Note: This story was updated at 5:30 p.m.
A new roughly $500,000 hardware and software suite purchased for the Oak Ridge Police Department includes an electronic citation system that will allow officers to scan driver’s licenses with handheld units and quickly issue multiple citations.
The new system will save time because it will, among other things, automatically download information from the electronic tickets, including into the court system, officials said.
“It’s a lot quicker, a lot more effective,†Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said during a January work session with the City Council.
Officials said the ability to issue tickets quicker could produce more revenue for the city and more effective law enforcement. They said it will also eliminate some problems with the current system, such as messy handwriting on paper tickets and the need to duplicate data entry in the police department and then again in the court system. [Read more…]