MHPS wades into e-ticketing with pilot program
By Medicine Hat News on March 22, 2019.
The Medicine Hat Police Service is rolling out its e-ticketing pilot program for traffic offences. MHPS Insp. Brent Secondiak says moving to electronic tickets “increases efficiency and effectiveness.” The MHPS issues about 10,000 tickets each year, several of which are tossed out of court due to errors, whether it’s misspelling the offender’s name or writing down the incorrect court date, Secondiak said. E-ticketing will reduce the number of errors because officers just need to scan the bar code on the back of the driver’s licence. The tickets will include driver’s licence and vehicle information, as well as details about the offence, such as fine amounts, scheduled court appearance and payment due dates. “We were really looking for an effective way to manage any mistakes that are issued on the tickets,” said Secondiak. Although machines aren’t infallible, he says most of the errors that get tickets thrown out in court are human. “There could be other issues with tickets form an electronic standpoint, but it’s probably more technology-based, so the Javascript isn’t running on computers or the printer runs out of paper,” Secondiak said. “In terms of errors on the ticket, I don’t think there will be any at all.” It’s important for the MHPS to take advantage of the tools at their disposal in the digital age, he said. E-tickets take seconds, rather than minutes, because officers need only enter the offence’s section, scan the licence and wait for the ticket to print out, said Secondiak. “You can write tickets in a very short amount of time, so there’s less risk to our members on the roadside (and) there’s less time the public is disrupted from the traffic stop,” he said. The pilot is slated to run for about a month and will involve four members of the MHPS Traffic Unit, who will test the new technology and provide feedback to the MHPS Information Technology Section. The program’s total cost is $55,000, which includes the cost of installing hardware and software in 20 vehicles, according to an MHPS news release. Secondiak says if all goes well the program will likely be implemented for all tickets closer to the summer. 16-15
