GREENSBORO, N.C. — If you get into a minor crash in Greensboro, help is on the way, but don't expect a police officer in uniform, but rather a civilian crash investigator.
This was a three-year process, now trucks will show up if you get into a minor crash.
In it, you'll find cones, a gas can, jacks, and the equipment to file a police report.
The Greensboro Police Department said it is a part of the new initiative to have civilians help police respond to minor crashes, so officers can focus on crimes.
It's called the Civilian Traffic Investigation team. There are currently four investigators and there will be a fifth in May.
A.D Reed, a Greensboro Police Sergeant, said it's exciting to see this team finally start stepping in to help.
"We've progressed from an idea, all the way to fruition by having some vehicles for them, putting them in seats, giving them the training, and now they're out there getting ready to put the training to work," said Reed.
After a three-week academy, the investigators will help stranded drivers on the side of the road.
They will remove debris from the road, direct traffic, and investigate crashes that involve property damage.
"They actually have more training than the basic patrol officer out there," said Reed. "Every crash report that they file is a valid report. It's the same as if an officer did it."
The team cannot do crashes involving injuries, but they were trained in first aid, CPR, de-escalating tense situations, hazmat, and railroads. It's all so they know how to handle a situation if they run into it or if they need to step in for a worst-case scenario.
"When you see this vehicle out there, understand it is the same," said Reed. "It's a civilian traffic investigator. They're there to do the wreck investigations or to help the strain of motorists or anything else that they can do."
Vicky Bullock is one of the investigators.
"It feels real good being a part of something that Greensboro is doing for the first time," she said.
Bullock said she's excited to help those in Greensboro on their worst days.
"I decided to do this because it was a new opportunity for me to do something different with the city of Greensboro," she said. "We're going to make sure that we take care of everybody by making sure that the scenes are secure and just being able to help them get back to a normal routine that they've had when something untimely has happened. "
According to GPD, Greensboro averages about 6000 property damage crashes and expects the team to handle at least a third of the wrecks, which will help officers dramatically.
"This is a way of us taking some civilian positions and using them to help the public," said Reed. "We have a very positive outlook now, and if that continues, we will ask for more, more or more civilian traffic investigators to help out."
The move-over law applies to these vehicles as well. When you see their lights, slow down and pull to the side of the road.
They will operate Monday through Friday during peak traffic times.
If you remember in June 2023, Governor Roy Cooper signed the bill into law that would allow police departments to form Civilian Crash Investigation Teams.
At that time Greensboro Police Chief, John Thompson said 15,000 crashes a year is how many calls Greensboro Police Department officers were having to respond to a couple of years ago, which equates to anywhere from 20 to 25,000 man-hours.
The department was determined to find a better alternative.
Wilmington and Fayetteville passed local legislation a few years ago that allowed them to have civilian crash investigators.
After hearing about the successes, GPD wanted to bring the idea here.
After being approved through state law, applications were put in around October.
After going through a hiring process, this team was able to get trained and now will start being deployed.