In a fender bender? Meet the Wilmington Police Department civilian unit ready to help.

Wilmington sees thousands of car accidents each year, but it’s not always a cop who investigates them.

Donning a collared polo shirt and a radio on his belt – rather than a bulletproof vest and a gun – civilian Stanley Pollock responds to three to five accidents each day.

But, he’s not there to write a citation or make an arrest. He’s there to make sure no one is hurt, investigate the crash and ensure the scene gets cleared safely.

He’s a civilian crash investigator.

The Wilmington Police Department’s civilian crash investigators work to investigate minor vehicle accidents, freeing up sworn officers to tackle crime and other serious incidents.

The Wilmington Police Department investigated over 8,000 traffic crashes in 2021. Of those, the civilian team handled around 3,000 of them – more than 37% of the workload.

"You never know what you're going to get into on a daily basis," Pollock said. "You go out there and you just give it your all, you do the best you can, you treat people with respect and you gain the trust of the public. That's why we're here, to serve people."

Who’s on the team?

In 2007, the Wilmington City Council funded two positions for civilian crash investigators, and Pollock took one of those spots in January 2008.

Previous reporting: Civilians hired to investigate crashes for Wilmington Police Department

Related: There were 22 traffic fatalities in Wilmington last year. How are police increasing safety?

Before moving to the United States, Pollock served for 14 years as a police officer in his home country, the Commonwealth of Dominica, in the Caribbean. It felt natural, Pollock said, returning to a law enforcement agency.

For more than a decade, Pollock was one of the two-member team of civilian crash investigators. These investigators respond to minor car accidents in the city and investigate those that result in property damage only. They also assist with traffic control when vehicles involved in crashes obstruct roadways.

In 2021 – nearly 15 years after the unit’s inception – the department added four investigators, tripling the team's size from two to six investigators. The department is currently hiring for two vacant traffic investigator positions.

Although the crash investigators don't have law enforcement power, many on the current and former teams have law enforcement experience, Pollock said. Currently, the other three investigators on the team are retired officers.

According to staffing data from earlier this year, the Wilmington Police Department employs roughly 90 civilians and around 240 sworn officers. Civilians play roles in community engagement, records, crime scene investigations, evidence and other units within the police department, according to Wilmington Police Department spokesperson Brandon Shope.

“You want the officers to be out there doing what they are able to do, and then you need a bunch of people like us who come in and assist them with whatever they need us to do to make their lives, their work much easier for them,” Pollock said.

More people, more accidents

Wilmington is a growing city. As traffic increases, Pollock said, so does the number of traffic accidents. In 2008, the city saw around 4,000 traffic crashes each year. That annual count more than doubled by 2022.

Living in luxury: Here are the 11 most expensive homes sold in New Hanover County in 2022

Recently: Wilmington's longest-serving police chief dies at 88

“We have drivers here from every state,” Pollock said. “Everybody comes to Wilmington with a different way that we drive and what we expect.”

Currently, the team has four members ready to respond to accidents through the day. Each investigator, Pollock said, might respond to five accidents each day.

His main concern when responding to an accident, Pollock said, is how the persons involved are doing. If anyone needs medical attention, he radios for EMS. If a citation is necessary, he radios for a sworn officer.

For more severe accidents, the department’s traffic unit handles the investigations.

Being an example

When the first two civilian crash investigators were hired in 2008, similar programs were rare across the state. At the time, police departments in Charlotte and Fayetteville had implemented similar programs.

Now, more agencies across North Carolina have similar units in place and, according to Shope, they’ve looked to Wilmington’s as the example.

“The Wilmington Police Department’s Civilian Crash Investigator Unit is a model for other agencies that are looking to possibly implement something similar,” Shope said.

Agencies around the state – from as far away as the western mountains – are “taking notice” of Wilmington’s unit and noticing the benefits civilian crash investigators can have on officer workload, Shope said.

Pollock said it’s a program every law enforcement agency would benefit from.

“The folks who work in our civilian traffic investigator unit do go above and beyond every day – just as our officers go above and beyond every day – to help keep our community safe, and we appreciate and value the work that they do,” Shope said.

Jamey Cross is the public safety reporter at the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter @jameybcross. 

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Civilians aid police, investigate minor car accidents in Wilmington