Reporter: Claire Doan

KGUN9-TV – Tucson Police may no longer respond to non-injury car accidents, according to a recent memo from Chief Roberto Villaseñior to City Manager Mike Letcher.

Budget cuts have impacted TPD drastically, to the point where "only collisions with injury, those with suspected impaired drivers, or those blocking the roadway will generate a police response," wrote Villaseñior.

While the cutbacks may help the city fix its budget woes, they may be detrimental to many drivers who get into car accidents in Tucson.

TPD declined an on-camera interview with KGUN9 News, saying they are working out the details of their new policies for traffic accidents and will release more information next week.

 However, personal injury attorney Lisa Kimmel said there are a number of reasons to be worried about the implementation of TPD's plan for cutbacks.

"The major concern will be that there's no independent or object person to arrive on scene to assess what happened. Many time accidents occur and there's a difference of opinion who's responsible," Kimmel said. "Tucson Police are trained in accident investigation… They observe evidence at the scene and often determine in their expertise and opinion who's responsible."

While police reports are not the only pieces of evidence used in determining fault in an accident investigation by insurance companies, they play a major role and will more often than not affect the outcome, according to Kimmel.

"The first question is: Who was cited in the accident? The police report is initial document in any automobile case," Kimmel said. "Now if there isn't a police report, somebody may still have case or pursue a claim but it does help the person who's not at fault to have the police report available."

Ron Williams, Executive Director of the Arizona Insurance Council, said not having officers on scene may not smaller claims as much, but will have a big impact on bigger ones.

"If you get into higher-claim situations, the police report that goes with an accident like that is an important investigative tool. Number one: It helps us obtain some independent witness statements," Williams said, adding that not having a police officer there may impact the ability of claims to be processed accurately.

There are options to file a traffic accident report through the Internet or using the telephone, but Kimmel said there are downsides to those options, as well.

"If people are to phone in their reports, they're probably going phone in their perception or more self-serving details of what happened then what actually happened," Kimmel said.

In addition, those who assume they are not injured may not call the police to come to the scene of the accident, not realizing that they are indeed injured until later.

"If they're conscious, they often say they're fine, even though they have injuries that are serious that aren't discoverable until later on," Kimmel said. "And they won't have the benefit of having an investigation or a report regarding their accident."