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Ticket Offence Items

The Ticket Offence Items feature allows administrators to define the specific violations that can be issued within the system, such as Parked with No Proof of Payment or Expired Meter. Its primary purpose is to configure fine amounts, discounts, and specific behaviors for each offence, ensuring accurate and consistent enforcement across both web and handheld platforms. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators responsible for configuring violation structures and enforcement settings.

Setup and Configuration

This feature is a core administrative tool used to establish the fines and violations available for issuance by enforcement staff.

Admin Side: Administrators must have the appropriate system role permissions enabled to access the violation configuration menus and manage ticket offence items.

User Side: End-users do not interact directly with this configuration, but the settings defined here dictate the exact fine amounts, discounts, and violation descriptions they see when issued a ticket.

Using this Feature

Administrators can use the following instructions to navigate the management interface to seamlessly add, configure, edit, or archive ticket offence items.

Accessing the Management Interface

  1. Hover over System Configuration, click Violations, then Manage Ticket Offence Items.

Adding a New Offence Item

  1. Select the specific category you wish to add an offence item to from the Ticket Category drop-down menu in the top left box, or choose Unassigned Offence Items.

  2. Click the Add New Offence Item button.

  3. Enter a description for the violation in the Violation Type Description field.

  4. Select the appropriate category from the Ticket Category drop-down menu.

  5. Enter a tracking code in the Key field if utilizing internal audit codes.

  6. Enter a code in the By-Law code field if linking violations to specific municipal by-laws for court collections.

  7. Enable the Administrative Fee checkbox if this item is strictly a backend admin fee.

  8. Click the Save New Offence Item button.

Setting the Fine Amount and Discount

  1. Enter the base monetary penalty in the Fine Amount field.

  2. Enable the Apply Discount checkbox to offer a reduced rate for early payment.

  3. Enter the monetary amount of the discount in the Discount Amount field.

  4. Enter the number of days the user has to pay the reduced rate in the Discount Days field.

  5. Click the Save Ticket Offence Item button.

If the base fine is set to $30.00, and a discount of $10.00 is applied if paid within 14 days, the collected fine will be $20.00. After 14 days, the discount automatically expires, and the full $30.00 is due.

Configuring Adjustable Fine Amounts

Officers can increase or reduce a ticket amount at their discretion (e.g., for repeat offenders or multiple stacked violations) if this setting is enabled.

  1. Enable the Adjust Fine Amount checkbox in the ticket configuration screen. When enabled, the fine amount will appear in black text on handheld units, allowing patrol officers to manually edit the amount. When disabled, the fine amount appears as a grey, non-editable figure on handhelds.

Configuring Administration Fees

Admin fees are useful for backend charges like conviction fees or booting fees. Offence items designated as administration fees do not show on handheld units and are only visible on the admin interface, ensuring field officers do not issue them directly.

  1. Enable the Administrative Fee checkbox.

  2. Enter the desired charge in the Fine Amount field.

  3. Click the Save Ticket Offence Item button.

Editing Offence Items

  1. Click the Pencil icon next to the specific offence item in the list.

  2. Make the necessary updates to the configuration fields.

  3. Click the Update Ticket Offence Item button to confirm.

Archiving and Deleting Offence Items

  1. Click the Delete button next to the specific offence item.

Ticket offence items can only be deleted if there are no violations already written for that particular offence item. Once a violation has been issued using a specific offence item, it can no longer be deleted. Instead, clicking delete will automatically archive the item to preserve the integrity of historical data and reports.

Best Practices and Considerations

  • Use clear and specific offence names: Use descriptive names for offence items to avoid ambiguity. Distinguishing between "No Parking - Fire Lane" and a generic "Parking Violation" provides better reporting and clarity for users.

  • Implement a strategic fine and discount structure: Carefully define your fine amounts and discount structures to encourage timely payment. Align these settings with your organization's overarching enforcement policies.

  • Manage handheld visibility effectively: Strategically decide which offence items are visible on handhelds. Keep the list concise for field officers by moving less common or backend-only fees to the Administration Fees category.

  • Maintain by-law code accuracy: For municipalities, ensure the By-Law Code is accurately entered and consistent with legal requirements for court collections.

  • Leverage alphanumeric sorting: To achieve a specific custom sort order on both admin interfaces and handheld units, prefix the Offence Item Name with numbers or spaces. The system sorts the list alphanumerically (a space is considered higher than an 'A').

  • Establish rules for adjustable fines: Leverage the Adjust Fine Amount feature with clear business rules for officers. Properly categorize what violations apply to vehicles versus users to fit various enforcement scenarios securely.

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