York Regional Police is conducting a month-long pilot project allowing self-reportable collisions that occur in the Towns of Aurora, Newmarket, Georgina, East Gwillimbury and the Township of King to be reported online, saving members of the public a trip to a collision reporting centre. The pilot will run from April 5 to May 3, 2023.
The current system for collision reporting requires people involved in a collision to either request police attendance on scene or attend one of York Region’s two collision reporting centres [yrp.ca/ReportingCentres] in Richmond Hill or Georgina.
The new Virtual Collision Reporting form is easy-to-use and available online so it can be completed anywhere, any time [yrp.ca/CollisionReport]. Citizens can report at any time of day on their computer or phone, without being restricted by reporting centre hours.
To participate, members of the public can visit the new Virtual Collision Reporting page [yrp.ca/CollisionReport] to determine if their collision is self-reportable. Or they can call YRP’s non-urgent number, 1-866-876-5423, to find out if the collision is self-reportable. Individuals will then be directed to complete the online form. A York Regional Police officer will reach out within three business days to conduct a follow-up, if necessary.
The move to online collision reporting is intended to improve the experience of the public by eliminating unnecessary wait times at reporting centres, the need to have vehicles towed to the centres and the travel time to get there, while offering citizens the flexibility to report at a time convenient to them.
Virtual collision reporting also frees up police officers to focus on the duties they are uniquely qualified for, spending less time on administrative tasks that can be streamlined by online processing.
Data from the pilot project will determine how virtual reporting can be adopted across York Region in the future.
