e-Tickets are coming to the Burns Harbor Police Department.

The BHPD is set to become one of the first law enforcement agencies in the state to use the Indiana Supreme Court’s electronic Citation and Warning System (eCWS), in which officers, instead of writing tickets, use a hand-held scanner to read bar codes on a driver’s license and registration.

eCWS creates an electronic ticket right at roadside, the BHPD said in a statement released on Monday. No more scribbled handwriting, no more writing multiple citations. The ticket information is stored electronically and officers print out a paper copy for the offender using a handheld or laptop printer.

Currently, over 100 law enforcement agencies in the state, including the Indiana State Police, use eCWS, which reduces the time needed for a traffic stop as well as the work of court and clerk staff, who no longer have to enter ticket data multiple times.

“This e-ticket system will help us better serve the citizens of Burns Harbor and we are fortunate that software for the system was available without charge to local enforcement or taxpayers,” Town Marshall Jerry Price said.

“Providing officers with this system will reduce their time on the roadside and doing paperwork,” Price added. “That means they will have more time to be on patrol serving our citizens. The e-ticket system will also give officers the ability to get up-to-date information on anyone stopped for an infraction, improving officer safety.”

More than 1 million tickets have already been created using eCWS and stored in a central repository, the statement said. “For counties that are also using the Indiana Supreme Court’s Odyssey Case Management System, the ticket data can be transferred to the Prosecutor’s Office and courts where a number is assigned—all without the need for paper files and repetitious typing.”

For more information about eCWS, go to www.in.gov/judiciary/jtac/programs/ecws.html

Posted 10/27/2009