Violations and Chalking
Issuing a Person Violation
Person Search
To issue a violation to a person tap on Person Search from the main menu of the OPS-COM app.
This will bring up the Person Search interface which will allow you to search an existing user or create a new one.
Name Search
Supply an existing user in the Name Search and tap Search to find the person you are looking for. If supplied by the user their full name, phone number, driver license and student/staff id will be shown here. You will also see the people alarms associated with that user which will let off a sound notification from your tablet. This allows you to perform a search on a user without issuing a violation to gather additional details about them.
Wildcard Search
You can also perform a wildcard search that will allow you to search users based on their phone number, student/staff ID or drivers licence.
Creating Users
If a person is not known in your system you are able to use the Create button to create a new user. The violation will then be associated to that users account.
To create a user you will need to add their personal details manually.
If the user fails to supply their personal information you can select the Failed to Identify box above the user details to continue issuing the violation.
Issuing Person Violations
Setting up Person Violations
The system allows you to issue personal, vehicle or both personal and vehicle violations. This allows officers to write tickets with both plate and personal information or issue violations unrelated to vehicles.
In order for these violations to be issued you must have a ticket category that applies to users.
To begin issuing a violation to a person tap their name on the Person Search interface. This brings up the Add Violation Record window where you can begin recording your violation details.
Supply the Ticket Type and Offence Type.
Next we can move to the person tab to get more information about the user and correct anything that might not be correct.
If the user fails to supply their personal information you can select the Failed to Identify box above the user details to continue issuing the violation.
We can also search for a user by tapping the Person Search button. This will allow us to search for a different user or to complete the user info if you were issuing a violation from Plate Search.
Click Save or Save & Print to finish issuing the violation.
Make sure to sync your tablet as soon as possible to ensure the data is pushed to the admin side database.
Person Search "Cancels" Violation
It may seem like searching for a person from the violation screen cancels the process however hitting the back button on your handheld device will take you back to your violation information.
Printing a Person Violation
Printer Setup
Before you can print a ticket you must have the printer connected by Bluetooth and selected in your printer settings under System Settings.
Unlike vehicles, personal violations allow you to display the users name and drivers license on the ticket. This also allows you to conveniently issue violations that aren't relate to vehicles.
To print a person violation follow the steps above on searching the user and tap Save & Print.
This will print the ticket on your Bluetooth printer and take you back to the person search interface.
Printer Ticket Example
Below is an example of a ticket that with both person and vehicle information.
If you issue a person only violation then the license plate will not be included on the ticket.
Explanation of the Front of the Ticket/Warning
Ticket Number - This is a system assigned number that identifies each individual violation/warning.
Date - This is the date that the violation/warning was issued on.
Ticket Type - This identifies the type of violation that occurred (broad range category).
License Plate - This is the license plate number for the vehicle that incurred the violation.
Province - This is the province that the license plate is issued in.
Offense Type - This identifies the specific violation that occurred.
Location - This identifies the location where the violation occurred.
Writer - This is a system assigned number that identifies the enforcement officer that issued the violation. Each enforcement officer has their own unique number and can be verified by administrators. The writer is identified by a unique identifier to provide security to the enforcement officer. If you require more information about the ticket writer you can search the violation on the admin side and get an actual name for the person who wrote the ticket.
Fine - This is the amount owed for the particular violation. Note, on the warning ticket the amount is followed by "*Warning". This indicates that the amount on the ticket is not owing, but this is the amount that would be due if a ticket for the same violation was issued.
Towing - This is the amount due if the vehicle that incurred the violation had to be towed.
Comments - This section includes any additional notes that the enforcement officer wants to include.
Explanation of the Back of the Ticket/Warning
The back of the ticket provides details about the organization that issued the ticket and the policies and procedures regarding the ticket. The back clearly identifies how the violator can pay or appeal the ticket with a section for the violator to identify themselves and sign off on the ticket. The back also identifies where to find additional information on the organization and the office hours.
Issuing a Plate Violation
Issuing Violations by Plate
When logged into OPS-COM for Android, tap on the Search Vehicle menu.
After entering the plate number by OCR, voice or typing, the screen refreshes with a list of possible plate numbers.
Note: The red x indicating this vehicle is in violation and the + indicates that the plate isn't in the system yet.
After searching the vehicle tap the plate that is in violation which will give you more options to perform on it such as chalking, violations, details and more.
This will take you to the Add Violation Record screen where you can add the vehicle details as well as add any images associated with the violation. If the user has a DNTT or valid permit then a warning message will appear before allowing you to write the violation.
If the plate is known in the system then the vehicle information will be automatically completed and you can save or save & print the ticket.
- Tap the Select Offence Location. A drop-down menu appears for you to select the appropriate response.
- Tap to select an Offence Type, and a drop-down menu appears for you to choose the appropriate response. To change the fee from the default amount decided by the offence types you can select the fee amount.
- Tap on Towing Fee to add one if required. The cursor blinks to indicate you are in input mode. Enter an amount.
- Take pictures for proof in case of a dispute.
For an example of what the ticket would look like see New Vehicle Violations.
New Vehicle Violations
To issue a violation to an unknown vehicle you just need to make sure that you complete the vehicle information yourself. This will add them to the system the next time you sync your handheld.
To continue issuing the violation
- Add vehicle details. Tap to add a vehicle description.
- Tap the Select Offence Location. A drop-down menu appears for you to select the appropriate response.
- Tap to select an Offence Type, and a drop-down menu appears for you to choose the appropriate response. To change the fee from the default amount decided by the offence types you can select the fee amount.
- Tap on Towing Fee to add one if required. The cursor blinks to indicate you are in input mode. Enter an amount.
- Take pictures for proof in case of a dispute.
Tap Save and Print. Ensure that the printer is powered on and connected. A Ticket will print, and the handheld device will return to the Vehicle Search screen.
If a violation is entered on a plate, the VIN number will not appear on the ticket unless the vehicle only has a VIN number, then the VIN number will appear on the ticket in the license plate field.
Explanation of the Front of the Ticket/Warning
Ticket Number - This is a system assigned number that identifies each individual violation/warning.
Date - This is the date that the violation/warning was issued on.
Ticket Type - This identifies the type of violation that occurred (broad range category).
License Plate - This is the license plate number for the vehicle that incurred the violation.
Province - This is the province that the license plate is issued in.
Offense Type - This identifies the specific violation that occurred.
Location - This identifies the location where the violation occurred.
Writer - This is a system assigned number that identifies the enforcement officer that issued the violation. Each enforcement officer has their own unique number and can be verified by administrators. The writer is identified by a unique identifier to provide security to the enforcement officer. If you require more information about the ticket writer you can search the violation on the admin side and get an actual name for the person who wrote the ticket.
Fine - This is the amount owed for the particular violation. Note, on the warning ticket the amount is followed by "*Warning". This indicates that the amount on the ticket is not owing, but this is the amount that would be due if a ticket for the same violation was issued.
Towing - This is the amount due if the vehicle that incurred the violation had to be towed.
Comments - This section includes any additional notes that the enforcement officer wants to include.
Explanation of the Back of the Ticket/Warning
The back of the ticket provides details about the organization that issued the ticket and the policies and procedures regarding the ticket. The back clearly identifies how the violator can pay or appeal the ticket with a section for the violator to identify themselves and sign off on the ticket. The back also identifies where to find additional information on the organization and the office hours.
Important Note:
Best Practice TipNote the reminder at the top of the screen indicating there is data to sync. This is especially important at the end of a shift. You don't have to sync when you see the flashing bar immediately. |
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Using Groups and Zones
Plate searching and vetting can be focused on using groups and zones.
When using virtual lots, you can specify groups and specific zones within the group.
For example, there may be parking available closer to a building that could be reserved for specific groups of people.
In our example Building, 1 has spots for Day Care parking.
Tap on Any Parking Group to access a list of groups. Here we select BLDG1 for example.
Tap Any Zone to select the specific zone you are patrolling. In this example we are going to patrol the Day Care zone.
The following is an example of a vehicle permitted to use daycare parking after 12:00 pm.
With the handheld unit set up as described above the plate was scanned using the LPR/OCR functionality.
The Green Check Mark indicating the vehicle is permitted to park in the specified Group and Zone.
Tapping the vehicle and viewing the Vehicle Details shows you extended permit information.
Secondary Check On Permit Validity
When creating violations, the handheld units will perform a secondary check on the vehicle to alert the patrol officer if the plate has a valid permit.
In our example, the plate JROCK has a valid monthly permit in the Red Student Lot Yearly (Y-RED-STU).
If the officer proceeds to Issue a Violation the unit will issue a warning that the plate has a valid permit. It will still allow a violation to be created at the officer's discretion in the case that the violation is for something other than a valid permit.
Virtual Chalking
What is E-Chalking (Virtual Chalking) in OPS-COM?
- Virtual chalking, or e-chalking is an electronic process that mirrors how an officer would manually chalk a vehicle's tire, in order to see how long they have been parked.
- Virtual chalking creates a Time-Stamped image, of both the license plate & the entire car, in order to track how long they've been parked
- Virtual chalking provides an image that can be attached to the violation and is acceptable in a court-of-law, provided the date/time stamp is visible & clear. The chalked image is part of the violation, unless the patrol officer deletes the image.
- When LPR software is capturing plates, officers can simply click "Virtual Chalk" to create/save the image
Why "Chalk" a Vehicle?
There are some situations where chalking is very useful, for example; If a vehicle is parked and the owner is going to purchase a permit, there can be a grace period to allow the client to obtain the permit and return to the vehicle to display the permit. Alternately, in areas where parking is provided on a timed basis where a vehicle can park free for 2 hours, the officer can virtually chalk the vehicle on a first pass earlier in the day and then be able to check the vehicle later in the day to determine if it has been parked longer than the permitted time frame.
Chalking vehicles manually is time consuming, so being able to virtually-chalk vehicles makes a time-efficient solution for a necessary aspect of parking management.
Chalk records stored with a violation help when dealing with Appeals as a time-stamped image is available as "proof" of the infraction.
How to "Chalk" a Vehicle on the Handhelds
On the OperationsCommander for Android application, tap the Search Vehicle menu item to open the Vehicle Search window.
Enter a Plate Number and tap the search icon. In this case, we are searching for AAWXY410.
The screen will refresh with a list of valid vehicles. Long press the listed vehicle to access the advanced information screen.
Note the Virtual Chalk button. Tap Virtual Chalk to access the chalking function and information screen.
To capture an image, tap on the image icon to enter camera mode. Snap an image. The screen refreshes with the image of the vehicle in a thumbnail view. Tap Save to save the chalking timestamp.
Allow 10 minutes to pass and compare the chalking captures. Repeat steps 1 through 3 above. The screen will refresh, and we can see in the red text, a note indicating the vehicle was chalked 10 minutes ago.
Long tap on the listing to bring up the advanced information again. Note: If you tap the information box, you will see a full frame view of the image captured.
Verifying the vehicle chalking in the event of a dispute/appeal?
The question has come up often, as to what proof we'd be able to show for when a virtual chalking has occurred. The first important rule when chalking is to be sure to capture an image. If you read the plate using the camera LPR/OCR capture, the image will automatically attach the the chalking record with a date stamp in place. If a violation is subsequently written up on the vehicle, this chalking image will also be saved with the violation information.
If you enter the plate in manually please remember to also capture an image of the vehicle when chalking.
Here is a sample of the plate read image.
Along with that cropped image taken when performing a virtual chalk, the handheld unit will store a full frame image, with the date stamp at the bottom right of the image.
Here's a close up of the Time and Date stamp.
NOTE:
Chalking can be done in a couple of ways. If you are photographing the plate to read it through character recognition the system automatically captures a close up image of the plate as well as a contextual image of the full back of the vehicle. Both are time stamped.
If you enter in a plate via text or voice when chalking you will want to take a contextual image so that you record the time stamp.
The same is true when you actually capture the plate a second time and then issue a violation. It's advisable to take a couple images at least, plus you have the time on the ticket that the violation was written so using both methods (timestamp and time on printed ticket) you can calculate the time the vehicle was parked. There is no limit as to how many images you can take.