Police Speed Up Speed Citation Process

— -- Police agencies and troopers in several states are tossing out handwritten tickets in favor of electronic citations as a way to improve accuracy and save time.

With the quick swipe or scan of a driver's license, officers are able to enter the location, type of violation and print the ticket all from a handheld device, said Chief Deputy Derrick Cunningham of the Montgomery County (Ala.) Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office has ordered 25 of the e-citation systems to be in place by mid-July, and is already looking at expanding the system to all 40 of its cruisers, Cunningham said.

"What we're trying to do is go paperless as much as possible," he said.

To cover the cost of the e-citation devices, the sheriff's office received a $27,000 state grant for the first 25 machines and another grant for an additional 15, Cunningham said.

All of Alabama's 350 state troopers are equipped with the e-citation machines, which save time for the officers, Sgt. Tracy Nelson said.

In addition to saving time, Cunningham suspects the e-citations will cut down on two complaints his office often receives: poor handwriting and ticket fixing.

"No more can people call and say, 'I just got a speeding ticket, can you do something about it?'" he said, because the ticket is electronically transferred directly to court. Elsewhere:

•In California, the San Jose Police Department has 222 e-citation devices. The program began in 2007 and the department wants to add 500 to 600 more units to equip its entire fleet, Lt. Ruben Chavez said.

Chavez said the system improves the efficiency of the ticketing process by reducing officer errors.

"Some of the officers write like they should have gone to medical school and they'll leave boxes empty," he said. "Typed in — it's a lot easier to read."

•In Maryland, 75 state police cruisers are using e-citation software, called e-tix, that the agency created from scratch, said Sgt. Doug Baralo. The state police are partnering with local agencies to provide the software free-of-charge, he said.