Those who use eCitation to quickly and accurately complete citations and reports are familiar with the many benefits eCitation brings to the table.
But one benefit that is often overlooked is how eCitation increases officer’s awareness. In our latest infographic, The Hidden Benefits of eCitation, we spell out four key benefits of how eCitation increases officer’s awareness.
Here, we dive into those four benefits a bit further.
- 60% of officer deaths from 2000-2009 were a direct result of traffic-related incidents. Less time roadside allows officers to be more aware of their surroundings, reducing LODDs (Source: IACP)
How does this happen? Passing-by motorists may fail to merge left to give the officer room (and other similar incidents), making roadside traffic stops a dangerous place for officers. In fact, because of this dangerous curbside environment, officers are four times more likely to be involved in a traffic collision than the average civilian motorist.
With eCitations being able to input data faster than handwritten citations, officers are off of the side of the road quicker, reducing the likelihood that they’ll be involved in a collision.
- Officers are more aware of their surroundings and the motorist being cited when their data input is automated and reports are completed faster
Handwritten citations require more attention than eCitations do, simply because they take longer to fill out. Additionally, when handwriting citations, officers’ heads are usually down looking at the form. When the handwritten report is the primary focus for too long, officers become less aware of their surroundings – making themselves and the community around them more vulnerable to danger.
With the combination of electronic citations being on the monitor in front of them (rather than down where handwritten citations are written) and a faster citation process, officers are more aware of their surroundings and maintain authority and safety of the community.
- Officers can be confident that their forms are up-to-date and compliant with court requirements
Imagine how frustrating it would be if an officer took the time to fill out a ticket, only for the court to dismiss it because the form was out of date or not compliant with the court’s requirements.
Since eCitations are completed on a laptop, tablet, or handheld device, up-to-date and revised forms are sent to the patrol vehicle immediately.
- Compiling citation and report data, departments are able to better analyze data and create maps of where accidents and traffic violations most commonly occur
By recording citations and reports electronically, departments can identify accident and violation “hotspots” to focus their enforcement and patrol efforts towards. This information can be shared with multiple stakeholders to take a more holistic approach to keeping the community safe.
For example, if one four-way stop has had substantially more accidents than others, officers can not only keep a better watch at that intersection, but the information can be sent to other departments for consideration of a traffic light at the intersection. This would keep the community more safe while improving the community as a whole.
Improved awareness is just one of the many overlooked benefits of eCitation. For more insight on the many electronic citation benefits, view our latest infographic, “The Hidden Benefits of eCitation”
