Baltimore police are moving forward with a pilot program that would allow a private company to respond to low-level traffic accidents instead of sworn police officers.
The department hopes this will free up more officers to respond to more important calls. Minor traffic accidents made up more than 30,000 calls for service last year and police are hoping this one-year pilot program will help them better deploy their officers
“This is a critical program that we’re looking to see a lot of success out of,” Eric Melancon, deputy commissioner of compliance, said.
The Baltimore City Board of Estimates is now approving a services agreement between the police department and a company called “On-Scene Services.” The company will respond to non-emergency traffic incidents like a fender bender on city roads and if an officer is needed, they will be able to call for them.
“They’re not issuing tickets in these cases. They’re just making sure everybody is safe and making sure that folks are trading information on insurance and the like. And then making sure that the traffic is able to move clearly,” Melancon said.
It is meant to free up BPD officers, so they are ready to respond to other higher-priority calls. Something many drivers think is beneficial especially with an ongoing crime in the city.
“I’ve been in a few fender benders myself and I don’t usually call the police but if I were id feel bad cause I feel like they should be focusing on more serious things,” city resident Matthew Lengel said.
“I think itâs nice that they can respond to more emergent things and as long as they can help people fill out paperwork that’s necessary and not have to have resources of cops that have to respond to an emergency,” city resident Adam Gaynor said.
When it comes to dealing with insurance companies.
“There’s a partnership that can be made there, and then ultimately, part of these reports and, and supplementary information that is collected through this contract, can be made available to them,” Melancon said.
This is part of the city’s “Smart Policing” program. Baltimore City police released the following statement on the pilot program:
“The program is consistent with our efforts over the last several years to divert non-emergency calls that are currently handled by patrol officers, and this pilot will help the city and BPD determine whether this will indeed reduce those calls for service and be worth pursuing city-wide in future years.”
The pilot program will be funded through a state grant. No word yet on when it will start.
