By Duane Wolfe
Police1 Contributor
Saltus Technology recently formed a new company after leaving MacroSolve and is marketing their digiTICKET technology for police applications. The system allows the officer to scan in the driver’s license information, which is then automatically put into the ticket.
Offenses are selected from a drop down menu reducing the time needed to look up the offense on an old style “cheat sheet.”
The system has a key pad to enter any other additional information that might be needed for the citation. Once the citation is finished the offender provides their signature which is captured by the device. The signature serves as an indication of the offender’s receipt of the citation from the officer. The device then prints off a paper ticket which is given to the driver.
The ticket information is stored electronically resulting in a savings in paper and storage of a hard copy ticket.
The device also can take photographs for accident scene investigation and it has GPS recording capabilities.
One of the biggest advantages is the savings in time by officers on traffic stops. Police Chief John Bolduc of the Brainerd, Minn. Police Department stated that his officers are averaging a savings of around five minutes per stop using electronic ticketing versus the old pen-and-ticket book method.
That time savings benefits the officer as well as the offender. Bolduc also stated that with the use of the driver’s license reader and key board there is no longer a problem with tickets being unreadable which results in a reduction of confusion and time lost down the line in the recordings keeping system.
Another advantage of digiTICKET is the time reduction in the traffic stop itself. With officers spending less time parked on the roadside the likelihood of an accident is reduced. The faster method of filling out the ticket allows officers to keep their heads up allowing them to concentrate on their surroundings and not focus on a time-consuming paper and pen ticket.
Saltus Technologies is dedicated to developing and marketing mobile electronic ticketing solutions to law enforcement, government agencies and private industry. You can find them on the Web at http://www.saltustechnologies.com/.
Duane Wolfe has been a Minnesota Peace Officer since 1988, serving as patrolman, sergeant, S.R.T., Use of Force and Firearms Instructor, and is currently employed by the Parkers Prairie Police Department. He is also a full time instructor in the Law Enforcement Program at Alexandria Technical College, Alexandria, Minnesota. Duane has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Bemidji State University, and a Masters Degree in Education from Southwest State University. Duance has previously published articles on Calibre Press and IALEFI and served on the Advisory Board for Lt. Col. Dave Grossmans book, On Combat. Contact Duane Wolfe.