What is Electronic Ticketing and Why Do You Need it?

Technology changes everything. Law enforcement is no exception. You now have more tech tools than ever to help you solve crimes and protect the people you serve. In recent years, electronic citations (aka “electronic ticketing”, “eCitations”, or “e-citations”) has changed the way officers issue traffic violations—for the better.

What is electronic ticketing?

Electronic citations simplify the process of issuing a traffic violation. Skip the time-consuming steps of entering the driver’s license information into the system, handwriting the violation, and turning in the paperwork at the end of a shift. With a quick scan of the driver’s license barcode, the software quickly calls up the driver’s information and is auto-populated into the electronic template. The officer chooses the violation code from the drop-down menu and prints the electronic citation on the mobile printer mounted in the vehicle.
It really is that easy!

Why do I need it?

With electronic ticketing, you don’t run the risk of illegible handwriting or data entry errors that could cause the ticket to be voided. The system minimizes the time window because the data is automatically transmitted to the court, rather than piling up and waiting for a clerk to enter the information.
More importantly, expediting the traffic stop reduces the risk to the police officer. Traffic-related fatalities were the leading cause of officer deaths in the first half of 2015, 16% of those deaths were due to an officer being struck outside their vehicle.
An average traffic stop that utilizes the manual ticketing system averages close to fifteen minutes. With an electronic citation system, that time is cut to less than five minutes—even when writing more than one violation. Not only will eCitation get your officers off the road, but it also puts them back in the community, where they can spend more time protecting others.
L-Tron has focused on serving law enforcement with technology solutions for 15 years. We recognize the dire need to make traffic stops safer and more efficient, which is why we suggest printing eCitations with Zebra Technologies mobile printers.
If you’re still uncertain about deploying an electronic citation platform in your agency, please contact us to get the facts.
RAD DeRose