On Friday, somebody is going to be the first person to get a citation issued electronically through a wireless pocket computer when Carson City deputies go live with their new electronic companions.
"When the deputy hands you this little computer thing to sign, it's not a joke. It really is a citation. These are really cops," said Deputy Glenn Fair, who, along with Deputy Jarrod Adams, was tasked with training the Carson City Sheriff's Department's deputies in using the Hewlett Packard iPAQs that are replacing ticket books.
The new gadget, funded with a federal grant, is supposed to generate citations in half the time and eliminate human error.
Whereas deputies would spend 15 minutes to hand-write the citations then carry the paperwork back to the office, they are now able to use the hand-held computers and a stylus to input information on the citation within seven minutes and download a day's worth of citations at the end of their shift.
No longer will court dates, fine calculations and municipal codes need to be looked up by the deputy, the program will automatically input fees and dates.
After generating the citation, the driver will sign in a box on the screen using the handheld pen.
Once the deputy adds his signature, a tap of the screen sends a wireless message to a tiny printer in the patrol vehicle which prints out the citation, court instruction included, Fair said.
He said downloading the information at the office automatically sends a copy to records and a copy to justice court.
"This saves time and money. Now, we need less people to help process the citation and human error is virtually zero," Fair said.
Any misdemeanor citation issued by Carson City deputies will be generated through the pocket computer from petty larceny to speeding.
Fair said the southern command of the Nevada Highway Patrol and the Reno Police Department are training or already using the iPAQs.
"Ultimately this is going to mesh very well with the computer systems that come on line in the future," he said. "It saves time and money. We'll probably save at least 30 minutes a day in the beginning, and as we get more proficient, we will save even more time."
The nearly $50,000 worth of new computers were purchased with a grant from the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety.
Contact F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.
