eCitation Systems Improve Officer Safety and Reduce Costs

eCitation is not a new concept to law enforcement – the full process of an e-Citation system involves electronic data entry of the violators driver’s license into the entities RMS system which communicates with local and state record keeping systems.  A citation is issued through the RMS system and printed on a mobile computer. Most departments now utilize the “backend” of the e-citation program – printing tickets generated by their RMS program.  A fully implemented e-Citation system offers much more.  Two of the most important additions that a department can utilize to take full advantage of e-Citation are Barcode Scanners and Mobile Computers

Barcode Scanners
Most departments are missing the benefits of a fully implemented e-citation system by not utilizing the “front end” barcode scanner.  A barcode scanner allows the officer to scan the PDF417 barcode off of the back of the driver’s license, and automatically fills in the fields required in their RMS program. In seconds, the information needed by the RMS system is available to run Wants and Warrants, or to issue a ticket.  Using a barcode scanner allows the officer to keep their eyes on their surroundings and not on the keyboard. Which results in a safer situation for everyone involved.

Mobile Computers
Many departments have areas or events that need to be patrolled where it is inconvenient to access the patrol car laptop.  Examples of this would include Parks, Beaches, University Dorms, Concerts and House Parties.  A mobile computer, not much larger than the average cell phone can be programmed with the departments RMS.  Equipped with this device and a portable printer, the officer can quickly check ID’s, issue tickets and keep order without having to return to their vehicle.  While the cost of a mobile computer is more than a standard scanner, the ability to issue tickets on site allows the officer to write more tickets. In result, paying for itself in a matter of months.

This solution also works well for parking enforcement and departments that utilize motorcycle and bike patrols.

E-CITATION BENEFITS

No matter the size of the agency, an eCitation system is the answer to tedious, time consuming issues that are associated with a manual citation system. An eCitation system will dramatically reduce wasted time and errors while issuing citations. Thus improving the quality and accuracy of information captured while eliminating additional paperwork and the potential for a citation to be “thrown out” in court.

OFFICER SAFETY

The number one reason for your department to implement an e-Citation system is Officer Safety. Manually writing a ticket causes the officer to focus on the citation form, sacrificing situational awareness. With an eCitation, the officer’s concentration can be on the violator and the environment, and he or she is finished with the process much more quickly.

Traffic stops are incredibly dangerous. It generally takes an officer 10-15 minutes to issue a moving violation, multi-part ticket. Danger increases the longer an officer is on the side of the road issuing a citation. The more time that passes, the higher the chance of a distracted or unaware motorist causing an accident involving injury or death to the officer.  In addition, the longer an officer takes to issue a citation, the more agitated the violator can become as they wait. The increased frustration can lead to a hostile situation.

The average time it takes to issue an eCitation is a few minutes. Electronic ticketing offers the officer the opportunity to clear that traffic stop up to five times faster. That could dramatically increase officer safety.

TIME EFFICIENCY

eCitation systems allow law enforcement agencies to efficiently meet the growing data collection and reporting workload without risking officer safety. When agencies use an eCitation system, all data from the citations are automatically transferred electronically into the agency and court record systems. This simple feature eliminates paid clerk hours, which can easily justify the purchase of an e-citation system. The ability to finish a traffic stop in less time also allows for more tickets to be written per shift.

REVENUE INCREASE

eCitation systems eliminate errors associated with hand-entered/hand-written tickets.

ROI – The bottom line:

For every 1000 citations that a department issues annually, (Assume an average of $75.00/citation) eCitation has proven a minimum of a 10% reduction on in error rates and thrown out citations. An additional 100 citations are collected on for a value of $7500.00 per 1000 citations issued.

INCREASED FIELD PRODUCTIVITY/TIME SAVINGS- 

Manual ticketing systems take about 10-15 minutes to issue.  Electronic systems allow officers to issue a ticket within just 2-3 minutes.  If 20 officers write 5 tickets per day, with a time savings of only 5 minutes per citation, the productivity savings amounts to 1600 hours of patrol time. That is nearly the equivalent to having another officer on patrol.

No one likes traffic citations.  Most Law Enforcement officers would rather be doing something else, and the violators, well, they don’t like them either. Electronically-generated citations (eCitations) make the task more palatable on both sides of the transaction.

Manually writing a ticket causes the officer to focus on the citation form, sacrificing situational awareness. With an eCitation, the officer’s concentration can be on the violator and the environment. The officer can be finished with the process much more quickly and safely

To learn more about what eCitation can do for you and your department, give us a call at 920-257-4357. For more information regarding white papers, testimonials and other information on our Read & Feed™ program, please click here: http://huzzard.com/readandfeed/