Alamosa’s police chief told the City Council during a Dec. work session that the department will stop preparing full accident reports for most crashes that occur on private property, saying the practice consumes officer time without adding public value.

The chief (name not specified) said Colorado law does not require reporting of private-property crashes unless certain criteria are met — injury, death, alcohol or impairment, or careless and reckless driving — and that most private-property incidents are minor backing collisions best handled between insurers. "Complete waste of our time when the crash reports don't go anywhere," the chief said, arguing officers’ time would be better spent on other public-safety tasks.

Councilmember Cribbs pressed for details on how the policy will handle hit-and-run incidents and public education. The chief said hit-and-run crashes on private property will still generate a report when tangible evidence exists (for example, video or photos enabling follow-up). He said officers will continue to respond, conduct impairment checks and exchange information on scene and will issue citations when appropriate.

To help residents and insurance companies obtain documentation when the department will not file a full report, the chief said officers will hand out an expanded exchange-of-information form and that the department will provide access to body-camera footage and CAD dispatch notes on request. Residents will also be able to report incidents online through state reporting portals or a private-property crash submission system the chief identified as CARFAX.

Mister Sweetoff noted that unsafe backing is treated as a three‑point violation and said minor fender‑benders do not necessarily result in driving‑record convictions; the chief confirmed officers will not be placing routine private‑property fender‑benders on driving records when no statutory criteria for a report are present.

City Manager (name not specified) told the council the change is primarily an operational decision and that the council did not need to vote to proceed but that this was the forum for members to raise concerns. The chief said the department plans to implement the change on Jan. 1 and that staff will prepare public‑information materials and PSAs to explain the new process to residents and insurers.

No formal council vote or ordinance was recorded during the work session; the discussion was treated as a departmental operational change and staff follow‑up on public outreach was directed.