Agreement Would Allow Online Access to Accident Reports

The Powder Springs City Council is set to vote on Monday on a revenue sharing agreement that would make accident reports available online.

Paper copies of the reports are available for $5 at the , Police Chief Charlie Sewell explained at Thursday’s work session. But if the council approves the agreement, someone would be able to print a report from home for $11.

“So they’re paying $6 more for the convenience,” he said.

Through the Indiana-based company Open Portal Solutions, other Georgia law enforcement agencies, including Gwinnett, Cherokee, Savannah and Paulding, already are participating in the agreement, Sewell said. The revenue sharing comes from the departments getting a portion of what a person pays online, he added.

“The good part is, if we sign the revenue sharing agreement, that company will then provide us the $5 for doing nothing,” the chief told council members. 

Currently, the police department physically mails in paper reports to the state. But through software just installed into patrol cars that the city already owned, officers will now be able to enter the data in electronically and participate in the program offered by Open Portal Solutions, Sewell said.