If you have a run-in with a police officer anytime soon, you may get your ticket a lot faster than before.
The Issaquah Police Department recently implemented a new program that simplifies the process of filling out traffic citations or accident paperwork.
Through the state Department of Transportation’s Statewide Electronic Collision and Ticket Online Records program, or SECTOR, officers no longer have to spend time writing a paper ticket in the field.
Three officers began testing a new program in December that allows information to be scanned and automatically sent to records departments. The Washington State Patrol already uses the program, and many other police jurisdictions are looking in to it.
With the new program, officers scan the barcode on your driver’s license and registration to automatically enter the information onto an electronic citation or accident report.
This not only saves the officer time when writing the ticket, but it helps eliminate the clerical errors that come from misreading information, or not being able to decipher handwriting.
“There are 30 some boxes that have to be filled out, and this does it all for you,” Cmdr. Scott Behrbaum said. “It simplifies it, so there’s no confusion over whether the number in someone’s license is a zero or an ‘O,’ for instance.”
Once the information is entered onto the ticket, officers can print a copy to give to the driver which includes all necessary court information. The tickets will also be electronically sent to the court system.
It will be beneficial to officers on motorcycles who have struggled to write a paper ticket in the sleet, snow and rain, Behrbaum said.
In addition, the number of people who try to have their tickets thrown out due to errors should be reduced, meaning less time in court for officers.
The SECTOR software is free, as were the three test scanners and printers. Patrol cars are already equipped with computers to run the program.
The main cost will be additional scanners, for which the city has authorized $20,000 to equip 13 vehicles.
Brian Horn, a patrol officer testing the scanners, called it a “fool proof” system and said once he got the hang of it, he could complete a traffic ticket in one minute.
“At first I wasn’t so sure, but after time, I much prefer this over paper tickets,” he said.
Behrbaum said the goal is to have the entire department using the SECTOR program by the end of the year.
Interlock License goes into effect
A law giving people who have had their licenses suspended due to a drunken-driving conviction a safe and legal way to drive went into effect Jan. 1.
Under the law, if a person has an ignition interlock device, or breathalyzer, installed in their car for the length of the suspension, it’s legal to drive.
This gives people who need to get to work or school a viable option, said Robert Calkins of the Washington State Patrol.
“People don’t want to drive on a suspended license. A lot of these folks want to get legal again,” he said. “They have good reasons to drive. If they get the interlock license, that would give them that option.”
A person must blow in the breathalyzer to start the car. If alcohol is detected, it won’t start. Ten minutes into the drive, the breathalyzer requires another check. If alcohol is detected that time, the horn honks and the lights flash to draw attention to the car.
The new law is based on a similar one enacted in New Mexico two years ago. Since that law took effect, drunken-driving deaths have dropped substantially.
The device costs between $65 and $75 per month, plus a $100 application fee. There is also a $20 fee that goes toward providing the device to low-income individuals, said Selena Davis, a Department of Licensing spokesperson.
She said it is still too early to determine the popularity of the new law, but she has received a handful of inquiries.
