Police to begin using electronic tickets for traffic stops

The sight of flashing red lights in a rearview mirror can quicken the pulse of even the most conscientious motorist.

But circuit court clerks in six area counties can promise a more efficient, safer and speedier experience with an electronic ticketing system being piloted in their jurisdictions.

Authorities in Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, McHenry and Will counties unveiled Tuesday a wireless, computerized system that allows police to issue electronic citations rather than the old pen-and-paper versions.

For example, rather than writing out much of the motorist's personal information, the officer can access and record that data simply by scanning or swiping the bar code on the back of the driver's license. The motorist receives a printed version. The ticket can be transmitted almost immediately to the circuit clerk, who later can more easily share statistics with state officials.

Supporters say it cuts the time of an average traffic stop nearly in half.

"It'll cut down on the gaper's block, which often creates traffic jams and accidents," Cook Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown said. "It's our hope in 2009 we'll be able to completely roll out this system."

Added Kane Circuit Clerk Deb Seyller: "The faster we can get somebody off the side of the street and back on the road again, the safer it is for everyone involved."

Police write about 1.1 million traffic tickets annually in Cook; 225,000 in DuPage; 110,000 in Kane and 167,000 in Will.

The participating circuit clerk's offices paid for the software through an automation fee assessed to all new case filings. Cook spent about $800,000 to try out the software in a few targeted districts, including the Rolling Meadows area. In DuPage County, authorities spent $2.3 million for a five-year contract that offers all the different ticketing options, including written warnings and overweight truck citations.

"Our plan is to do away with that crunchy old yellow ticket that you had to carry around in your pocket to try to get on an airplane with or otherwise use as a form of identification," DuPage Circuit Clerk Chris Kachiroubas said. "What you will have instead is a printed-out version; something you can actually read."

Eventually, the technology may be expanded to include animal control, fire and county health citations. It's also the goal of many circuit clerks, including Kachiroubas, that the new system eventually ends the practice of taking motorists' drivers licenses by allowing them to instead pay during a traffic stop with a credit card.

Local police pay for equipment inside the squad car, basically is a $600 printer that may be covered through a state grant.

Police in south suburban Oak Lawn became the first in Illinois in 2003 to use the technology. Today, it is used in more than 700 jurisdictions across the nation, said Peter Tillman of Advanced Public Safety, or APS, which offers the technology.