Two new collision reporting centres officially opened on Thursday to streamline the process for car collision reporting with the goal of freeing up Edmonton police resources.
The locations are as follows:
Instead of reporting car accidents at an Edmonton Police Service Station or waiting for police at the collision site, drivers will instead go to a collision reporting centre where staff will help them complete their collision report. This process will include taking pictures of vehicle damage and contacting family members and insurance providers.
The Edmonton Police Service counters will no longer process collision reports. “That’s the message we got to get out to Edmontonians: let’s get them off the street, let’s get them to a safe place,” Edmonton police chief Dale McFee said: “Let’s get them with professionals that are going to give them good customer service, that are going to make their turnaround time sooner than if they were waiting in a front office that’s balancing the priorities of the assaults, the mischiefs, the frauds. This is an exclusive centre to deal with accidents and they’re experts. It’s like anything else, it’ll take some time, there will be some bumps in the road, but based on history and study and best practices, it’s actually far much more efficient than what we’re doing currently.”
EPS is working with Accident Support Services International Ltd. (ASSI) on the centres. ASSI is a management company that bridges police and insurance providers by providing post-collision assistance to drivers. It currently operates 41 collision reporting centres across Canada. “This allows the public to come in at their convenience, within 24 hours,” ASSI president Steve Sanderson said.
