Hi-Tech Ticket Writing

Wednesday, October 31st 2007, 5:33 pm

By: News On 6

It doesnâ€™t make it any easier to get one, but the Owasso Police Department has some new hi-tech software that makes giving tickets easier and faster than ever. News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright reports the Owasso Police Department is one of the first agencies in the state to move to the computerized ticket system.

"The reason I pulled you over today is because your speed," Owasso Police Officer Keith Hibbert told a driver on Wednesday.

Officer Keith Hibbert does a lot of traffic stops. They used to take him up to 10 minutes by the time he ran all the necessary checks and wrote out a ticket or warning, now with a few seconds at his touch-screen computer monitor, all that information is done automatically and police dispatch can see it all.

"Sometimes it's immediate and they respond to me," said Officer Hibbert.

"That's a big convenience," said News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright.

"Yes," Hibbert responded.

It works because officers get all the information they need from the drivers license rather than having to call records and wait. They scan the license right in the squad car and almost immediately, on the screen you can see an NCIC check to see if they are wanted and to see their driving record.

By the end of the next fiscal year, this new system should be installed in all 30 Owasso police cars.

"It saves a lot of time,â€ Owasso Police Chief Dan Yancey said. â€œOfficers can have more contacts, and it increases the safety of officers on the side of the road, and the safety of citizens and reduces a traffic stop by 50 percent."

They can't go paperless yet because law still requires the driver sign the citation.

"I'm going to issue you a citation today for 56 in a 35, which is a $204 ticket," Officer Hibbert told one motorist.

The technology is part of a grant program with the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. About the only thing this new system won't do is make it any more fun to get a ticket.

In the past, officers took their tickets to the court clerk, who put the data into the computer and then sent it to the state. This system takes the information straight from the officer's car to the court system and to the Department of Public Safety.

For more information about the Owasso Police Department, click here.

Watch the video: Ticket Writing Goes Hi-Tech