CENTREVILLE, VA – Officer shortages and understaffing in law enforcement are up, but the number of minutes citizens believe it should take for officers to respond to minor crashes is less than 30 minutes. When an agency can’t send an officer to the scene, however, citizens want to go digital.

That’s according to the “What Citizens Want” survey conducted by Qualtrics, which CARFAX for Police released today. The nationwide survey gauged citizen sentiment about call-for-service response times when involved in minor crashes, and preferred method of exchanging and then accessing information for insurance claims purposes.

When it comes to minor, non-reportable crashes, a full 99 percent of respondents believe it should take less than 30 minutes for on-scene response, while 82 percent were willing to wait no longer than 30 minutes. However, if an agency can’t send someone to the scene, citizens’ number-one preference is digital exchange of information via a link sent directly from the agency to involved parties while still on scene. Digital exchange also ranked number one for convenience and effective use of police resources.

“Right now, agencies are seeking ways both to be more efficient, and to deliver better citizen customer service,” commented Lt. Michael Ledoux (retired), business development director at CARFAX for Police. “With understaffing requiring more from law enforcement, we know now that agencies can create positive experiences by delivering what citizens want, all while mitigating or minimizing time on scene.”

Additional specifics revealed that 94 percent want accurate and complete documentation, while six percent want to get back to their day as quickly as possible. An online tool where driver’s license and/or registration can be scanned and other information entered is the most preferred way to exchange information. 

As far as obtaining information to file an insurance claim after a minor crash, citizens ranked direct access via a digital link as the most preferred, most convenient, and the best use of police resources. 

Findings from the survey reinforce the benefits of the CARFAX for Police traffic and records solutions. Offered at no cost to nearly 6,000 data-sharing law enforcement partner agencies, Driver Exchange, eCrash, and the citizen report distribution portal, Crashdocs.org, create positive citizen experiences from the scene of the crash through to accident report and information distribution. These solutions help partner agencies save time on two fronts: patrol officers save at least 30 minutes at the scene, while records professionals save time by eliminating the need to handle report requests since citizens receive the information automatically via a digital link upon leaving the crash scene. 

Click for more details on the “What Citizens Want” survey.