The Top 6 Reasons Why eCitations Are Better Than Paper
Law enforcement agencies are increasingly eschewing pen and paper in favor of mobile technology to automate the citation process. eCitations allow officers to print legible tickets on the spot, while automatically transmitting digital information about the incident to municipal, police and court records management systems. By arming officers with rugged mobile devices, agencies are able to increase productivity and efficiency in the field. In fact, eCitations systems can reduce ticketing time by 50%.
The combination of lightweight and reliable rugged tablets or handhelds, such as the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1 and Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1, paired with a Brother mobile printer, allows officers to:
- Accurately document the driver’s license information
- Enjoy the convenience of an auto-populated citation form
- Quickly print the citation for the motorist
- Seamlessly send the citation digitally to the courthouse
Our law enforcement customers who have adopted this mobile approach and eCitations are realizing numerous operational and financial benefits including:
- Increased officer safety: In 2015, 63% of officer deaths happened while conducting a traffic stop for vehicle enforcement. eCitation systems reduce this roadside risk and as well as ticketing time.
- Greater citation accuracy and transparency in the citation process: 10-15% of handwritten tickets are dismissed due to illegibility (or $600-900 million in lost revenue). With eCitation, officers achieve 98% citation accuracy.
- Better efficiency with a system-wide approach: The automated process allows officers to instantaneously access traffic violation and accident data. Clerks are no longer needed manually enter paper tickets into a database.
- Improved officer productivity and job satisfaction: On average, it takes an officer 10-15 minutes to manually issue a citation. Electronic systems reduce that time to 2-3 minutes, eliminating up to 200 keystrokes.
- Reduced cost of processing citations: If 20 patrol officers issue 5 traffic citations a day, eCitation can save 1,600 hours of patrol time a year. Going green can reduce paper costs by 75% or more.
- Fast return on investment: eCitations increase revenue and reduce administrative costs, allowing agencies to see a fast ROI from their mobile technology solutions.
Steve Rauschenberger, Executive Director of the eCitation Coalition says, “The benefits of electronic citation are exceptional. Local governments are able to both better maximize their operations and drive gains in revenue collection at a time when municipalities are being asked to do more with less.”
For more information on how mobility can increase efficiency for law enforcement agencies, please visit Brother Mobile Solutions and Panasonic online.
