Ionic - Search Vehicles

• Search Vehicles - OPSCOM Enforce App
• Search Vehicle Results - OPSCOM Enforce App
• LPR Scanning
• Incorrect LPR Reads Updating
• Message Alerts Tab
• Violations View
• Chalking View
• Notifications from Permit Misuse

Search Vehicles - OPSCOM Enforce App

The Search Vehicles function on the OPSCOM enforcement application is the primary tool for field personnel to look up vehicle information by license plate or VIN, verify parking permit status, and initiate enforcement actions. Its primary purpose is to allow enforcement officers to quickly retrieve actionable vehicle data in the field. This guide is intended for operators of OPSCOM handheld units.

Setup and Configuration

The Vehicle Search function is a core, native component of the handheld application and does not require any special administrative configuration or backend setup to function.

Admin Side: No setup is required. Simply ensure your device is actively connected to a network to receive real-time data, though offline cached searches are supported.

Visual Cues and Status Indicators A colored dot at the top of the search panel indicates the device's current connection status: Green Dot: The unit is actively connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network (3G/LTE). Yellow Dot: The unit is not connected. Searches can still be performed using cached data, but the information may not be real-time.

Using this Feature

Enforcement personnel can use this feature to query vehicles using manual text entry, voice commands, or the device's camera for optical character recognition.

Performing a Vehicle Search

Tap Vehicle Search from the main menu and use one of the three methods below to enter vehicle information.

1. Select a Parking Lot Group in the drop-down menu
2. Select a Parking Zone in the drop-down menu

Text Search

1. Tap the text field on the Vehicle Search screen to activate the on-screen keypad.

2. Enter the full license plate number or Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

3. Tap the Search button.

Voice Search

1. Tap the microphone icon to activate the voice recognition feature.

2. Clearly speak the license plate number when the prompt appears. The system will transcribe the speech directly into the search field.

3. Tap the Search button.

LPR and OCR Camera Search

1. Tap the camera icon to enter License Plate Recognition (LPR) search mode.

2. Position the device's camera so the vehicle's license plate is aligned within the on-screen rectangle.

3. Tap and Hold the screen to capture an image of the plate.

4. Tap the correct plate number from the resulting list of possibilities to initiate the search.

Reviewing Search Results

After a successful search, the vehicle and permit details will appear below the search area. Tapping on the vehicle record expands a yellow ribbon, revealing available actions for that specific vehicle. You can also tap directly on the permit information displayed under the license plate for a quick view of its expiry details.

Available Actions and Buttons

• Virtual Chalk: Tap this button to apply a virtual chalk to the vehicle, logging its current location and time for time-limit enforcement.

• Issue Violation: Tap this button to proceed directly to the violation issuance screen for this specific vehicle.

• Details: Tap this button to view a comprehensive screen displaying all permit and vehicle details.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Connect to a network when possible: While offline searches are possible thanks to the device's data cache, always connect to a network when possible. This ensures you are working with the most current, real-time permit and violation data.

• Optimize your camera scans: For best results with the LPR and OCR camera search, ensure the license plate is well-lit, clean, and fills as much of the alignment rectangle as possible.

• Reduce audio interference: For the most accurate voice search results, speak clearly in an environment with minimal background noise.

Search Vehicle Results - OPSCOM Enforce App

The Search Vehicle Results screen allows field personnel to interpret the information returned after looking up a specific vehicle. Its primary purpose is to help officers verify parking rights, review a vehicle's history, and make informed enforcement decisions directly in the field. This guide is intended for personnel using OPS-COM Android handheld units.

Setup and Configuration

While the handheld results screen requires no configuration for the end-user, administrators control how much historical violation data is sent to the devices.

Admin Side:

1. Hover over System Configuration and click System Settings.

2. Click the Violations tab.

3. Locate the Violation History on Handhelds setting.

4. Set the desired date range (e.g., 6 months or 12 months) to limit how far back the visible violation list goes on the handheld devices.

Using this Feature

After performing a vehicle search, the application presents detailed information in a multi-layered interface, starting with a high-level summary and allowing you to drill down into specific details.

Results Summary

Immediately after a successful search, a list of potential plate matches is shown while a summary for the vehicles is displayed.

• Key Information Displayed: The license plate, Province/State, and the type of vehicle (e.g., passenger, commercial).

Quick Actions (More Details)

Tap the vehicle record in the results list to expand the More Details section. This reveals further information on the make, model, color of the car (if available), details on the violation history, and a set of quick action buttons.

• Chalk: Tap this button to instantly initiate the Virtual Chalking workflow for time-limit enforcement.

• Violation: Tap this button to proceed directly to the Issuing a Violation screen for the selected vehicle.

• Details: Tap this button to open a comprehensive screen containing the vehicle's complete history.

The Details Screen

Tap the Details button for a complete overview of a vehicle's record. This screen is the central hub for all historical data related to a vehicle in the system and is organized into three distinct tabs.

Current Permits Tab

• Key Information Displayed: A complete list of all current permits associated with the license plate. Each entry provides key information such as the permit type, its validity period (start and end dates), and the specific lots where it is valid.

Violations Tab

• Key Information Displayed: A historical log of all violations previously issued to the vehicle. For each entry, you can review the violation date, type of infraction, and its current status (e.g., paid, outstanding).

• All-Time Violations: This count includes every non-spoiled violation the vehicle has ever received (Total Paid, Unpaid, and Warnings). This all-time total may be higher than the actual list of violations visible on the page because the list is filtered by the administrative history setting, while this summary counts absolutely everything.

• History Period Violations: This count only includes violations that occurred within the date range set by your administrator. This ensures officers apply escalation policies correctly (e.g., booting after 3 violations in the last 12 months) without accidentally counting ancient history.

The All-Time Violations count on the Violations tab will always exactly match the total violation count displayed in the More Details section of the main search results screen.

Recent Chalk Records Tab

• Key Information Displayed: A history of all Virtual Chalking events for the vehicle. It serves as a log to track time-limit enforcement, displaying the date, time, and location of each chalking instance.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Review all tabs: Always review all three tabs in the Details screen to get a complete vehicle history before issuing a violation. A pattern of previous violations or chalks can provide important context for enforcement and escalation.

• Check permit validity closely: When checking the Current Permits tab, pay close attention to the valid dates and lot assignments for each permit to ensure the vehicle is compliant at the exact current time and location.

• Monitor your connection status: Always check the connection dot at the top of the search panel, as the accuracy of the data depends on the device's last synchronization. A green connection dot indicates you are viewing real-time information, while a yellow dot means you are viewing potentially outdated data from the device's local cache.

LPR Scanning

The LPR Scanning interface provides real-time data and visual cues when using the handheld's License Plate Recognition (LPR) capabilities. Its primary purpose is to help field officers quickly identify vehicles in violation, track chalked vehicles, and effectively monitor their active scanning status during patrols. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel using the application.

Setup and Configuration

The LPR scanning interface relies on core system settings established in the backend, but the interface itself is ready to use natively within the app.

Admin Side: Administrators should ensure that lot grace periods, permit rules, and any vehicles of interest (hotlists) are accurately configured within the core OPS-COM administrative portal, as the handheld relies on this data to display the correct flags.

User Side (Enforcement Staff): No specific device setup is required. Enforcement officers simply need to log in to the OPS-COM Enforce app and navigate to the LPR scanning section with their device's camera or external LPR hardware active.

Using this Feature

The LPR screen is designed to present crucial enforcement data rapidly as the officer moves through a lot.

Key Information Displayed

• Running Scan Total: Located on the right side of the screen, just above the recent read list. This number indicates the total amount of plate reads successfully captured during your current patrol session.

• Camera Directional Arrow: An orange arrow displayed beside the plate image indicates exactly which camera (e.g., the right-side camera) captured the recent plate read.

Visual Cues and Status Indicators

The system uses colored flags to instantly communicate the status of a scanned license plate:

• Red Flag: Indicates the scanned plate is currently in violation.

• Green Flag: Indicates the scanned plate holds a valid permit or authorization.

• Orange Flag: Indicates the vehicle has been chalked and is currently still within its allowed grace period.

If no cameras are configured to the account and area the Key Info, Visual Cues and Status Indicators like mentioned above will not show up when you open the LPR Scanning tab. In the top right corner there will be a small message letting you know there are no connected cameras and head to settings to add them. 

Available Actions and Buttons

• Parking Lot Group/Zone drop-down menu: Tap these menus to select the group and the parking zone to scan through.

• Plates-of-Interest Toggle: Tap this toggle located at the top of the panel to initiate alert-only scanning. Once selected, no standard permit validation will be performed, vehicles will continue to be chalked normally, and loud alert notifications will be presented on the device only if a specific vehicle of interest is seen.

• Plate Entry: You have two options - Manual Entry and Voice Entry. Either type in the plate or read the plate out loud to be transcribed in order to find all details linked to it in the system.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Always resume scanning after edits: Remember to tap the ON button after manually editing a plate read. Failing to toggle the scanner back to green means the system remains in offline mode, and subsequent plates will not be scanned as you continue your patrol.

• Utilize alert-only mode for targeted patrols: Use the Plates-of-Interest toggle when specifically hunting for scofflaws, stolen vehicles, or banned users, rather than performing general parking enforcement. This streamlines the patrol process and prevents the officer from being distracted by standard permit validation alerts.

Incorrect LPR Reads Updating

The Incorrect LPR Reads Update process allows officers to manually correct license plate numbers that were misread by the device's camera. Its primary purpose is to ensure accurate enforcement and maintain reliable database records by fixing optical character recognition (OCR) errors directly in the field. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel using the handheld application.

Setup and Configuration

This correction feature is native to the LPR scanning module and does not require any specialized backend setup.

Admin Side: Ensure you are logged into the application and actively conducting patrols using the LPR scanning tool.

Using this Feature

Enforcement personnel can seamlessly correct misread plates without having to exit their active patrol session.

Correcting a Plate Read

1. Tap LPR Scanning from the main menu to open the LPR Scanning page.

2. Locate the incorrectly read plate from the active list of plate reads generated during your patrol.

3. Tap the text field of the incorrect plate and manually type the correct alphanumeric characters (e.g., if the camera read VZ7281, but the actual plate is BVZT282, type the missing letters).

4. Tap Search & Update to refresh the record and display the updated, correct plate number.

5. Tap the red OFF button to toggle it back to the green ON state to resume your patrol.

Visual Cues and Status Indicators

• Offline Mode Indicator: The moment you tap into a field to adjust a plate read, the LPR system automatically enters an offline state to prevent the camera from overwriting your work. This is indicated by the main scanning button changing from a green ON state to a red OFF state.

• Database Synchronization: Once you tap Search & Update, the correction is not just local to your screen. The record is immediately updated within the core database to reference the newly corrected plate data.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Always remember to toggle the scanner back to ON after updating a plate. If you leave the button in the red OFF state, the system will not capture any subsequent plates as you continue to move through the lot.

• Take a moment to verify the physical plate or the captured context image before submitting a fix. This ensures that you do not accidentally introduce a secondary typo while correcting the initial OCR error.

Message Alerts Tab

The Message Alerts feature provides a centralized communication channel for pushing important news, updates, and urgent notifications directly to patrol officers' handheld devices. Its primary purpose is to help administrators ensure field staff are immediately aware of changing situations, safety notices, or operational directives. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel using the application.

Setup and Configuration

The messaging system is native to the application and requires no specialized configuration on the mobile device itself.

Admin Side: Administrators create and push alert messages to all active units or individual specific handhelds via the core OPS-COM administrative portal.

User Side (Enforcement Staff): No setup is required. Enforcement officers simply need to be logged into the handheld application and maintain an active network connection (Wi-Fi or cellular) to receive incoming messages.

Using this Feature

Enforcement personnel can receive alerts in real-time or review previously sent messages at their convenience through the application interface.

Reviewing Message Alerts

1. Tap Message Alerts from the main menu of the OPS-COM Enforce application to open the message center.

2. Review the list of recent alerts sent to your device.

Message Notifications

When a new message is pushed to the device, officers are notified through several standard methods even if the app is running in the background:

1. Look at the device's top header bar to see new message icons as they arrive.

2. Swipe down on the header bar to open the notification shade for a quick preview of the alert text.

3. Tap the specific alert notification to automatically open the OPS-COM application and navigate directly to the Message Alert list.

App Icon Badges If you are on the device's home screen, the OPS-COM application shortcut icon will display a notification badge (a small numbered dot) indicating that you have unread messages waiting.

Visual Cues and Status Indicators

Alerts are categorized into three distinct types, indicated by color, to help officers instantly gauge the priority of the message:

• Blue Alerts: These alerts are for general informational purposes (e.g., a reminder about an upcoming shift change).

• Yellow Alerts: These alerts are used to inform users of events or situations that should be actively monitored (e.g., a large event causing lot congestion).

• Red Alerts: These alerts are reserved for high-priority situations that require immediate action or response from the officer.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Acknowledge notifications promptly: Officers should routinely check their notification shade and the Message Alerts menu while on patrol. Ensuring timely review of incoming messages is critical, especially when Red Alerts are dispatched for immediate action.

• Prevent alert fatigue: Administrators should reserve Red Alerts strictly for genuine emergencies or time-sensitive directives. Overusing the highest priority alert for standard informational updates can cause officers to become desensitized to actual urgent situations.

Violations View

The Violations Tab is a specific section within the Search Vehicle Results screen on the OPS-COM Enforce application. Its primary purpose is to provide field officers with a detailed historical log of all past violations issued to a specific vehicle, assisting them in making informed and escalated enforcement decisions. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel using the handheld application.

Setup and Configuration

The Violations Tab automatically retrieves its historical ticket data directly from the central database.

Admin Side: No specific configuration is required on the handheld device. Administrators manage all violation histories, payment statuses, and escalation policies within the core OPS-COM administrative portal.

User Side (Enforcement Staff): No specific device setup is required. The historical data populates automatically during vehicle searches, provided the device has a network connection.

Using this Feature

Enforcement personnel use this tab to review a vehicle's citation history and current payment compliance before issuing new tickets.

Accessing the Violations Tab

1. Perform a plate or VIN query using the Search Vehicles function.

2. Tap the specific plate read from the initial search results list .
   

3. Tap the Details tab in the extended plate read menu.

4. Open up the Violations section of the vehicle details page. 

Key Information Displayed

• Violation Date/Time: The exact date and time that the ticket was issued.

• Violation Number: The Violation # that was assigned when the ticket was added to the system.
  

• Offense Location: The specific lot or zone where the infraction occurred.

• Violation Type: The nature of the offense (e.g., Parked in No Parking Area).

• History Summary: A high-level count of the vehicle's past violations (e.g., within the last 18 months), including a breakdown of paid, unpaid, and warning counts.

Visual Cues and Status Indicators

Each individual violation record features a clear, color-coded status indicator on the right side of the screen denoting the Payment Status Text:

• PAID (typically displayed in green) indicates the citation has been resolved.

• UNPAID (typically displayed in red or orange) indicates there is still an outstanding balance for that specific infraction.

• CANCELLED (typically displayed in grey) indicates that the citation is no longer open.
  

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Review unpaid violations before ticketing: Always check the Violations tab for a history of unpaid tickets or repeated offenses. Identifying a pattern of unpaid or frequent violations is critical for enforcing escalation policies, such as initiating a tow or applying a boot.

• Ensure data synchronization: Always verify your device has an active connection when reviewing violation history. If your device is operating strictly from its offline cache, recent ticket payments or newly issued citations from other officers may not be immediately reflected on this tab.

Chalking View

The Chalks Tab is a dedicated section within the Search Vehicle Results screen on the legacy OPS-COM Parking Enforcement application. Its primary purpose is to display a historical log of virtual chalking events for a specific vehicle, assisting officers in accurately enforcing time-limited parking zones. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel using the legacy Android application.

Setup and Configuration

The Chalks Tab automatically compiles its data directly from previous virtual chalking events performed by enforcement officers in the field.

Admin Side: No specific configuration is required on the handheld device to view this tab. Administrators manage global chalking grace periods and settings within the core OPS-COM administrative portal.

Using this Feature

Enforcement personnel use this tab to review past chalking records to determine if a vehicle has overstayed its allowed time in a specific location.

Accessing the Chalks Tab

1. Perform a plate or VIN query using the Search Vehicles function.

2. Tap the specific plate read from the initial search results list.

3. Tap the Details button to open the extended vehicle record.

4. Tap the Chalks tab (or swipe left/right across the screen to navigate to it).

Key Information Displayed

• Chalk History: Chalk records are listed chronologically, displaying from the most recent event at the top to the oldest at the bottom.

• Time Stamp: The specific date and exact time the chalk event occurred.

• Map Location: A visual map snippet illustrates exactly where the vehicle was parked when it was chalked.

• Chalk Comments: Any notes or comments entered by the patrol officer at the time of the initial chalking.

• Distance Calculation: A distance reading (in meters) indicating exactly how far your present physical position is from the location of the first chalk record.

Available Actions and Buttons

• Camera: Tap the camera icon on a specific chalk record to display the full-size image captured during that initial chalking event.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Review chalk images before ticketing: Always tap the camera icon to verify the chalk image is clear and the vehicle has not moved. Ensuring the evidence is solid and time-stamped correctly is crucial for defending against potential parking appeals.

• Leverage chalk comments: Encourage officers to add descriptive comments when initially chalking a vehicle. Notes providing valuable context (e.g., valve stem positions, specific parking bays, or vehicle damage) are highly visible on this tab and can assist the same or other officers upon their return patrol.

Notifications from Permit Misuse

The Permit Misuse Notification feature alerts parking enforcement officers when multiple vehicles sharing the exact same permit are scanned within a specified timeframe. Its primary purpose is to help identify and deter fraudulent permit sharing on-site, ensuring users are not abusing multi-vehicle permit privileges. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel using the Enforce handheld application.

Setup and Configuration

This feature is configured directly on the handheld enforcement device. Setting a timer dictates exactly how long the system remembers the first vehicle's capture before resetting the misuse window.

Admin Side: Administrators or supervisors must configure the specific duration of the misuse timer on the device itself.

1. Tap System Settings from the main menu of the handheld application.

2. Scroll to the Violations and Chalking section and tap Permit Misuse Window.

3. Tap the Permit Sharing and Misuse drop-down menu to open the duration options.

4. Choose the desired length of time (e.g., 1 Hour). Setting this time immediately activates the function.

Using this Feature

Enforcement personnel do not need to perform any special actions to use this feature; it operates seamlessly alongside standard vehicle searches during an active patrol.

Triggering a Misuse Alert

1. Perform a standard plate or VIN query using the Search Vehicles function while on patrol.

2. Acknowledge any on-screen pop-ups before proceeding with standard enforcement actions.

Visual Cues and Status Indicators

• Permit Misuse Alert Popup: If you search for a vehicle that shares a permit with another vehicle that was recently scanned within the active timer window, a prominent alert will appear directly on the device screen. This immediately notifies the officer of possible permit misuse.

Understanding the Timer Cycle If your timer is set to one hour, the system will present a warning if the second vehicle is scanned within 60 minutes of the first vehicle's scan. After that hour has passed, the first read is effectively forgotten by the handheld's local cache, and the monitoring process starts over.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Establish a clear enforcement policy: Organizations should develop a strict business rule for how officers handle a misuse alert. Officers need clear directives on whether to issue a standard parking violation, write a specific permit fraud citation, or attempt to verify the physical presence of both vehicles on-site before ticketing.

• Tailor the timer to your environment: Carefully consider the length of your misuse timer based on your lot turnover and specific permit policies. A timer that is too short may miss abusers who stagger their arrival times, while a timer that is excessively long may capture legitimate instances where family members legally swap parking spots halfway through the day.