safety in Los Angeles,'' Moore said. “It also focused on the importance of finding alternatives, non-law enforcement alternatives, that could handle low- level matters of disputes, conflicts and get those matters resolved without requiring a police officer to be present.''
Moore said the new initiative is one in a series of changes the department has made toward this goal, including:
- allowing the public to file police reports through its Community Online Reporting System instead of in person
- referring calls that don't involve a law enforcement matter to 311 for city services or 211 for county services
- expanding use of L.A. Crime Stoppers to submit clues and tips about criminal activity without an officer
- contracting Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services for a pilot program to have their mental health professionals respond to people experiencing mental health issues
- dispatching a mental health response team, consisting of a sworn officer and an L.A. County Department of Mental Health clinician to certain mental health calls.