Police Electronic Citation Initiative

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

The Baltimore County Office of Information Technology (OIT) supported the Baltimore County Police Department’s (BCPD) in the implementation of the Electronic Citation Initiative. OIT managed the implementation of the electronic citation system to improve the citationing process for the Officers in the field. This process enables the Police Officer to scan an offender’s driver’s license (or other form of documentation with a bar code), automatically populate the citation with the offender’s data, select the violation type, and issue the offender a printed computer generated citation during the police traffic stop. The electronic citation initiative reduces the length of a traffic stop, reduces the potential for user errors, and enhances Police Officer safety. Police statistics, which are legally mandated for capture during traffic enforcement stops, can be automatically captured and submitted to the Maryland State Police databases again reducing data entry time in transferring information captured during the traffic enforcement stops. Ultimately, the elimination of data entries, reduction of the length of traffic stops, and integration of systems saves cost and maximizes resources for the BCPD.