New hi-tech ticket system unveiled

Ingenico have announced a new ticketing system at the recent National Roads Policing Conference attended by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). The new system could save hundreds of hours of administration time as the new device can issue fixed penalty notices.

The new hi-tech electronic solution is set to be trialled during early 2007, when it will be used in custody suites. From there it is planned that the mobile device, known as the Ingenico 8550, will be used in police vehicles so that penalty notices can be issued to identified offenders away from the station.

Similar to a Chip and PIN terminal, the mobile Ingenico 8550 allows forces a radical new method for dealing swiftly and efficiently with a wide range of offences. The device will enable officers to issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and penalty notices for disorder (PNDs), and enable officers to utilise the device’s additional features to reduce bureaucracy for frontline policing.

The handheld Ingenico 8550 will enable officers to simultaneously issue and record tickets electronically with the offender and the police areas computer system used to process these notices. This will lead to the speedy transmission of data to the authorities and ensure more accurate recording of information.

Equipped with GSM/GPRS, the 8550 has the potential to enable offences such as drunk and disorderly, theft, licensing, uninsured vehicles and traffic related violations to be dealt with much more swiftly and efficiently. The device also has built in biometric capability, enabling fingerprint recognition, which will also increase the speed with which offenders and suspects can be processed and identified.

If the Road Safety Bill becomes law shortly, as expected, it will authorise police to take payment from foreign drivers who break the law. If passed, this is likely to lead to more widespread powers which will allow police officers to take payment for a wider range of offences.

Paul Rodgers, Ingenico’s business development manager for the project, commented: “Faster, more accurate processing of penalty notices will vastly reduce the current cost of administration and time of support staff, as well as releasing officers to continue frontline policing. In particular this new system will also act as a deterrent to non-UK residents tempted to flout the law whilst visiting this country and significantly improve the efficiency of issuing tickets and collecting payment from anyone who does.”

Nick Parsons, managing director, Ingenico Northern Europe, added: “Police forces in the UK are having greater and greater demands placed on their time and we aim to set them free from administrative tasks that require an inordinate amount of resource.”