The Violations and Chalking features in the OPS-COM Enforce app allow field personnel to issue citations directly to individuals or vehicles and utilize virtual chalking for time-limit enforcement. Its primary purpose is to streamline the enforcement process, ensuring accurate data capture and provable offenses without the need for physical chalk. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement staff.
## Setup and Configuration While the enforcement application handles the physical issuance of tickets, administrators must ensure the backend environment is properly configured to support field operations. **Admin Side:** 1. Ensure the default chalking grace periods are properly configured within your system settings. 2. Verify that your ticket types, offense locations, and offense reasons are up to date so they populate correctly on the handheld units. **User Side (Enforcement Staff):** 1. Open the handheld app and log into an active enforcement account. 2. Ensure your device is connected to a network to receive real-time permit data and user records. ## Using this Feature Enforcement personnel can use the handheld application to perform virtual chalking and issue violations specifically targeted at a person or an unidentified vehicle. ### Chalking a Vehicle [Virtual chalking](https://opscom.wiki/books/opscom-enforce-ios-android/page/virtual-chalking-explanation) is a highly useful tool that quickly identifies vehicles eligible for time-limit violations. It alerts you if a vehicle has moved since the last chalk and exactly how long ago it was chalked, making it easy to write provable violations. 1. Tap **Vehicle Search** from the main screen and search for the offending vehicle's plate. 2. Tap **Chalk** on the vehicle record. 3. Enter the plate province/state and plate type (e.g., Passenger, Commercial, Government). 4. Set a custom chalk grace period if desired (the system default will apply automatically if left blank). 5. Tap **Save**. The vehicle's timer has now started, and you can return later to verify if a violation is warranted. ### Issuing a Person Violation You must know the person's name and ensure they are a registered user in the system to issue a person violation. 1. Tap **Person Search** from the main screen. 2. Enter the name of the registered user and tap their entry when it populates. 3. Select **Private Property - Person** if no vehicle is involved. (If a vehicle is involved, use the Vehicle Violation workflow below). 4. Enter the ticket type, offense location, and the specific offense reason (or reasons, if multiple apply). 5. Attach any necessary files, such as photo or video evidence. 6. Enter private (internal staff only) or public comments (user visible). 7. Tap **Save** to issue the violation. ### Issuing a Vehicle Violation You can enter a known plate or a plate that has never been entered before; new plates will automatically be added to the vehicle database. 1. Tap **Vehicle Search** from the main screen and search the license plate. 2. Review the search result icons (see the Visual Cues table below) to verify if the vehicle is eligible for a ticket. 3. Tap the **Violation** button. 4. Enter the ticket type, offense location, and the specific offense reason(s). 5. Enter additional vehicle information, such as province/state and plate type. 6. Tap the **Failed To Identify** toggle on the people tab if the driver's identity is unknown. If the identity is known, enter it normally. 7. Attach photo or video evidence and any applicable comments. 8. Tap **Save** to issue the violation. ### Visual Cues and Status Indicators Searching a plate will return a variety of result types indicating the vehicle's current status. Use the chart below as a reference for the symbols and audio notifications you will encounter:| **Icon** | **Audio Notification** | **When/Why Is This Combo Used?** |
| **Black Cross** | None | Plate is not found in the database. Tap to add a new vehicle. |
| **Red X** (with Red permit pill) | None | Plate found, but has no valid/active permit, or the plate was chalked and the grace period has expired with still no valid permit. **Eligible for violation/ticket.** |
| **Green Check** (with Green permit pill) | Bing (LPR) | Plate found with at least one valid and active permit, or plate was chalked but a valid permit was added later. |
| **Green Check** (with Red dot) | None | Plate found and has permit(s), but the vehicle is NOT active on the user's profile. (Rare) |
| **Notification** (Red !) | None | Plate has a specific warning for Do Not Ticket or Tow (DNTT). |
| **Notification** (Blue !) (with Blue permit pill) | None | Plate found and has a valid permit, but is parked in the wrong lot/zone. |
| **Chalk** (Map) | Swoosh (LPR) | Plate has been chalked (manually or by LPR), and the grace period has not yet expired. |
| **Flag** | Buzz | Indicates that there has been a specific alert triggered on either the person or the vehicle. |
Virtual chalking (or e-chalking) is an electronic process in the OPS-COM Enforce app that precisely mirrors the manual chalking of a vehicle's tire to monitor parking durations. Its primary purpose is to help enforcement officers efficiently track time-limited parking and automatically generate time-stamped photographic evidence for potential violations and appeals. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel.
## Setup and Configuration Virtual chalking is a native feature of the enforcement application and relies on system-defined grace periods to calculate parking violations. **Admin Side:** Administrators must ensure that parking lots with timed parking or permit grace periods are properly configured within the backend system settings. This ensures the handheld application knows exactly how long a vehicle is allowed to remain parked after being chalked before it is flagged for a violation. **User Side (Enforcement Staff):** Enforcement officers must have the OPS-COM Enforce app installed on their mobile device and be logged into an active account with device camera permissions fully enabled. ## Using this Feature Officers use the handheld application to record a vehicle's presence at a specific time. If the vehicle overstays the allowed time or grace period, the chalk record serves as undeniable proof for a violation. For detailed instructions on the complete chalking workflow and how it interacts with ticketing, see the [Violations and Chalking](https://opscom.wiki/books/opscom-enforce-ios-android/chapter/violations-and-chalking) article. ### Virtual Chalking a Vehicle 1. Tap **Search Vehicles** on the handheld device to look up the offending vehicle. 2. Capture the license plate using the LPR camera, text input, or voice command. 3. Tap the **Virtual Chalk** button to immediately create the time-stamped record and start the grace period timer. 4. Capture a contextual image of the vehicle manually if you entered the plate via text or voice. (LPR captures automatically take both a close-up of the plate and a contextual full-back image with time stamps).**Court-Admissible Evidence** Virtual chalking provides a photographic image that is seamlessly attached to the violation. This evidence is generally acceptable in a court of law, provided the date and time stamp is clearly visible on the image.
--- ## 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 during LPR camera mode. - **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 image and the time printed on the ticket allows you to definitively calculate and prove the time the vehicle was parked. There is no limit to the number of images you can attach. - **Preserve your evidence:** **The chalked image automatically becomes part of the violation unless the patrol officer manually deletes the image.** Never delete these images in the field, as they are crucial for dealing with client disputes and formal appeals. - **Leverage chalking for grace periods:** **Use virtual chalking to manage grace periods efficiently.** 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. # Signature Capture on Violation EntryThe Signature Capture on Violation Entry feature allows parking enforcement officers to capture a physical signature directly on their handheld device when issuing a ticket. Its primary purpose is to provide proof of receipt and interaction by saving an optimized image of the signature directly to the violation record. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators to help them configure the application settings and train field officers on this functionality.
## Setup and Configuration This feature requires configuration directly within the handheld application settings to determine if the signature workflow is mandatory or optional for your field staff. **Admin Side:** Administrators or supervisors will configure this setting directly on the physical handheld devices used by the enforcement officers. 1. Navigate to **Settings** on the handheld application. 2. Toggle the **Require Signature** option to ON to force officers to collect a signature before they can successfully save a violation. 3. Toggle the **Require Signature** option to OFF to bypass the forced workflow. The signature tab will remain available on the violation entry screen, but it will not be a required field. ## Using this Feature Administrators can use the following instructions to guide parking enforcement officers through capturing a signature in the field using their handheld units. ### Capturing a Signature 1. Perform a plate search and open a vehicle's violation entry screen. 2. Tap the **pencil icon** located on the fifth tab of the top segment bar to open the signature panel. 3. Tap the **Open Signature Pad** button to launch the full-screen modal. 4. Have the individual use a single finger to sign their name on the blank canvas. 5. Tap the **Confirm** button to lock in the signature. 6. Review the thumbnail preview of the signature on the tab to ensure it is legible. 7. Tap **Save** to complete the ticket issuance process.**Note for Android users:** If the signature fails to register on the first attempt on an Android device, quickly **Double Tap** the **Confirm** button to force the save.
### Visual Cues and Status Indicators - **Thumbnail Preview:** Once a signature is successfully confirmed, a small image preview will appear directly on the signature tab to verify the capture was successful. - **Missing Signature Alert:** If the **Require Signature** setting is active and an officer attempts to save the violation without capturing a signature, the application will block the save action. The **pencil icon** tab will immediately turn red, indicating to the officer that a required field is missing. --- ## Best Practices and Considerations ## - **Train staff on the confirmation workaround:** **Ensure enforcement officers are aware that they may need to Double Tap the Confirm button on certain Android devices if the signature fails to register immediately.** Training officers on this quick workaround prevents frustration and delays during live field enforcement. - **Establish clear enforcement policies:** **Organizations should develop a clear business rule for when a signature should be collected if the mandatory setting is toggled OFF.** Since the signature tab remains available even when disabled as a strict requirement, officers should know which specific violation types or situational encounters still warrant attempting to get a signature. - **Understand data syncing:** **Captured signatures are saved as highly optimized PNG files (averaging approximately 25KB).** These files automatically sync back to the admin backend as image attachments on the violation record for future auditing, reporting, and appeals processing. # Towing Charges Displayed on a ViolationThe 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 OPSCOM Enforce 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. 1. Tap **System Settings** from the full corner menu of the handheld application. 2. Scroll to locate the specific towing charge options under **Ticket Content**. 3. Enable the **Include $0.00 Towing Charge** toggle.**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 1. Issue a standard plate or person violation on the handheld device. 2. Tap **Save & Print** on the violation entry screen. 3. 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.