Violations and Chalking Issuing a Person Violation The Issuing a Person Violation feature allows parking enforcement officers to write citations directly to individuals, rather than just to vehicles, using the legacy Android application. Its primary purpose is to enable enforcement actions for non-vehicular infractions or situations where a driver is explicitly known and present. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel. Setup and Configuration In order to successfully issue violations to people, the system requires both backend categorization and local hardware preparation. Admin Side: Administrators must ensure that a specific ticket category is configured in the backend system that explicitly applies to users (person violations). User Side (Enforcement Staff): Before a physical ticket can be printed in the field, enforcement officers must ensure their Bluetooth printer is actively paired to their handheld device and correctly selected within the System Settings menu. Using this Feature Enforcement personnel can query the database for existing users, create new user profiles on the fly, and issue direct violations. Searching for a Person Tap Person Search from the main menu of the OPS-COM Parking Enforcement app. Enter the user's details into the Name Search field and tap Search . Perform a wildcard search instead if you only have partial information, allowing you to search based on a phone number, student/staff ID, or driver's license. Creating a New User If a person is not already known in your system, you can quickly create a profile so the violation can be properly associated with an account. Tap the Create button from the search interface. Enter the individual's personal details manually into the provided fields. Tap the Failed to Identify checkbox above the user details if the user refuses to supply their personal information, allowing you to continue issuing the violation anonymously. Issuing the Violation Tap the person's name from the search results to open the Add Violation Record window. Select the appropriate Ticket Type and Offense Type . Tap the person tab to review the profile and correct any outdated information. Tap Save to log the violation, or tap Save & Print to log the violation and immediately print the physical ticket. Visual Cues and Status Indicators People Alarms: When searching for an existing user, any people alarms associated with that specific profile will prominently display on the screen, and a sound notification will trigger on your tablet. This allows officers to gather crucial details or warnings about a user before approaching them. Printed Ticket Details When you issue a person-only violation, the license plate field will automatically be excluded from the printed ticket. Explanation of the Front of the Ticket/Warning: Field Description Ticket Number A system-assigned number that identifies each individual violation or warning. Date The exact date the violation was issued. Ticket Type Identifies the broad category of the violation. License Plate The license plate number of the vehicle involved (if applicable). Province The issuing province or state for the license plate. Offense Type The specific infraction that occurred. Location The physical location where the violation took place. Writer A unique system-assigned identifier for the enforcement officer. This provides security for the officer in the field, while administrators can use it backend to verify the ticket writer's actual name. Fine The amount owed for the violation. *(Note: On a warning ticket, the amount is followed by " Warning", indicating it is not owed but shows what would be due if a real ticket was issued). Towing The amount due if the vehicle that incurred the violation had to be towed. Comments Any additional notes the enforcement officer chose to include. Explanation of the Back of the Ticket/Warning: The back of the ticket provides details about the issuing organization and clear policies on how the violator can pay or formally appeal the ticket. It includes a section for the violator to identify themselves and sign off, as well as office hours and contact information. Best Practices and Considerations Synchronize your device promptly: Make sure to sync your tablet as soon as possible after issuing violations. This ensures the offline data is securely pushed to the administrative database and reflects accurately on the user's account. Recovering from accidental searches: If you tap the Person Search button while actively filling out a violation, it may appear that the violation process was canceled. Do not panic; simply tap the physical back button on your handheld device to return immediately to your active violation information. Issuing a Plate Violation The Issuing a Plate Violation feature allows parking enforcement officers to look up vehicle license plates and record parking infractions using the legacy Android application. Its primary purpose is to streamline the ticketing process by utilizing existing database records or easily capturing details for new, unknown vehicles. This guide is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel. Setup and Configuration In order to issue violations effectively in the field, administrators must ensure the backend environment is fully configured, and users must prep their hardware. Admin Side: Administrators must ensure that all ticket types, offense locations, default fee amounts, and zone rules are properly configured within the main OPS-COM administrative portal. User Side (Enforcement Staff): Before starting a patrol, ensure your mobile device is fully charged, logged into the enforcement app, and actively paired with your Bluetooth printer (if issuing physical citations). Using this Feature Enforcement personnel can use this feature to issue citations to both known vehicles and vehicles that have never been entered into the system. Issuing Violations to Known Vehicles Tap Search Vehicles from the main application menu. Enter the plate number using OCR, voice command, or by typing on the keypad. Review the search results list. A red X icon indicates the vehicle is currently in violation. Tap the plate record that is in violation to open the Add Violation Record screen. Tap Select Offence Location and choose the appropriate location from the drop-down menu. Tap Offence Type and choose the specific infraction. You can tap the fee amount to manually override the default fee if necessary. Tap Towing Fee and enter an amount if the vehicle requires towing. Capture pictures of the vehicle and infraction for proof in case of a dispute. Tap Save & Print to print the ticket and return to the search screen, or tap Save to log the violation without printing. Issuing Violations to New Vehicles If a scanned plate is unknown to the system, it will be indicated by a + icon in the search results. You must manually add the vehicle description to issue a citation. Tap the plate record with the + icon. Tap the vehicle description field and enter the vehicle's make, model, and color. Complete the violation details (Offence Location, Offence Type, Towing Fee, and photos) as outlined in the steps above. Tap Save or Save & Print . The new vehicle will automatically be added to the database the next time your handheld synchronizes. VIN-Only Vehicles If a violation is entered on a vehicle using only a VIN, the VIN will automatically appear on the printed ticket in the License Plate field. Filtering by Groups and Zones You can focus your plate searching and vetting by applying specific group and zone filters, which is particularly useful for virtual lots or reserved parking areas. Tap Any Parking Group on the search screen and select a specific group (e.g., BLDG1). Tap Any Zone and select the specific zone you are patrolling (e.g., Day Care). Scan plates using the LPR/OCR functionality. A green check mark will explicitly indicate if a vehicle is permitted to park in that specified group and zone combination. Understanding the Printed Ticket Explanation of the Front of the Ticket/Warning: Field Description Ticket Number A system-assigned number that uniquely identifies each individual violation or warning. Date The date the violation or warning was issued. Ticket Type Identifies the broad category of the violation. License Plate The license plate number for the vehicle that incurred the violation. Province The province or state where the license plate was issued. Offense Type Identifies the specific parking violation that occurred. Location The physical location where the violation occurred. Writer A unique system-assigned identifier for the enforcement officer, providing security to the officer while allowing administrators to verify their identity in the backend. Fine The amount owed. *(Note: On a warning ticket, the amount is followed by " Warning", indicating the amount is not owed, but shows what would be due if a real ticket was issued). Towing The amount due if the vehicle had to be towed. Comments Any additional notes included by the enforcement officer. Explanation of the Back of the Ticket/Warning The back of the ticket provides details about the issuing organization, office hours, and clear instructions on how the violator can pay or formally appeal the ticket. It also includes a section for the violator to identify themselves and sign off. Best Practices and Considerations Monitor your sync status: Always note the sync reminder bar at the top of the screen. While you can continue working when it appears, if the bar is flashing, ensure you sync your data before powering down. To trigger an auto-sync, simply return to the main menu and wait 30 seconds, or manually tap Synchronize Data . Heed secondary permit warnings: Pay attention to secondary checks when issuing a ticket. The handheld unit will alert you with a warning message if the plate actually holds a valid permit. You may still proceed with creating the violation at your discretion if the infraction is for something unrelated to permit validity (e.g., parked in a fire lane). Add context photos post-printing: Take additional images of the vehicle after printing the physical ticket. Adding a photo of the printed citation visibly placed on the vehicle's windshield provides undeniable proof of issuance during an appeal. Do not force prints without hardware: Never tap Save & Print if a printer is not actively connected. Doing so will trigger an application error, though it will safely log the violation to the local database as a fallback. Displaying Towing Charges on a Violation The Displaying Towing Charges on a Violation feature allows organizations to print a default $0.00 towing fee on all physical parking tickets. Its primary purpose is to serve as a visible deterrent, reminding parkers that their vehicle could potentially be towed for infractions, even if a tow is not ordered for the current offense. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel configuring the legacy Android application. Setup and Configuration This setting is configured directly within the system settings of the individual handheld enforcement device. Admin Side: Administrators or supervisors must configure this setting on the physical devices used by the enforcement officers. Tap System Settings from the main menu of the handheld application. Scroll to locate the specific towing charge options. Enable the Show $0.00 Towing Charge checkbox. Default State By default, this setting is disabled. If the checkbox remains disabled, the towing charge line item will be completely hidden on standard printed tickets unless a real fee is applied. Using this Feature Enforcement personnel do not need to perform any special actions to use this feature; it operates automatically when a physical violation is printed. Printing Tickets with the Notice Issue a standard plate or person violation on the handheld device. Tap Save & Print on the violation entry screen. Review the printed ticket. The physical citation will now automatically include a "Towing" line item explicitly displaying a "$0.00" value. Best Practices and Considerations Understand actual towing charges: If a real towing charge is manually applied to the violation by the officer, the towing charge will always appear on the printed ticket regardless of whether this setting is enabled or disabled. This toggle strictly controls the display of the $0.00 placeholder value. Align with institutional policy: Organizations should ensure that displaying a towing reminder aligns with their official parking and enforcement policies. Displaying this warning is an effective deterrent, but it should be supported by actual lot signage and organizational towing rules to avoid confusing your parkers. Virtual Chalking The Virtual Chalking (or e-chalking) feature in the legacy OPS-COM Android application is an electronic process that mirrors manually chalking a vehicle's tire to track parking durations. Its primary purpose is to provide enforcement officers with a time-efficient way to manage time-limited parking areas and grace periods, automatically generating time-stamped photographic evidence for potential violations. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel using the legacy Android application. Setup and Configuration Virtual chalking is a native feature of the enforcement application. Admin Side: Administrators must ensure that parking lots with timed parking or permit grace periods are properly configured within the core OPS-COM administrative portal. User Side (Enforcement Staff): Enforcement officers must have the legacy OPS-COM Android app installed, be logged into an active account, and have granted the application permission to use the device's camera. Using this Feature Enforcement personnel can use the handheld application to record a vehicle's presence at a specific time. Note that vehicle plates are automatically chalked when initially searched via LPR, but officers can perform a manual chalk to add contextual information and specific images. Performing a Manual Virtual Chalk Tap Search Vehicle to open the vehicle search window. Enter a plate number and tap the search icon. Tap and Hold the listed vehicle in the search results to access the advanced information screen. Tap the Virtual Chalk button to access the chalking function. Tap the image icon to open the camera and snap a picture of the vehicle. Tap Save on the thumbnail view to record the chalking timestamp. Visual Cues and Status Indicators Elapsed Time Indicator: If you search for the same vehicle again later, the screen will refresh and display red text indicating exactly how many minutes ago the vehicle was last chalked. Time and Date Stamp: Tapping the information box on the advanced listing screen will display a full-frame view of the captured image, complete with a visible time and date stamp located at the bottom right corner of the image. Court-Admissible Evidence Virtual chalking provides photographic proof that is seamlessly attached to a violation. This evidence is generally acceptable in a court of law or formal appeal, provided the date and time stamp is clearly visible on the image. The chalked image remains a permanent part of the violation unless the patrol officer manually deletes it. Best Practices and Considerations Capture contextual images for manual entries: If you enter a plate via text or voice when chalking, you must manually take a contextual image to record the time stamp. The system only captures these automatically when using LPR/OCR camera mode (which automatically grabs both a close-up of the plate and a contextual full-back image). Take multiple images when issuing violations: When capturing the plate a second time to issue the actual violation, take multiple images. Using both the timestamped chalk image and the time printed on the ticket allows you to definitively prove the time the vehicle was parked. There is no limit to the number of images you can attach. Leverage chalking for grace periods: Use virtual chalking to manage grace periods fairly. For example, if a vehicle is parked and the owner is walking to a pay station to purchase a permit, chalking the vehicle allows a fair grace period for them to obtain it before a violation is issued on a subsequent patrol pass.