VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Beach Police Department has just started using new technology when issuing tickets to drivers.
According to the department, on Dec. 12, officers began using a new electronic ticketing system. It allows officers to print the citation on-site. The department says this will eliminate the need for hand-written records which will improve turnaround time.
“E-ticketing is really going to change the way we are able to perform our job functions on a daily basis," explained Captain William Zelm with VBPD. "No one really likes to receive a ticket, but in the efficiency savings, in terms of a police operation and government business, the man hours that something like e-ticketing is going to save, is almost immeasurable.”
Officers would scan a driver's license into the new system, eliminating the potential of handwritten errors, according to Captain Zelm. In addition to issuing traffic and parking tickets, they can also use the mobile device to fill out accident forms, field contact forms, and perform crash diagramming.
"Of the thousands and thousands of tickets we write every year, having to manually enter those into a system takes a lot of time," Zelm stated. "It takes a lot of time for the officers to write, and it takes a lot of time for the court staff to enter into their system. So, fundamentally, this is going to make our job processes much more efficient than they have been."
The e-ticketing system can also be used by bike and mounted patrols.
The ticket will provide information like pre-pay options and a court date. The department says that all of its police vehicles should have the new system by the end of January 2023.
