Police reports should be made for each and every car accident that gets reported to the police. These documents contain a lot of great information to use in your case, but you need to take steps to request a copy of the report before you can access it.
Smyrna’s police department allows you to get records in person by visiting the police department’s Records and Identification Section during business hours. You may also be able to obtain a report online, but the Smyrna PD’s website does not confirm which service they work with. If you are having trouble getting your report, our lawyers can help you obtain it.
For a free case review, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras’ Smyrna car accident attorneys at (410) 694-7291 today.
Getting a Police Report for a Car Accident from the Smyrna, GA Police Department
The police department in Smyrna says on their website that you can get a police report from their records department in person. More specifically, this section of the department is called the Records and Identification Section.
To get a report, you can go in person and request the report during business hours. The office is open from 8 AM to 5 PM, but make sure to give them enough time to put in the records search and get your copy of a report if you have to show up later in the day.
Can You Get a Police Report Online from the Smyrna PD in Georgia?
The Smyrna PD does not list any online services for you to get a report, but there are online services that list Smyrna, GA as a potential locale that they host reports for. Many police departments work with reputable websites to host reports online, and most towns and cities in Georgia do partner with at least one of these websites. However, without any official word from Smyrna on their department website, we are hesitant to recommend using any of these particular services.
If you do use an online service, make sure that it is a reputable one, such as BuyCrash, Police to Citizen, or Crashdocs. Many other websites will provide redacted reports that do not actually have information that you need, like names and license plate numbers.
If you are having difficulty getting your report or have any doubts about whether a certain website or process is legitimate, our Smyrna car accident lawyers can get your report and go over it with you as part of our review of your case.
Do I Need a Police Crash Report for My Injury Claim in Smyrna, GA?
In many cases, getting a police report yourself will be unnecessary. Our attorneys and any insurance companies involved in your case can usually pull a copy of the report ourselves to help progress and research your case. In this case, there is no reason for you to be the one to go out and look up a copy online or to go to the police department in person to get a copy. Instead, our lawyers can make this part of the research for your case.
Additionally, not everyone needs a report to prove their crash happened. Much of the contents of the report are going to be based on second-hand information rather than the officer’s observations. If the officer arrived at the scene of the crash after the crash already happened, they will not have seen the crash, will not know for sure what happened, and will not be able to write authoritatively about what happened. Instead, they will rely on statements given to them at the scene to draft the “narrative” section of the report. The only parts that will be authoritative and trustworthy are the parts based on the officer’s observations, such as their report of what cars were damaged, who was injured, who was driving, and where the crash happened.
All this is to say that the report isn’t always great evidence in your case at the end of the day. If you were able to be there at the scene after the accident and collect information, the report will also overlap a lot with your own report of the facts.
However, if you had to go straight to the hospital and might not even know the other driver’s name, the police report will be essential to determining who was involved in your case and building a strong lawsuit against them.
How Long Does it Take for a Police Report to Be Ready in Smyrna, GA?
Technically, police reports are supposed to be available within 3 days of when they are submitted. However this does not place a requirement on how long the officer has to write the report, just how long the records division has to make it ready. If you are not sure if your police report is ready yet, you may be able to contact the officer directly or call the department’s records division to find out when it will be ready.
How Much Does a Copy of a Police Report Cost in Smyrna?
Smyrna’s police department does not specifically list how much a copy of a report costs, but most police departments we have seen in Georgia charge less than $10 for a copy of a report. Online services often charge under $20 as well, and they usually give you a digital copy so that you can then print off as many copies as you need or send the report to insurance companies and attorneys via email.
Getting Police Crash Reports from Other Departments
If your crash actually took place outside of Smyrna or your accident was handled by a different department, such as the sheriff’s office, you may actually have to go elsewhere to seek a copy of your report. If you are unsure what office the police officer was from, our lawyers can help you obtain the report for your case.
Call Our Smyrna, GA Car Accident Lawyers
Call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 for a free case evaluation with our Smyrna personal injury lawyers right away.